This Mesozoic Month: March 2019

March! It was a month of wonders. Not the least of which is that the 2019 Survey of Paleoartists has surpassed the number of respondents of the 2017 edition! If you’re a paleoartist, please click over to the survey to participate. I’m going to keep it running for a few months, but there’s no time like the present to stand up and be counted.

In the News

• Just barely missing the last roundup was a new frog from the Chinle Formation, the oldest known from North America. Read more from Josh Gabbatiss at the Independent and the press release from Virginia Tech.
• A couple more new beasties from the Late Triassic: A gorgeous, nearly complete fossil skeleton discovered in Guizhou province, China has given the world Panzhousaurus rotundirostris, a new species of “pachypleurosaur-like eosauropterygian”. And from the Los Colorados Formation of Argentina, we have a new protosuchid called Coloradisuchus abelini.
• The tail clubs of ankylosaurs and glyptodonts were the subject of a new paper from Victoria Arbour and Lindsay Zanno, finding that they are good examples of convergent evolution.
• The shell-crackin’ mosasaur genus Globidens has a news species: Globidens simplex.
• Scotty the T. rex, discovered nearly 30 years ago, has finally been prepped and revealed to the public. And they weigh in a bit heavier than the iconic SUE (though probably not as good of a dungeonmaster). Read more from Colin Barras at New Scientist, Michael Greshko at NatGeo, Riley Black at Laelaps, and Amy Tucker at the Toronto Star. And, of course, follow Scotty on Twitter.
• A new crested pterosaur from Spain, Iberodactylus andreui , has been described. Its close relationship to the slightly younger Asian form Hamipterus has brought about a new clade, Hamipteridae, as well as a slew of other taxonomic implications. Read more Riley Black at Laelaps and Fer Castano at Letters from Gondwana.
• The treasure trove of the Jehol biota has revealed yet another gem: a transitional therizinosaur, Lingyuanosaurus sihedangensis [PDF link]. Phylogenetically, Lingyuanosaurus falls between early forms like Falcarius and more derived taxa like Therizinosaurus.
• I just love the way Oryctodromeus cubicularis rolls off the tongue. I’m not kidding, I think it’s a lovely binomial. So I was happy to see that new research on our favorite burrowing ornithopod came out this month. Publishing in Historical Biology, John P. Wilson and David Varricchio have created new photogrammatical models of the burrow, reconstructing completely a structure that had been destroyed while preparing the body fossils it held.
• We have a new basal titanosaur from later Cretaceous Argentina: Kaijutitan maui. Check out the abstract for the in press manuscript here.

Around the Dinoblogosphere

• It’s always a treat to see an interview with a paleoartist from China hit the English-speaking web. Tristin Zhang talks to prolific artist Zhao Chuang at That’s Shanghai. That’s just the start of the paleontological content from That’s Shanghai this month. They’ve done a short series on issues around Chinese paleontology called Welcome to Jurassic China.
• Sarah Sheffield of Time Scavengers writes about her efforts in the classroom to help students understand that science is practiced by a diverse, global community.
• The SV-POW crew writes about their visit to Pittsburgh, PA and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. There are a bunch of posts about what they saw, so click over to dig in. I loved the Carnegie Museum when I visited last year, too!
• At Prehistoric Beast of the Week, Chris illustrates and writes about the enigmatic European theropod Metriacanthosaurus. Chris also had the chance to draw a life-size Hadrosaurus at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and featured his updated reconstruction at the blog, too.
• When studying a skeletal reconstruction, there are subtle nuances that can make a big difference in interpretation. For example: the outlines of bones. Scott Hartman talks about this tricky subject at the Skeletal Drawing blog.
• Wondering what we know of the colors of ancient life? Check out Henry Thomas’s handy guide.
• The latest post at the PopPalaeo blog looks at a fictional appearance of Brontosaurus in a “Carboniferous” forest, musing on the faunal bias of much fiction looking at prehistoric worlds. and scroll down to the LITC AV Club for much more PopPalaeo fun.
• Take a look at Andrew’s review of a fun book called Lifesize Dinosaurs at Dino Dad Reviews.
• Raven Amos gave a great interview to the Fossil Project, talking about her background and paleoart process.
• At the Natural History Museum of Utah blog, Riley Black writes about Moros intrepidus, the recently described lil’ tyrannosaur.

Dispatches from Himmapaanland

What did Natee give us this month? More Premium Content™, of course.

I tried to save the previous version, but after a score of erasing and redrawing, it really was finally time to lay it to rest and start afresh. pic.twitter.com/TYnHiYDOh8

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) March 23, 2019

Mood. pic.twitter.com/photMkVbLH

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) March 20, 2019

🦖

I feel so tired and hollowed out. pic.twitter.com/HcZFLZ4YFm

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) March 19, 2019

An account of the interaction between the Cameron @triceratopsian blue & gold macaw and the Natee crane.

Lithographic plate from The Natural History of Himmapaanland. pic.twitter.com/fsA3XhhASo

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) March 17, 2019

The LITC AV Club

It’s all about Popularizing Palaeontology this time around, with a bunch of great videos from the most recent workshop hitting YouTube. Here are a few to get you started.

Elsa Panciroli on Ancient Mammals

Shana Van Hauwermeiren on the Iguanodons of Bernissart

Mark Witton on Ancient Monsters

Crowdfunding Spotlight

Dino-Pride Saurians

Ryuu of Neurotic Sphynx has designed a set of dinosaur enamel pins celebrating LGBTQ+ pride. The campaign has been a success, and completely funded weeks ago, but you still have time to get in on them.

Head over to Kickstarter to snag your own!

Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute Challenge Grants

A bunch of paleontology research projects have been accepted into a grant challenge hosted by the Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute at Experiment. You can back research into the oldest known tortoise, the paleofauna of the Karoo Basin or northwestern Colorado, and climate research at Ice Age dig sites in the Black Hills. The campaign with the most backers will receive an additional $1,000, too! Go to Experiment to back the projects.

The Empty Wallets Club

• Everything Dinosaur announced that the 2019 CollectA series of prehistoric figures are in stock. Check out the collection.
• Join the Ladies’ Paleontology Society! From the text set in Bookman Swash to the retrosaurs, this tee is a total throwback. Get yours here.

Your Moment of Paleoart Zen

It’s Franxurio! I have long been an admirer of Francisco Riolobos’ whimsical work, and lately he’s been featuring newly described taxa. Here’s his majestic Bajadasaurus. Look at that spiky boy. It’s a perfect demonstration of the dramatically angular forms of Francisco’s recent aesthetic.

Keep up with Francisco’s continuing series of prehistoric beasts new to science at Instagram. And visit his website to check out all of his other work and buy awesome stuff in his shop!