Dromaeosaurs are Terrestrial Hawks

Denver Fowler and colleagues have just published a series of papers dealing with the reconstruction of predatory behavior as indicated by the proportions, curvature, and anatomy of the pes in theropod dinosaurs. They began this study investigating birds, and the range of ecology and behavior exhibited by a variety of birds. Then they expanded this to that ever-curious group, dromaeosaurs. That is the topic of the current paper, by Denver Fowler, Elizabeth Freedman, John Scannella and Robert Kambic, who describe the pedal anatomy of Deinonychus antirrhopus in relation to its possible predatory capabilities, including the premises of previous authors who’ve inferred the foot was used in climbing (including up the sides of very, very large prey).

What Carbon Has To Do With It

This may go under the radar, so I consider it opportune to mention it. While it doesn’t directly consider fossil archosaurs in any fashion, or a ridiculously over-hyped but very popular group of bird-stem archosaurs, the study at hand does consider the methodology of 1) writing a good paper, 2) being exceptionally thorough in both summary of previous results and current methodology, and 3) analyzing a bulk of trends in consideration for how to assess diet when all you have are teeth.

For A Few Spinosaurus More

As I intimated earlier – and to quote Monty Python — the holotype of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus has ceased to be.

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, mount of the holotype IPHG (BSP) 1912 VIII 19. The only remaining photographic evidence known for the material. After Smith et al., 2006.

The Next Step

While discussing lips in theropod dinosaurs is easy, and a bit dinosaur-centric (what about lips in nondinosaurian archosaurs?!), there are two major elements of the dinosaury that bear understanding: First, that ornithischians present an additional hurdle to overcome when discussing facial skin and its extent (i.e., the issue of “cheeks”) and sauropods present the interesting issue of what to do with large open spaces in the jaw. The latter issue is easier to deal with and represents the next step.

The Hypothetical Noasaur

I suggested once that I would produce a reconstruction of a noasaurid skull, based on new material from the Maeverano Formation of Madagascar (Masiakasaurus knopfleri), but I haven’t got around to it. While catching a recording of TVs latest pseudo-scientific Time Travel show, Terra Nova, I went ahead and sketched this:

Incredulous Teeth, IV: Triassic Palate Mashers

Placodonts are by far one of the most interesting if less diverse clades of Triassic sauropterygian (a group including the far more diverse plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs). These taxa include the relative basal Placodus and Paraplacodus, but the more interesting taxa are by far the Cyamodontoidea. Today, I take a look at one, Placochelys placodonta (Jaekel, 1902).

Incredulous Teeth, II: The Many Similar Teeth of Zanabazar

Zanabazar junior is a troodontid, named for famed Mongolian Öndör Geγeen Zanabazar (Өндөр Гэгээн Занабазар), an icon who brought Buddhism to the Mongols from the north from China. The name is translated from Mongolian as “known-vigor” and is derived from the Sanskrit Jnana-vajra, which means “thunderbolt of wisdom.” How peculiar that this is a name given to a “brainy” troodontid, animals known for their legginess and apparent adeptness at running down hatchling Maiasaura (and little else). But what is most peculiar about it is not that it is among the largest of troodontids, but that most if not all of its teeth were essentially homodont, or having the same morphology as one another.

Diet in Oviraptorosaurs VII – Measuring the Mandible: Part 3, Measuring Points

It is finally time to figure out where good and useful places are to measure. We’re going to be doing this twice, and use these points to show HOW orienting our mandible changes things.

My previous entries on this series include positioning the jaw, or Alignment (part 1) and knowing what you’re looking at, or Labeling (part 2).

Caenagnathid mandible with points of interest highlighted, in left lateral and dorsal views. Mandible modified after Currie et al., 1994.

Diet in Oviraptorosaurs VII – Measuring the Mandible: Part 1, Alignment

It’s been a while since I’ve added to my overarching plan to describe the diet of oviraptorosaurs, and now is time to continue. But first,

Southern Raptors II: Grooves, Cones, and Carinae

When dealing with incompletely preserved or incompletely prepared material, superficial statements are often used to describe a feature so that it can be “assessed” by the readers in some fashion. Take, for example, the following image: