Episode 322 is all about Hippodraco, the small “horse dragon” from Early Cretaceous Utah.
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 small abelisaurid, Spectrovenator, was found underneath the holotype of the sauropod Tapuiasaurus in Brazil source
- Another abelisaurid, Niebla, was found in Argentina with more typical theropod jaw than later abelisaurids source
- A new small tyrannosauroid from China, Jinbeisaurus, supports that the first giant tyrannosaurs were in North America source
- The new tiny compsognathid, Xunmenglong, makes Compsognathus look like a giant source
- There’s a push to make the (dubious) dinosaur Suciasaurus rex the official state dinosaur of Washington source
- Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida has a “Dinosaur Invasion” exhibit from now until April source
The dinosaur of the day: Hippodraco
- Iguanodontian ornithopod that lived in the Early Cretaceous in what is now Utah, US (Yellow Cat Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, northeast of Arches National Park)
- Herbivorous
- Small and gracile
- Estimated to be about 15 ft (4.5 m) long and weigh between 500 and 1,000 lb (227 to 454 kg)
- May have been bigger, if the holotype is a juvenile
- Holotype is possibly a juvenile, UMNH VP 20208, and includes a nearly complete skull, dentary teeth, vertebrae, right humerus, right scapula, left ischium, right tibia, right femur, and left metatarsals (had a large orbital in the skull)
- Probably looked like other iguanodonts, with a bulky body
- The foot bones (metatarsus) looked similar to Camptosaurus and Iguanodon
- Had a unique shelf bone that extended along the lower jaw, parallel to the tooth row sets
- Part of the skull was crushed
- A lot of the bones were crushed, and the braincase was poorly preserved. The dentary teeth were in situ but not well preserved (cracking and fragmentation)
- However, the shelf bone on the lower jaw looked to be a distinctive feature, not a pathology or deformation
- Type and only species: Hippodraco scutodens
- Genus name means “horse dragon”
- Had an elongate head, like a horse
- Species name means “shield tooth” and refers to the shield-shaped dentary tooth crowns
- Found in 2004 by Andrew Milner
- Site is known as Andrew’s Site
- Named in 2010 by Andrew McDonald and others
- Fragments of other specimens were found at the site, but not enough fossils to know if they belonged to Hippodraco
- Part of the sub group Styracosterna
- Closest relative is Theiophytalia, an iguanodontian
- Helped show that Early Cretaceous iguanodonts in North America were more primitive than iguanodonts in Europe and Asia that lived at the same time
- Lived around small lakes with slow moving rivers, in an area with a seasonally dry climate
- Other dinosaurs that lived at the same time and place include Iguanacolossus (another ornithopod), ornithopod Cedrorestes, sauropods Cedarosaurus and Moabosaurus, theropods Martharaptor and Nedcolbertia, nodosaurid Gastonia, and dromaeosaurid Utahraptor
Fun Fact: José Bonaparte named/co-named at least 22 dinosaurs including: Carnotaurus, Abelisaurus, Alvarezsaurus, Amargasaurus, Argentinosaurus, Saltasaurus, & Mussaurus. He also has two dinosaurs named after him: Bonapartesaurus & Bonapartenykus.
Sponsors
This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Check out the course Mind-Blowing Science to see an excellent animation of how Dinosaur bones grew! Get a free month of unlimited access at TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/ikd
This episode is also brought to you by Hello Fresh. They deliver fresh, pre-measured ingredients and mouthwatering seasonal recipes right to your door. Go to HelloFresh.com/ikd10 and use code ikd10 for 10 free meals, including free shipping!
