Episode 522: Uncovering Dinosaur Conduct Ebook Membership. We share all our ideas on probably the most stunning and fascinating components of David Hone’s new ebook. Plus a tiny dinosaur with lots of gastroliths and a few large dinosaurs with none.
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The dinosaur of the day: Gasparinisaura
- Elasmarian ornithopod that lived within the Late Cretaceous in what’s now Río Negro Province, Argentina (Anacleto Formation)
- Initially considered a basal hypsilophodont then later discovered to be an elasmarian ornithopod
- Elasmarians are ornithopods that lived within the Cretaceous in what’s now South America, Antarctica, and Australia, and lots of of them was once regarded as “hypsilophodonts”
- Had modifications of their toes and tail that helped them run quicker
- Could have been a differentiator for them in comparison with different herbivorous dinosaurs of their time (their ecological area of interest)
- Carefully associated to Anabisetia (coated in ep 499)
- Appeared like what number of early dinosaurs appeared, walked on two legs and had an extended tail and considerably lengthy neck
- Small, estimated to be about 5.6 ft (1.7 m) lengthy and weigh 29 lb (13 kg)
- Don’t know the grownup measurement
- Had a rounded head that was considerably lengthy
- Had giant eye sockets that have been excessive up on the pinnacle
- Had an extended again of the pinnacle
- Had a slender braincase
- Had diamond-shaped enamel within the higher jaws with ridges to strip crops
- Had brief arms
- Had lengthy, highly effective legs
- Had lengthy toes
- Sort species is Gasparinisaura cincosaltensis
- Described in 1996 by Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado
- Genus identify means “Gasparini’s lizard”
- Genus identify is in honor of paleontologist Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini
- Species identify refers to Cinco Saltos, town the place the fossils have been discovered
- Fossils first present in 1992
- Discovered a partial skeleton with a cranium (lacking a lot of the backbone)
- Holotype cranium is effectively preserved and almost full
- Additionally discovered a second particular person, with a tail and components of the legs
- Greater than 14 specimens have been described
- Have discovered skeletons starting from juveniles to sub-adults
- One specimen discovered with a puncture mark (possibly from a crocodylomorph)
- Group discovered could have been making an attempt to drink from a drying out waterhole and scavenged, or possibly received attacked whereas making an attempt to drink
- In 2008, Ignacio Cerda described the gastroliths discovered with Gasparinisaura, the primary “unambiguous document of gastroliths in an ornithopod dinosaur”
- Gastroliths present in three juveniles
- Discovered clusters in three skeletons within the abdomens
- Some clusters had 140 stones
- In a single particular person discovered two clusters of stones
- Discovered over 180 stones within the largest particular person
- In a second particular person, discovered greater than 40 stones in clusters
- Common size of the stones was nearly 8 mm, and the biggest was 17 mm (complete mass of the stones present in one particular person was over 51 g, or nearly 2 oz)
- Thought of to be gastroliths as a result of there have been numerous them, they’re related to bones, they have been present in situ within the stomach space of the skeletons (in two specimens they have been contained in the rib cage), they have been present in clusters, there aren’t any comparable stones within the space outdoors the skeletons, and there are three people all discovered with the identical sorts of stones of their intestine space (no stones discovered outdoors the stomach)
- Estimated to be 0.3% of the physique mass, based mostly on estimating how a lot the person weighed utilizing the femur (estimated to weigh 18 kg, or over 39 lb)
- Based mostly on the variety of stones and their measurement, and the truth that Gasparinisaura was an herbivore, thought of to be swallowed on function to assist with digesting (lithophagy) and never swallowed unintentionally
- Had enamel good for chewing, however nonetheless used gastroliths, possibly to get as a lot vitamins as potential
- Possibly ate actually powerful meals
- Gasparinisaura grew up quick and died younger, based mostly on histology
- Grew shortly till it received to about 60% the dimensions of the biggest particular person discovered
- Development wasn’t steady, although, nevertheless it slowed down extra after reaching a sure measurement
- Largest discovered people have been nonetheless rising, however slower
- Different dinosaurs that lived across the similar time and place embrace sauropods like Neuquensaurus and theropods
- Different animals that lived across the similar time and place embrace crocodylomorphs, snakes, and turtles
Enjoyable Truth:
Sauropods in all probability didn’t swallow gastroliths to assist them digest their meals.
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