Episode 305 is all about Dubreuillosaurus, a megalosaurid theropod from France that is known from a juvenile holotype.
We also interview Alex & Katie Hastings, Alex is the Fitzpatrick Chair of Paleontology at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Katie is a husbandry manager who has worked with many animals including modern raptors. They recently started the podcast Squabbling Squibs where they’ve been discussing Jurassic Park (the book). We were also recently on an episode of their podcast.
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:
- Yamanasaurus is the first dinosaur ever named from Ecuador source
- A new museum, Western Australia Museum Boola Bardip will be opening in November source
- Stan the T. Rex is on display at Rockefeller Center until October 21st when it will be auctioned off source
- A new VR game, Jurassic World: Aftermath, is coming to Oculus Quest in December source
The dinosaur of the day: Dubreuillosaurus
- Dubreuillosaurus, request from Francis&HisAllosaurus via patreon/discord
- Phonetic: Doo-bray-low-sore-us
- Megalosaurid theropod that lived in the Jurassic in what is now Normandy, France (Caen Formation)
- Had distinct traits that included a low, long skull that was three times longer than its height
- Holotype is a subadult
- Fossils found include most of the skull, parts of the lower jaw, vertebrae, ribs, gastralia, caudals, chevron, part of the scapula, a claw from the hand, partial thighbone, part of a shinbone, partial fibula, metatarsal, and more
- One of the most complete megalosaurid skulls known
- Gregory Paul estimated it to be 16 ft (5 m) long and weigh 550 lb (250 kg) but this is based on the subadult so probably was bigger
- No crest or horns, but possible it grew them as it aged (since only the subadult has been found)
- Probably had short, powerful arms with three fingers on its hands, like its relatives
- Type species: Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis
- André Dubreuil, mayor of Conteville in Normandy at the time, discovered dinosaur fossils in an abandoned quarry where the land was being restored. He found a partial skull and some ribs and let the National Museum of Natural History in France know. This led to excavations, which didn’t start until 1998 after the quarry was redeveloped so the fossil material had been spread by a bulldozer, and they had to dig and sieve the rock
- About 2,000 fragments of bone found, between 0.4 to 4 in (1 and 10 cm)
- In 2002, the fossils were still being prepared
- Dubreuillosaurus was Ronan Allain’s thesis, and at the time in 2002 he named it Poekilopleuron? valesdunensis (a new species)
- Had a question mark because the genus naming was tentative
- Poekilopleuron was a megalosauroid that lived around the same time and place, but the type species was named in 1836
- In 2005, Ronan Allain found it to be a distinct genera (lots of distinct traits, including the long, low skull), and renamed it to Dubreuillosaurus, in honor of the Dubreuil family
- Genus name mean’s Dubreuil’s lizard
- Species name valesdunensis refers where the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes happened (which was nearby), where William the Conqueror and King Henry I from France fought and won against rebel Norman barons in 1047
- During the time Dubreuillosaurus lived, Europe was a bunch of islands. Dubreuillosaurus was found in marine sediment and lived on the coast (fossils found with in-situ mangrove roots, which means the water was not too deep), so may have hunted and ate fish (not known for sure). Partly based on the fact that the holotype of Poekilopleuron bucklandii was found with fish fossils
- Found on an island, but doesn’t appear to be a dwarf dinosaur
- Other animals that lived in the same time and place include ammonites, elasmobranchs (group that includes sharks, rays, and skates), and other fish
- Drift wood also found in the area
- Can see Dubreuillosaurus in Le Paléospace-l’Odyssée museum in Villers-sur-Mer, Normandy, France
Fun Fact: Some animals have been known to bury or gather around their dead, including some birds (modern dinosaurs). Non-avian dinosaurs may have exhibited similar behavior, but that evidence probably wouldn’t fossilize.
