Ask your Paleontology related questions and Iāll do my best to answer them! Just my paleontology blog where Iāll post any paleontology facts or information I like and answer any questions.
This fella. This shrimp. This THING. ANOMALOCARIS! MY ASSIGNMENTS DUE ALREADY >:((((
Hello again friend! Anomalocarisās name means āabnormal shrimpā so you calling them shrimp things isn't that far off.Ā Joseph Frederick Whiteaves identified them in 1892 as something that resembled the abdomen of shrimps and thus named them Anomalocaris.Ā He only had the front appendage to work with so he had no way of knowing if there was more to this creature or what it would look like in full. Now that we have better fossils we know that Anomalocaris was a radiodont and are not closely related to shrimp.
Example of Anomalocarisās front appendage [1]
Also did you know Anomalocaris was about 1.25ft long!Ā For when it lived in the Cambrian period though that would have been ginormous! This is partially why Anomalocaris is considered to be the first apex predator. They where thought to have mainly eaten trilobites off the sea floor but recent studies have found that their mouth pieces would not have been strong enough to break trilobite's hard carapis.Ā Another study also showed that there was a chance that their front appendages would be damaged when grasping onto a trilobite's hard body.Ā Anomalocaris instead most likely ate soft body organisms while swimming through a water column.
Artists rendition of what Anomalocaris might look like [2]
Agemihlās research shows that homosexual behavior, not necessarily sex, has been documented in about 500 species as of 1999, ranging from primates to gut worms. Homosexuality in animals is seen as controversial by social conservatives because it asserts the naturalness of homosexuality in humans, while others counter that it has no implications and is nonsensical to equate natural animal behaviors to morality.
Happy Pride Again!!!! I have an update to this fact!!!
Same-sex behaviour ranging from co-parenting to sex has been observed in over 1,000 species with likely many more as researchers begin to look for the behaviour explicitly. Homosexuality is widespread, with bisexuality even more prevalent across species.
Also with the whole operation pridefall thing!!! I heard they havenāt done a successful raid in years, but still be safe!!! If you need a friend Iām here for you.
Youāre Valid!!!!!!
Be Safe, Be Smart, Be Kind and remember I love you all!!!
Edit: We wouldnāt have rights if it were not for the stonewall riots and black trans women!!! so stand up for our friends!!!
Give me as much information about the super epic shark Megalodon as much as you can I need it for school for real!!!
Megalodon Facts!
Hi and thanks for your question!Ā megalodon is pretty well known but here are some more obscure facts I found that will hopefully help!
Megalodon teeth were used by a variety of pre-contact cultures in North America.Ā It is thought that they were valued artifacts and/or that they were modified to be used as weapons.Ā Megladon teeth were mined from Chesapeake Bay and traded with other cultures nearby.
Megalodons used to be classified in the same genus as Great white sharks (Carcharodon) because of the similarities between their teeth.Ā The current model is that Megalodon belongs to the Otodus genus and the similarities between its teeth and Great white sharks is a case of convergent evolution making them appear similar.Ā They (megalodons and great white sharks) would still probably look somewhat similar based on how we have interpreted other ancient sharks and their similarity with modern lamnids such as great white sharks.
They were also widely distributed, with fossils being found all over the world.Ā Based on where we have found megalodon teeth we can infer its tolerance of environmental temperatures is between 1-24 C (34-75 F).Ā They where probably able to handle such cold temperatures because they were mesotherms.Ā That is when an animal isn't quite an endotherm (able to create our own heat) but isn't an ectotherm (can't regulate their body temperature like most snakes for example).Ā They had the ability to affect their body temperature via their metabolism but when the temperature in the environment is decreased their body temperature will also decrease.Ā It is also thought that as body size increases in mesotherm animals there body temperature increases because of the square cube law.Ā It is hypothesized that one of the reasons megalodon was so large. (you can read more in the article cited below).Ā
Also megalodons have gone extinct no matter what the discovery channel says
Lowery, Darrin, et al. āINTEGRATED GEOLOGY, PALEONTOLOGY, AND ARCHAEOLOGY: NATIVE AMERICAN USE OF FOSSIL SHARK TEETH IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY REGION.ā Archaeology of Eastern North America, vol. 39, 2011, pp. 93ā108. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23265116. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.
Farrell, A. D. (A. D. ). A Use-Wear And Functional Analysis Of Precontact Shark Teeth Assemblages From Florida. no date. Florida State University, 2021.
FerrĆ³n, Humberto G. āRegional endothermy as a trigger for gigantism in some extinct macropredatory sharks.ā PloS one vol. 12,9 e0185185. 22 Sep. 2017, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185185
links:
Just how big was megalodon and could this giant predator still be lurking in the dark depths of the ocean?
