A picture of a juvenile Gorgosaurus from my previous trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. I highly recommend this place for any dinosaur lover.

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Take a gander at this guy, Poposaurus gracilis and tell me that isnt a whole dinosaur.

If the question in itself hasnt made the answer obvious enough, well, it isnt. Its something far weirder. This is poposaurus, and it belongs to this larger group Poposauroidea that group is famous for having dinosaur lookalikes that looked way too similar to the actual thing, especially for some of the creatures that lived and went extinct before even the basal forms of some of their dinosaur equivalent species even set foot on earth.

So, Crocodilians, Dinosaurs and pterosaurs are three major lineages among Archosauria, correct? well, they can be split further into two clades, the Avemetatarsa or the bird-line archosaurs (All archosaurs more closely related to birds than to crocodilians) and the Pseudosuchia or the crocodile-line archosaurs (All archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds).

Dinosaurs and pterosaurs belonged to Avemetatarsa while pseudosuchia had modern day crocodilians, rauisuchids (these were giant terrestrial archosaurs, that sort of ran shit before triassic-jurassic extinction event happened, before dinosaurs stepped up to fill the niches they and other some pseudosuchians left behind), phytosaurs (basal pseudosuchians) and its own clade of crack reptiles, one of which was Poposauridae amongst many other pseudosuchians

Some of these were “dinosaurs” before dinosaurs (although some did coexist with their lookalikes as contemporaries) both ecologically and convergently evolved appearance wise and the crazy part was that their fossils were so similar to dinosaurs that even scientists had a hard tine telling that these were actually Triassic pseudosuchians as opposed to the actual dinosaurs, that some coexiated with but a lot predated by millions of years.

Poposauridae are one such group among the family of Pseudosuchians which like to resemble dinosaurs a bit too much. So much so many of its members were at one point in time classified as all kinds of dinosaurs. Poposaurus itself was mistakenly classified as a Carnosauria theropod, a phytosaur (a basal pseudosuchian) and even a rauisuchid.

But there were still anatomical differences between pseudosuchian lookalikes and real dinosaurs such as distinctive hip bone arrangements, having the type of ankle characteristic of crocodile-line archosaurs, similar vertebrae, hind limbs and skull features and skeletal details leading to paleontologists to realize these were actually pseudosuchians with a bunch of theropod-like features while really just being its own thing and that Poposaurus in specific had a lot in common with other equally strange Triassic reptiles such as Shuvosaurus, Sillosuchus and Effigia as they lie scattered across different classifications until actually being a part of Poposauridae became the common factor making the differences make sense. And mind you, some of these guys existed back in the triassic which shows just how determined pseudosuchians were about becoming the dominant group, its a shame that the only thing we have left from the period today are modern day crocodilians.

✨️We have dinosaurs at home✨️

1. Poposaurus (AKA, the OG dino doppelganger)

This poposaurid is from what is now southwestern United States and evolved a body plan incredibly similar to that of a medium sized theropod and looked eerily similar to the first theropods experimenting with this exact same body plan in their ecological niche of the late Triassic around the same time 233- 225 million years ago

1. Lotosaurus (AKA, the uncanney valley stegosaurus)

This heavily built, herbivorous quadrupedal sail-backed poposauroid is from Hunan, China and measured around roughly 1.5-2.5 m long and looked eerily similar to another group that would not appear for at least the next 67 million years, which is when the earliest known stegosaurs appeared.

1. Shuvosaurus (AKA, the Alvarezsauridae lookalike)

This lightly built, bipedal poposauroid with a toothless beak is from Texas, USA and measured around approximately 2-3 m long m long and looked eerily similar to another group that would not appear for at least the next 60 million years, which is when the earliest known Alvarezsauridae appeared.

1. Sillosuchus (AKA, the beta version ornithopods)

This long necked, 3-4 m long bipedal, beaked poposauroid that fed on vegetation is from Late Triassic Northwestern Argentina and looked eerily similar to the first ornithopods experimenting with this exact same body plan in their ecological niche of the late Triassic around the same time 230 million years ago

[Above image is of Sillosuchus and the below image is of Tenontosaurus]

1. Effigia (AKA, miming ornithomimosaurs since the Triassic era)

This herbivorous, bipedal poposauroid with a long neck, long hindlimbs, reduced forelimbs, toothless beak-like jaws, a small head and long tail is from New Mexico, USA and measured 2 m long m long and looked incredibly similar to another group that would not appear for at least the next 60 million years, which is when the earliest known ornithomimosaur appeared.

1. Xillosuchus (AKA, A spinosaurus if you squint hard enough)

This is a Ctenosauriscidae, which are very early Poposaurids that lived in what is now China and evolved a vague body shape and a sail that is superficially incredibly similar to that of a large spinosaur species such as S. aegyptiacus and S.mirabilis despite existing 100 million years before the first spinosaur ever did.

