This is Ezekiel O'Callaghan with Raptor Chatter
Here to talk about all the new discoveries in paleontology from September 2018
To start we have two papers on the early sauropods or sauropodamorphs
Firstly we have Yizousaurus which is from China
This species is a sauropodamorph which shows skull characteristics that are much more
traditionally aligned with the sauropods
Notably in the nasal region. We have some similarities in the growths of the bones that occurs there
Which makes it seem much closer to the sauropods than the previous more primitive sauropodamorphs
the other paper is onLehumahadi, a sauropod, that weighed over 12 tons coming from immediately after the
Triassic-jurassic extinction it helps to show how the dinosaurs and notably sauropods
were able to reach such significant sizes so quickly after the extinction
During the Triassic, most dinosaurs were still relatively small
and so with this new saurapodamorph showing just how quickly they could get large
it helps us to understand how the dinosaurs were able to become the most dominant life-form on the planet during the Jurassic period
Last month, I talked about two new species of Alverezsaurids
Which are notable for their singular large claw on each hand
This month there's an additional one
Quipanykus
and while the species is fairly standard as far as the Alverezsaurids go
it is unique in that it was found with very nearby
fragments of eggshells meaning that these species may have actually been egg eaters
But with this being the only specimen of an Alverezsaurid found near egg shells
it remains to be seen whether or not this is the case as it could have been any number of other
Circumstances like a flood that could have led to the specimen and the eggshells being close together
Simply more research and more specimens more dinosaurs need to be found
Flowering plants called the angiosperms not only includes our modern-day flowers
But also a wide variety of other species such as aspen trees or oak trees in addition to our fruit bearing trees that we know
for a long time it was believed that these has only evolved late into the Cretaceous period
Particularly the large variety of trees that we know today
However, a new fossilized tree trunk coming from Utah from 92 million years ago show that these trees evolved at
Least 15 million years before most scientists have believed they had then this is unique as these kinds of large trees now
Dominate forests throughout the world. However, during the period of dinosaurs
They were much more rare. And understanding how they were able to find a niche in such a competitive environment
Which was already dominated by things like cycads and conifers
Helps us understand how our own world was able to develop with so many deciduous trees such as the Oak or Aspen
While most dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous the birds survived
and some of them ended up becoming quite large
On Madagascar the elephant birds specifically Vorombe Titan has been found to be the largest bird of all time
Potentially approaching 800 kilograms and standing as high as 3 meters
the weight of this species made its size comparable to that of a giraffe
And it was the largest herbivore on Madagascar at that time
Its extinction will led to the reduction in size of many of the forests on Madagascar
because as a large herbivore it was able to swallow many of the seeds of the larger plants on the island and then
Transport those large seeds further distances across the island through its digestive tract
Showcasing just how important it is to try and save every species we can because they can have profound
impacts on the ecosystem in which they live
Spinosaurus were unique for being the only large theropod group to take to the water
But they were still small when they got there
7 new juvenile specimens of
Spinosaurus from Kempton beds of Morocco helped to show how the species were very ready to reach the water almost
As soon as they were born
This opens up the idea that the Spinosaurus may have had nursery type areas much like today's modern crocodilians
Which more or less just monitor the areas in which the young are to keep larger predators away
Certain jaw differences help to show that there are at least two types of large spinosaur in the Kem Kem beds during the cretaceous
Likely spinosaurus aegyptiacus and Sigilmassasaurus brevicollis
This makes the Kem Kem beds
One of if not the most dangerous place in history with multiple large Spinosaurs
Sarcosuchus a massive almost 40 foot long
Crocodile and things like Carchardontosaurus which was again a very large carnivore and that's before
considering the smaller theropods that were in the region such as the Abelisaurs
or things like deltadromeus which also
Hunted through the river system of the Kem Kem beds
Cholesterol is often discussed as something that needs to be brought down for healthy living
however, it's also needed in some levels to survive
Dickensonia was one of the earliest complex life-forms from before the Cambrian Explosion
and for a long time we didn't have any kind of idea what it was. Was it an animal a plant?
Or maybe even some kind of microbe colony
however, a new study shows
Traces of cholesterol found on its fossils
now, this is not the chemical cholesterol
But it's the parts of it. That would have been cholesterol over 500 million years ago in the ancient seas
Meaning that Dickensonia was an animal
It was very much related to the rest of life that we see and the life that came during the Cambrian explosion
Meaning that all the complexity of life that we see from today to Cambrian explosion
Can in some way be traced back to this small creature that was one of the first animals to walk the planet
Although its ability to walk is fairly doubted
Hi everyone. Thanks for watching
National fossil day is on the 17th
So there is still time to check out what is going on in your part of the country if you're in America
I will have a link down below to the PLoS paleo blog where they list
everything that is going on all the different
state parks museums
What-have-you and remember take care
Stay safe
Don't go Extinct