Chaoyangsaurus was a ceratopsian dinosaur from the late Jurassic found in what is now northeastern China.Ā Chaoyangsaurus is also considered basal for the ceratopsian group meaning it was one of the earliest ceratopsians.Ā This means that Chaoyangsaurus can help show us what early ceratopsians may have looked like.
Another fun thing about Chaoyangsaurus is that it was referenced many times before it was properly described.Ā Because of this all of the names Chaoyangsaurus was given where nomina nuda (the plural of nomen nudum).Ā A nomen nudum looks like a scientific name but it was not published with an adequate description of the organism so it cannot be accepted as the scientific name.Ā So Chaoyangsaurus was is in an odd scenario where remains where found all the way back in 1976 but was only formally named in 1999!
Chaoyangsaurus is named after Yang Zhongjian who has been called the āFather of Chinese Vertebrate Paleontologyā
Thanks for the interest in this unique dinosaur!
Sources bellow:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaoyangsaurus
Zhao Xijin; Cheng Zhengwu & Xu Xing (1999) [1999-12-13]. "The earliest ceratopsian from the Tuchengzi Formation of Liaoning, China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 19 (4): 681ā691. doi:10.1080/02724634.1999.10011181.
Now this is a complicated question that has many heated debates around it. In my opinion a Microraptor has a clear advantage because they have extra plumage on there legs to frame and guide your eyes towards the goods.
Pteranodon aren't dinosaurs right? so what are they? birds? or something else
Hi! And thanks for the question!Ā Pterosaurs look a ton like birds because of convergent evolution.Ā convergent evolution is when animals that fill the same role in an ecosystem evolve similar traits because they help that animal fill that role.Ā This is also the reason why dolphins evolved fins that cool similar to what fish have.
Sorry for the tangent.Ā Pterosaurs are technically reptiles and are for a clade called Archosaurs.Ā Dinosaurs and Crocodiles also are Archosaurs which makes Pterosaurs kinda like their cousins!Ā The only living Archosaurs we have left today are crocodiles and birds.
A lot of people think of crocodiles as āliving fossilsā,Ā animals that haven't changed at all over the millions of years they have been on the earth.Ā What's really happening is that crocodiles have found a good niche that has proven resilient to changes in ecosystems.Ā The typical crocodilian niche is to camouflage in water and ambush prey going for a drink and cause your prey will always need water its a adaptable life style.
Many crocodilians have actually tried more specific specialized niches in the past.Ā These specialized niches are less adaptable because they usually work with specific other species or environmental features to survive.Ā For example, pandas are extremely specialized to eat bamboo which means if all the bamboo disappears the pandas can't adapt to a new food source.
An example of a more specialized crocodilian to show off how weird they got is Simosuchus.Ā Simosuchus means āpug nosed crocodileā in Greek and is a very apt description for them.Ā Found in what is now Madagascar in the Maevarano Formation.Ā Adults were about 75 cm in length and they are known for being herbivores meaning they prefer to eat plants.Ā We know this because of their maple leaf shaped teeth which quite resembles something you would find in an armored dinosaur such as stegosaurus or ankylosaurs.Ā Another thing that makes them different from their crocodile cousins is there terrestrial lifestyle meaning they preferred the land to the water.Ā It was initially proposed that their stout head was used for digging but further studies have now called this into question.
Simosuchus, sheds light on the diverse adaptations and niches within the crocodilian family's past. While crocodiles are often considered "living fossils" Simosuchus shows us that crocodiles can be as diverse as any other animal group.
Also Simosuchus would make a fantastic pet. 10/10 please resurrect.
For a while before we had dinosaurs like Microraptor and Archaeopteryx we had the theory that Dinosaurs were linked to Birds but didnāt have the hard evidence like a linking species between the two to prove it.Ā During this look for a āmissing linkā farmers in China were digging for fossils illegally and looking to sell what they could find on the black market.Ā Eventually a farmer did find a rare fossil that did prove interesting and might have been that āmissing linkā paleontologists were looking for.Ā The only problem was that it was incomplete, Incomplete fossils are less valuable then complete fossils so to remedy this the farmer combined a different fossil from a nearby site in a way he thought looked correct to him in the hope no one would notice.
āArcheoraptorā fossil [A]
When the fossil was brought to the US it was sold to the The Dinosaur Museum in Blanding Utah.Ā The museum was run by Stephen A. Czerkas and his wife Sylvia Czerkas.Ā Stephen did not hold a degree in paleontology but was a dinosaur enthusiast and made some beautiful sculptures.Ā He arranged for patrons of his museum to provide the $80,000 needed to purchase the fossil.
The Czerkases got in contact with Phil Currie a well-known Canadian Paleontologist to take a look at the fossil under the condition that it would eventually go back to China as according to authorities no fossils were to leave China.Ā Phil then contacted the National Geographic Society who intended to get the fossil published into the scientific journal Nature and then follow up with a press conference and a spotlight in an issue of the National Geographic magazine.