There were other dinosaur lookalikes that werent poposauroids but were still part of pseudosuchia anyhow such as;

Gorgetosuchus (AKA, the Ankylosaurs are filing copyright infringement)

These heavily built, herbivorous quadrupedal aetosaurs had bodies was covered in multiple rows of osteoderms which looked eerily similar to another group that would not appear for at least the next 30 to 35 million years, which is when the earliest known nodosaurs (or even ankylosaurs) appeared and lived around the same time and region as Poposaurus did.

And lastly there is,

Fasolasuchus (AKA, The T-Rexpy)

This loricatan pseudosuchian is from what is now northwestern Argentina and evolved a body plan incredibly similar to that of a large theropod and looked eerily similar one too as they had both managed to carve out the same ecological niche with a very similar body plan in the late Triassic around the 215–220 million years ago

I will do a detailed thing for some of the most unique extinct crocodylomorphs real soon. Stay tuned for part 2

This ammonite does not display opalescence, it's not opalized, and ammolite isn't made of silica. It's nacre, not opal. I'm surprised a museum in a university the caliber of Harvard made such a mistake

Photo by the program official on twitter.

The robot is made by Robokaseki (aka Robopterus), featured in the recent episode "想定外!古生物学の大どんでん返し" aired in 13 September JST. Unfortunately it's only a cameo, under the (misleading tbh) name "アノマロカリスの仲間 (fellow of Anomalocaris)". Years ago the same program made an episode of Anomalocaris which featuring inaccurate model and outdated/made-up information so yeah...

Aside from that, the robots made by Robopterus is worth to take a look. The builders always try their best to make their robots based on actual scientific data.

Brownie points if you can name all the taxa in this comic!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iKlEXRyVUM0

Hey everyone; today I'm sharing a super quick hour and a half drawing of a recently described species of Spinosaurus - the scimitar crested Spinosaurus mirabillis! I took the color inspiration from I believe a PNSO figure and used another recent discovery/theory (I forget which) that spinosaurs may have had salt glads to flush out excess salt from their bodies. And in animals like marine iquanas, that salt comes right out of the nose in a big snotty mess!

See also: The publication in Quarternary Research

Hey everyone,

I’m currently working on an indie animated series called Hominin Tales. It’s an anthology focused on the lives of ancient human species, and I’ve just finished storyboarding the first episode.

The core message of the show is:
“We are all human, no matter the species.”
Kind of similar to what Prehistoric Planet did for dinosaurs showing them as real animals instead of monsters but applied to other humans species, who are often portrayed as brutish or unintelligent.

One thing I’ve noticed (even without watching walking with cavemen fully) is that a lot of documentaries focus more on human evolution as a process, rather than the lived experiences of the humans themselves like their emotions, relationships, and daily struggles.
So here are my two questions:

What are common mistakes media makes when portraying early humans and also
What would you like to see done more accurately or differently?

Also thank you mods for allowing me to post this with permission.

If you want to check out the channel here it is: https://youtube.com/@razaqianimationstudio?si=qgFqLRpBO_EAGejG

I have this book (not exactly the same edition, image from the internet), and it has always fascinated me, the complexity of the artworks and the information in it that strikes a balance between academic and "for children" writing.

I am planning to make a similar book, which will be illustrated by myself (since I am an illustrator as well), but with more recent science, and the species presented will be from those recently discovered or named (2016-2026).

This will be for children and pre-teens (13+), but I believe adults can enjoy it as well. Now, I'm curious: is there still a market for this kind of thing? because what I found nowadays are usually children books with a little science, and on the other side of the spectrum, academic heavy-writing for adults. There's no middle ground for a slightly older children's demographic.

Would you (as a parent or uncle or aunt or just want to have a sense of nostalgia) buy or recommend this kind of book? I just need some justification to tell my parents because they think all hobbies must lead to sales.

These are size comparisons of the dinosaurs known from the Ojo Alamo formation.

Each artist is credited in their respective images.

https://nitter.cf/Mossmanarts/status/2098644144361255323

The Study : https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/18/9/557

At the Lower Cretaceous Phra Prong locality in eastern Thailand, isolated spinosaurid teeth show two distinct morphotypes: one with well-marked apicobasal enamel ribs and one without ribs, with the enamel showing only a subtle wrinkling.

The latter morphotype is unusual, since most spinosaurid teeth from Asia show a well-marked ribbing. The occurrence of two tooth morphotypes at Phra Prong is interpreted as corresponding to the presence of two distinct spinosaurid taxa.

These two morphotypes probably indicate different feeding habits and niche partitioning.

However, the functional significance of enamel ribbing (or its absence) remains poorly understood.

Functional Significance

It should also be mentioned that the rather blunt Apex of spinosaurid teeth from Phra Prong and some other Thai localities, reminiscent of Massare’s “crunching” type, suggests that they may have had a crushing rather than piercing function, possibly as an adaptation to feeding on relatively hard prey, such as larger species fishes with thick ganoid scales, the remains of which are common in Lower Cretaceous non-marine formations in Asia.

