The Big Dinosaur Podcast

Episode 220 is all about Mussaurus, the “mouse lizard” sauropodomorph from Argentina.

Big thanks to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• A new Amargasaurus relative, Bajadasaurus, was described with some amazing neck spines source
• A dinosaur foot including feathers and scutes was found preserved in amber source
• The original feather that defined Archaeopteryx may not belong to Archaeopteryx as it’s now defined source
• A new dinosaur fossil went on display in Japan and may be the county’s oldest dinosaur fossil source
• An event called Teach Rex in Liverpool in the UK source
• The new owner of a Flintstones theme park in Arizona plans to partially repurpose it for birding source
• A new website is digitizing bird skeletons, so far mostly from New Zealand source
• Both Dippy the Diplodocus and Trix the T. rex will soon be on display together in Glasgow, Scotland source
• There’s a new play in the UK about Gideon Mantell, called Dinomania source

The dinosaur of the day: Mussaurus

• Sauropodomorph that lived in the Late Triassic in what is now southern Argentina (El Tranquilo Formation)
• Name means “mouse lizard”
• Found in the 1970s by Jose Bonaparte and team (found eggs and hatchlings)
• Described in 1979 by Jose Bonaparte and Martin Vince
• Found small juveniles and infant skeletons at first (about mouse-sized, and the reason for mouse name); found seven juveniles and a couple eggs. Nest was about 215 million years old
• Juveniles were between 7.8 to 14.5 in (20 to 37 cm) long
• Now some adult specimens have been found (one subadult and three adults)
• Adult specimens described in 2013
• Some specimens were described in 1980 but were classified at the time as Plateosaurus
• Could grow up to 10 ft (3 m) long and weighed up to 150 lb (70 kg)
• Juveniles had shorter snouts, larger nasal bones, and larger eye sockets than adults
• Eggs had thin shells
• Had long forelimbs, so probably was quadrupedal (walked on four legs)
• Since some hatchlings were near the nest with the eggs, may indicate some parental care (also, with juveniles had different proportions than adults)
• May have been herbivorous, and may have also eaten insects
• Type species is Mussaurus patagonicus
• Mentioned in The Lost World novel by Michael Crichton (the character Richard Levine picks up a small Mussaurus on Isla Sorna early on in the book)
• Also in the comic series Jurassic Park: Redemption

Fun Fact: Gizzards can present a problem for dinosaurs when they eat something sharp.

Sponsors:

This episode is brought to you in part by Indiana University Press. Their Life of the Past series is lavishly illustrated and meticulously documented to showcase the latest findings and most compelling interpretations in the ever-changing field of paleontology. Find their books at iupress.indiana.edu