Welcome back to This Mesozoic Month, the roundup of news, blogging, multimedia content, and art related to life of the Mesozoic era. I’ve made the decision that this will be the final edition of the series. These regularly scheduled roundups have been going since December 2016, preceded by less regular Mesozoic Miscellany posts. These simple posts take more time to compile than they might look like, and it’s time I just can’t spare any more. Thank you to everyone who…
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…
Halfway through 2020, and it’s time for another This Mesozoic Month roundup of news, writing, art, and merch. I’d like to take a moment to express my gratitude to all of the museum workers who have been so hard hit as this pandemic and its attendant financial crisis continue. Museums are basically a house of worship for me, and the work you all do matters so much. My deepest hope is that the pandemic will be brought to an end…
Yer boy David here, returning with another look back at the current month in Mesozoic paleontology. Pandemic or no, each month I look for a selection of interesting research and news stories, posts from the shrinking-but-still-kicking blogosphere, videos, and a piece of paleoart that grabbed my attention. And, of course, I gleefully shine a spotlight on our own Natee’s current palaeoartistic efforts. Thanks so much for reading each month! In the News Let’s just get this depressing news out of…
Hope you all are staying safe! Here’s this month’s edition of my regular Mesozoic paleontology roundup. We had some really interesting news this April, and as always I provide a look at relevant blogging, videos, and artwork. In the News The SVP has taken a stand on the blood amber of Myanmar, in a letter sent to 300 journals across the globe. “The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology strongly discourages its members from working on amber collected in or exported from…
Stay safe. Stay at home, as best you can. Look out for each other. Flatten the curve. With that said, let’s look back at March 2020 in Mesozoic paleontology. In the News The world lost a paleontology giant this month as Dr. Jenny Clack, master of early tetrapods, passed away. Read Darren Naish’s wonderful tribute. Did non-avian dinosaurs glow? Spurred by a twitter conversation, Darren Naish, Cary Woodruff, and Jamie Dunning explore the possibility in Historical Biology [PDF link]. Read…
Every month, I round up some of the coolest discoveries, blogging, videos, and other bits of mesozoic-themed fun that recently hit the web. And I always pick an interesting piece of paleoart that crossed my path, no matter when it was created. And that’s how This Mesozoic Month is made. Let’s shut the door on February and prepare ourselves for what March has in store! In the News Stagodontidae is a clade of late Cretaceous metatherians, of which Didelphodon is…
A new decade begins, and once more we’ll wrap up the past month in Mesozoic news. In the News A non-pterodactyloid pterosaur trackway was discovered and hit the scientific press this month, an important new insight into their locomotion on the ground. Possibly made by a rhamphorynchid, it indicates that these little aerial archosaurs were perfectly capable walkers, thank you very much. There is a gorgeous piece of Mark Witton paleoart to accompany the paper, as well. New 'holy-grail' pterosaur…
And just like that, 2019 is done. Let’s look back on what this last month brought us from the Mesozoic, shall we? From the entire LITC crew, here’s to a fantastic 2020. In the News The first Cretaceous dinosaur fossils ever discovered in Ecuador belonged to a newly described saltasaurid, Yamanasaurus lotaensis. Tralkasaurus cuyi is a brand-spanking-new abelisaurid from late Cretaceous Argentina. New Zealand has a new pterosaur, the lonchodectid Parirau ataroa (Note to self, remember to avoid biorxiv in…
November’s done, and it’s been a busy month here at LITC. In addition to the eight posts we’ve published, we finally joined Twitter properly, instead of continuing to sponge off of my personal account. Give us a follow! The content is very good. You’ll notice that there’s no “Empty Wallets Club” section this time around – plenty of opportunities to rid yourself of legal tender in our 2019 Dinosaur Gift Guide. Be sure to check it out – after delving…
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Chasmosaurus belli silhouette in custom bulleted list by Scott D. Sampson, Mark A. Loewen, Andrew A. Farke, Eric M. Roberts, Catherine A. Forster, Joshua A. Smith, and Alan L. Titus, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sourced from PhyloPic.