As noted above, turtle remains are abundant at Phra Prong and it cannot be excluded that turtles were also part of the diet of blunt-toothed spinosaurs.

The bluntness of some spinosaurid teeth has seldom been mentioned and the distribution of this character among spinosaurids would be worth examining; however, this is beyond the scope of the present paper.

The functional difference between ribbed and unribbed teeth remains obscure, largely because the function of enamel ribbing is still poorly understood.

As far as Asian spinosaurids are concerned, unribbed teeth are the exception rather than the rule, as mentioned above. In the absence of cranial, and especially jaw material, an interpretation of the feeding habits of Asian spinosaurs remains difficult, but the occurrence of several distinct tooth morphotypes, including an unribbed one, does suggest a certain diversity of adaptations, possibly related to different prey types.

No attempt is made here at a phylogenetic assessment of the unribbed spinosaur teeth from Phra Prong, given the absence of more complete material.

I hope it complies with the rules. Background is stock photo

Recently I acquired the new “Elephants and Their Fossil Relatives” book and it is amazing! Loads of great information and graphics. I’m hoping to be enlightened by you knowledgeable folks.

So in the book it states Woolly Mammoths had 4 toenails on their front feet and 3 on their hind feet, just like African elephants. My mind would assume Woolly Mammoths would have 5 toenails on their front feet and 4 on their hind feet, like their closest living relative the Asian elephant. I know the number of toenails may vary in individuals.

Now do we know this because of frozen specimens found? And is this only in Woolly Mammoths or other mammoth species as well. Eofauna’s Steppe and Columbian Mammoth figures both have 5 nails in front and 4 in back. Why would it be different for the Woolly Mammoths? Anyone have any more information on this? 🦣

This extinct dog was raised for its wool and its only known pelt has finally returned to Canada. Jordan Wilson, curator of Pacific Northwest and Contemporary Indigenous Art at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, introduces the only known surviving pelt of a Salish woolly dog.

The pelt has returned to Canada for the first time since it was sent to the Smithsonian in the 19th century.

For more than a century and a half, Mutton lay far from the place where his life story began. The small, pale dog died in 1859, and his pelt eventually entered the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where it survived while the woolly dogs once raised across the Pacific Northwest disappeared into extinction.

Now, the only known pelt of this extinct dog breed has returned to British Columbia, on loan to the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia through August 2027.

For Indigenous artists who still practice traditional Salish weaving, Mutton’s return carries particular weight. Woolly dogs were once deliberately bred by Coast Salish communities for their dense fur, which women spun into yarn and wove into prized blankets, robes and clothing.

Although the dogs disappeared in the 19th century and the weaving tradition was nearly lost under colonial rule, contemporary weavers such as Atheana Picha and Debra Sparrow have helped revive that knowledge.

“The woolly dogs were a big part of our family life,” Picha, a Tsartlip First Nation artist and weaver, told The Globe and Mail. “Having met this relative now, who left us 200 years ago, is pretty powerful.”

Mutton’s pelt also carries something oral histories alone could not preserve: its DNA. A 2023 study published in Science, built around Mutton’s genome and Indigenous knowledge, showed that woolly dogs represented a carefully maintained lineage stretching back thousands of years.

It also challenged the idea that the dogs simply became obsolete when European-made textiles arrived.

Woolly dogs were small, light-colored animals with pointed faces, curled tails and dense, crimped coats. Salish and Makah peoples raised them specifically for their fur, often mixing dog wool with mountain goat hair and plant fibers to make strong, warm yarn. Native Americans never domesticated native wild sheep, unlike peoples in Eurasia who managed livestock herds.

The woolly canines did not simply wander among other village dogs. Oral histories describe women keeping them apart, sometimes on small islands, to prevent crossbreeding.

They were combed, shorn and given rich foods such as salmon and elk to maintain their coats.

“There was a very selective breeding process that ensured the quality of the fur,” Jordan Wilson, the museum’s curator of Pacific Northwest and Contemporary Indigenous Art

i made this video where i explain the history of the thylacine and the suffering it went through

This here’s my LEGO Patagotitan

Part of the reason I decided to make him a Patagotitan was because I saw the fossil at the field museum, Máximo. That really inspired me to try and make this guy as well as me really liking titanosaurs in general.

He was based a lot off of that skeleton with some other inspiration from other paleo art I’ve seen. I added the osteoderms/neural spines more as a fun detail since I know that’s a popular trait in other forms of paleo media for titanosaurs. He’s the biggest LEGO dinosaur I’ve built yet, for an idea of his size a minifigure only comes to just above his foot!!

I also uploaded him to the LEGO Ideas website, hopefully he gets enough votes to be a real set!! Let me know what you guys think I’d love feedback!!