Paleontology Chat

[dinorocker]

Paleontology! It's the study of animals that are all dead. Discuss any facts, discoveries, or your favorite extinct animal.

RULES

• Follow all the CS codes of conduct, keep it civil.

• Keep versus discussions (Tyrannosaurus vs. Spinosaurus, etc.) to a minimum. I've noticed these types of discussions can get out of hand pretty quickly.

• Sharing paleoart is allowed, as long as you give proper credit to the artist who made it

To get things started, I'll share a relatively new species described called Venetoraptor. It was discovered in southern Brazil and it was an early pterosaur relative called a lagerpetid. It had a beak and forelimbs indicating that it was bipedal (walked on two feet). It is very complete among laterpetids, so it may help us learn more about other animals in that family.
Paper Article
News Article

(Image by Caio Fantini, taken from news article)

So what do you think? Neat critter? Think there's one even cooler? Share and discuss!

[AhoyCookie]

hii hey hiii! i also love paleontology!

i bet it's very obvious what my favorite dinosaur is... but i also love love love pachycephalosaurus! they are silly... and so ugly...

[dinorocker]

The ugly/wierd critters are honestly some of my favorite ones. Deinocheirus, Spinosaurus, Therizinosaurus... those are just a few that I love just for how bizarre they are.

[OrionOffbeat]

I'm nowhere near as versed on dinosaurs and paleontology as I used to be but I still find it so freaking cool! I had no idea about this new dinosaur you told us about and I'm stoked. I have to go look up more information on them...

[dinorocker]

Glad I could show you something new, learning is the best part of paleontology isn't it?

[Another World]

my best friend is a paleontologist and i have next to no knowledge on the subject except that i read his theses and anything he publishes but i'm psyched to learn from y'all!

Edit: I KNEW I spelled paleontology wrong the first time, gah!

[dinorocker]

(Image by Chuang Zhao)

Journal Article
News Article

A new avialan (early bird relative) has just been described! Its name is Fujianvenator prodigiosus and it was found in southeastern China. It belongs to the Anchiornithidae family, the earliest-branching member of the bird family tree. Unlike other members of this family, which were adapted for living in the trees, this animal boasted long, skinny legs which may have been suited for a running or even wading lifestyle. This animal is yet another piece of evidence that bird evolution isn't as linear as one would think, for there were a diversity of lifestyles and body plans all across the avian family tree.

[SpiritDreams]

While I absolutely adore all things dino, I have a soft spot for extinct mammals, crocodilians, and other species.

I find these animals are often so overlooked compared to the non-avian dinosaurs, but even so I'll admit I have favorite dinosaurs of my own :], like the baryonyx, a relative of the spinosaurus that lived in the early Cretaceous period! The baryonyx is described as a semi-aquatic animal that varied 25 to 33 feet in length, with a diet primarily consisting of fish.



Source: Art by Paleocolour (Robinson Kuns and Rebecca Slater) on Deviantart, licensed under Creative Commons https://www.deviantart.com/paleocolour/art/Baryonyx-walkeri-737728903

Some of my favorite extinct animals are ones that just seem so out of this world compared to the standards of today, such as the late-hooved crocodyliforms of the Paleogene, Planocraniidae, and the many megafauna of the Pleistocene, especially the Irish Elk, Megaloceros (which was actually a species of deer, not an elk).

As for the new avian and non-avian dinosaurs you described, I am always interested to see new species be discovered, and how the evolutionary tree branches off in so many different directions. The long, skinny legs of Fujianvenator make it truly unique, and I love the beautiful colors of its feathers in the art by Chuang Zhao. Thank you so much for sharing!

[Folykl]

Sharing my favorite beast :


art by aberrantologist
Perucetus propoganda...

I'm not too involved with all the more in depth stuff, i just love extinct animals, paleo stuff gets real confusing to me real fast xP
My fav dinosaurs are baryonyx and spinosaurus and but my favorite extinct non dinosaurs which i'm more interested in are Quagga, Sivatherium, and any extinct cetacean and whale ancestor I also find the evolution of equids as a whole super cool and early ancestors of horses are so silly looking lol. But my absolute fav is cetacean evolution, the middle phase when they were semi aquatic is probably my fav they look so awkward and strange in a cool way

ambulocetus by nixillustration

then there's the "sword headed" dolphin, Eurhinodelphis another fav of mine...

nixillustration

[Harrowedwolf]

YES! I have found my people. Current prehistoric obsession is Gorgonopsid.