Initially the Dinosaur museum wanted to keep the fossil in their museum for 5 years before sending it back to China but after Christopher Sloan (the writer for the National Geographic article) said he would not write on it if it was not sent back home immediately after publication they changed there mind.
This is also about the time they flew Xu Xung, a well renowned paleontologist from China to help work on analyzing the fossil.Ā When Phil did the initial examination on the fossil it was immediately clear that something was off.Ā And after a CT scan it became clear that some amount of fraud was afoot.Ā The Czerkas then insisted on keeping this information private.Ā Phil sent his preparator Kevin Aulenback to get the fossil ready for further study.Ā Kevin also concluded that the fossil must be a composite skeleton but the Czerkas denied this and still never told National Geographic about any of this.
The team then started creating the paper for Nature, In the paper it was specified that parts were composited.Ā Nature rejected the paper because National Geographic refused to delay their publication so there was no time to peer review the paper.Ā The paper was then submitted to Science, a different scientific journal and was also rejected because Science learned about the fossil's suspicious past and origins.Ā
National Geographic decided to publish without peer review and the fossil was revealed to the public in a press conference in October 1999 and was then put into the November copy of National Geographic.Ā It was described as a missing link that helped provide the connection between dinosaurs and birds.Ā Worst of all though it was named "Archaeoraptor liaoningensis" (with a disclaimer saying this name wouldnāt count but with the assumption that the Czerkas paper would eventually be released).Ā This is horrible because it sidestepped the academic process of naming a new species through a scientific paper and took the honor of naming the new species away from the people who did the work and opened the door for journalists to rush publication to cement a name they wanted instead.Ā Along with, you know, naming a dinosaur that didnāt exist confusing further any future papers on the subject.
Image showing the two separate species that make up ArcheoraptorĀ
National Geographic then started their investigation into all of this unraveling this whole tangled mess of miscommunication and hurt egos.Ā In the end the Czerkas showed remorse in their part in these events saying they made "an idiot, bone-stupid mistake".Ā Most participants in this also felt regrets for their part.
āArchaeoraptor '' is often used by uninformed people to dismiss the connection between birds and dinosaurs and to discredit paleontologists.Ā In reality though all paleontologists and professionals who came in contact with the fossil noticed something was wrong and it was simply the lack of any communication and probably a bit of sunken cost fallacy that lead to this embarrassment.Ā Also many connections have now been found that validate the bird dinosaur connection including. āArchaeoraptorā will serve as a lesson for future paleontologists on knowing the origins of the specimens they study and working with private collectors.
Sources Bellow
Images
Jonathan Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Entelognathus, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Links:
The principal part of a famously fabricated dinosaur fossil is an ancient fish-eating bird, scientists report. The Archaeoraptor fossil intr
Bonus!
Fun pictures from the Dinosaur Museum:
Last week I shared a few photos from my visit to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. On the drive south to Albuquerque, I
Agemihlās research shows that homosexual behavior, not necessarily sex, has been documented in about 500 species as of 1999, ranging from primates to gut worms. Homosexuality in animals is seen as controversial by social conservatives because it asserts the naturalness of homosexuality in humans, while others counter that it has no implications and is nonsensical to equate natural animal behaviors to morality.
Happy Pride Again!!!! I have an update to this fact!!!
Same-sex behaviour ranging from co-parenting to sex has been observed in over 1,000 species with likely many more as researchers begin to look for the behaviour explicitly. Homosexuality is widespread, with bisexuality even more prevalent across species.
Also with the whole operation pridefall thing!!! I heard they havenāt done a successful raid in years, but still be safe!!! If you need a friend Iām here for you.
Youāre Valid!!!!!!
Be Safe, Be Smart, Be Kind and remember I love you all!!!
Edit: We wouldnāt have rights if it were not for the stonewall riots and black trans women!!! so stand up for our friends!!!
When studying prehistoric life, it can be difficult without a complete skeleton.Ā this was definitely the case with Megarachne.Ā It was discovered by the paleontologist Mario HĆ¼nicken and was described as tarantula like but larger than any spider you have ever seen with a body length of 33.9cm [1] this spider was closer to the size of a house cat then any spiders living currently.Ā You may know this version of Megarachne from the documentary Walking with Monsters where it was originally to be shown as this giant horrifying [2] tarantula on the hunt.
Sadly, Walking with Monsters was already late in production, so it was decided to keep the giant spider version of Megarachne but to instead describe it as a giant primitive spider in the suborder Mesothelae.Ā from my experience most people who know of Megarachne know it as a giant spider which I think is quite sad.Ā Maybe one day a new documentary will be made and Megarachne and its Eurypterids friends can get the spotlight they deserve.
[1] Selden, P. A., Corronca, J. A., & HĆ¼nicken, M. A. (2005). The true identity of the supposed giant fossil spider Megarachne. Biology letters, 1(1), 44ā48. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2004.0272
