#maniraptorans

[fishsfailureson]

Silvereye/tauhou/Zosterops lateralis

Doing an art challenge for bird of the year 2025. Prompt list is by a mutual on cara.

Let's hope I don't forget to vote this time.

[ildarotyrannus]

An experimental drawing of the gigantic unenlagian Austroraptor cabazai from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. The partial skull and skeletal fragments of this maniraptoran were found in 2002 in the Allen Formation. In 2012, a second, slightly smaller specimen was added to the collection, containing previously unknown bones. Austroraptor had a very long snout and a slender lower jaw; the complete skull is estimated to be 80 cm long. The teeth are small and unserrated, similar to those of fish-eating crocodiles and advanced spinosaurids. The humerus is short, resulting in a small wing. The legs are long and narrow. Austroraptor reached a length of 5-6 meters. It may have filled the niche of large aquatic vertebrate hunters, previously occupied by spinosaurids. The shortened wings indicate that Austroraptor used them little and captured prey primarily with its elongated jaws. Its neighbors were hadrosaurs and various titanosaurs, as well as medium-sized abelisaurids.

Gimp, 2026.

[fenestrosaur]

Ypupiara lopai surprises an Uberabasuchus terrificus (perhaps a mother defending her nest?) (2021)

[archosaurophilia]

Kāma'o (Myadestes myadestinus) pronounced extinct

M. myadestinus taxidermy specimen from the Bishop Museum, Honolulu. Retrieved via Wikimedia Commons. CC0 I usually enjoy returning to old ...

Following up on my 2016 post about Hawaiian solitaires, I wrote up this short blog post tonight to meditate (belatedly) on the USFWS memo from last September which delisted this once endangered, now extinct, bird. More posts are in the pipeline - I promise.

[ask-palaeoblr]

Was it likely that maniraptorans had hands covered with scutes, or were they mostly hidden by feathers?

[fishsfailureson]

A Proapteryx demonstrating a hunting tactic unique to apterygiformes. Kiwi have been observed shooting powerful lasers from their eyes, directing it at the forest floor in order to kill any invertebrates before eating them. They can also use these beams in self defense. It is unknown whether or not earlier relatives like Proapteryx had this ability. I am definitely not lying about any of this (<- lying).

[fishsfailureson]

Urvogel

(First art of 2024 yippee)

[fishsfailureson]

Is tumblr aware that there's a dinosaur named Talos yet.