This Mesozoic Month: July 2020

Geez, it’s been hot here. But the katydids, crickets, and cicadas have made it more bearable, as has the phenological progression of the seasons which now brings ironweed and goldenrod into bloom. I’ll be wishing for these things in the dead of winter. Also, there’s been a fair amount of paleontology goings-on! So let’s check it out in This Mesozoic Month for July, 2020.

In the News

• Dilophosaurus is a rather famous dinosaur, thanks to a movie it appeared in nearly 30 years ago. But now, it’s been the subject of a major comprehensive publication which has given us a wealth of new insights into its anatomy – and a wealth of new paleoart to boot. That would include Brian Engh’s multi-faceted body of work, ranging from sculpture to 2D work to puppetry. Read the press release at Science Daily; more from Asher Elbein at Texas Monthly, Mike Walley at Everything Dinosaur, and Aylin Woodward at Business Insider.
• As fierce as it was tiny, Kongonaphon kely is a newly described lagerpetid from Madagascar. Read more from Ryan Miller at USA Today.
• Schleitheimia schutzi is a new sauropodomorph from Switzerland, the most derived sauropodomorph from Late Triassic Europe. Read more from Mike at Everything Dinosaur.
• Irisosaurus yimenensis is an early Jurassic sauropodomorph from the Yixian Formation of China. Read more from Mike at Everything Dinosaur.
• The Albian Romualdo Formation of Brazil now has its very own theropod, the basal coelurosaur Aratasaurus museunacionali.
• Lusovenator santosi is a newly named early carcharodontosaurian theropod from Portugal.
• A new phylogeny of cerapoda has been published, and among its conclusions: Heterodontosaurs are pachycephlosaurs.
• The remains of a juvenile dromaeosaur were discovered in Alaska’s Prince Creek formation, indicating that animals lived there year round.
• That Oculudentavis description from earlier this year, which was the subject of controversy on multiple fronts when it was first published (i.e. the ethics of burmite mining, dubious taxonomy), has been retracted. Read more from SV-POW here and here.
• A new paper analyzing over 100 Rhamphorynchus specimens dives deep into pterosaur ontogeny. Dave Hone explains why it’s such an iconic pterosaur, for the wealth data information it provides.

Around the Dinoblogosphere

• At her wonderful blog, illustrator Emily Damstra shares her process in illustrating the Jurassic ammonoid Sunrisistes brimblecombei.
• At Tetzoo, Darren scored an absolutely priceless opportunity to share never-before-seen preliminary work for Dougal Dixon’s After Man.
• Fans of roadside dinosaur attractions and the ilk will want to see Andrew’s visit to Jurassic Quest at Dino Dad Reviews.
• Check out a gorgeous theropod track from Thailand at Archaea.
• Amy Henrici writes about the bipedal reptile from the Bromacker fossil site, Eudibamus, at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History blog. There’s a very nice photo of a model made by Peter Mildner, too.
• At Prehistoric Beast of the Week, Chris illustrates and provides some fun discussion of Spinosaurus.

Dispatches from Himmapaanland

Follow Natee on Twitter and Instagram for much more, and buy your own piece of Himmapaanland at Redbubble.

Tidied up the infant from earlier. pic.twitter.com/okH1KrJxnS

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) July 8, 2020

Is it lunchtime?

Happily for the dromaeosaur, it has a better appetite than I do. pic.twitter.com/W0VSf5VULl

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) July 13, 2020

A Teacup Triceratops. https://t.co/nYf0BPFC0w pic.twitter.com/AEVc94LL2o

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) July 15, 2020

I haven't really taken part in #sciartportfolioweek because of, let us call them, 'Complicated Feelings.' pic.twitter.com/yvqinndqRz

— Natee ~A drift of dust~ (@Himmapaan) July 17, 2020

The LITC AV Club

YDAW’s Velociraptor Update

Williams via Weissenborn

Beelzebufo the Magnificent

The Empty Wallets Club

• It’s always a big treat when Scott Elyard has a new piece to share, and his new Dunkleosteus face mask is awesome. Buy it here, see it on Ashley Hall here!
• Andy Cruz, who makes the utterly charming @dinosaurcomics (not to be confused with Dinosaur Comics), is kickstarting a set of Hell Creek dinosaur enamel pins in his signature style. The campaign has funded and is barreling to unlocking the final pin at the time of this writing. Get your own Heck Creek pins at Kickstarter.

Your Moment of Paleoart Zen

Emiliano Troco does not have a web presence equal to the quality of his artwork, so consider this my small attempt to correct that a bit.

I’m always looking for excellent sauropod art to share here, and Troco’s Apatosaurus louisae is one of the best I’ve ever seen, immediately capturing my attention and giving me a sense of what it must have been like to be in the presence of one of these glorious titans. We get the sense of what a world unto themselves the giant sauropods must have been, ecosystem engineers on a massive scale, attended to by hordes of smaller creatures taking advantage of the disturbances they cause in the environment. I love the color scheme, heavy on earthy tones with splashes of bright color here and there, and the cloudy sky. Hard to over-praise this piece.

To see more of Emiliano’s work, please visit his website!

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