#embolotherium

[pleistocene-pride]

Embolotherium is an extinct genus of brontothere that lived throughout what is now Asia during the late Eocene epoch some 41 to 34 million years ago. The first remains known of embolotherium consisted of several partial skulls recovered from the Ulan Gochu formation of Inner Mongolia, which were described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1929. With the name Embolotherium coming from the greek emboli meaning wedge and therion meaning beast, translating fully to either wedge beast or battering ram beast. Since then several additional skulls, jaws, and a variety of other skeletal elements have been recovered from both the Ulan Gochu formation as well as the Ergilin Dzo Formation of Outer Mongolia. With there being two species recognized today: Embolotherium andrewsi and Embolotherium granger. Additionally another genus of brontothere, Titanodectes, which was named for several lower jaws found in the same sedimentary deposits as Embolotherium, probably represents the same animal. Though a complete skeleton of embolotherium has yet to be recovered, it is estimated that this beast would have reached around 8.2ft (2.5m) tall at the shoulder, 15.2ft (4.6m) in length, and 7,200 to 8,400lbs (3265 to 3810kgs) in weight. Unlike many of the other Late Eocene brontotheres, there is no clear evidence that Embolotherium was sexually dimorphic. All known specimens have large rams. Therefore, coupled with the fact that the rams were hollow and fragile in comparison to the solid and sturdy horns of the North American brontotheres, such as Megacerops, it does not seem likely that the ram served as a weapon for contests between males. Rather, it might have had a non-sexual function, such as signaling to each other. The ram may have served as a specialized resonator for sound production. This hypothesis is suggested by the fact that the bony nasal cavity extends to the peak of the ram, thus implying that the nasal chamber was greatly elevated, possibly creating a resonating chamber.

Art used can be found at the following links

https://nixillustration.com/tag/embolotherium/

[knuppitalism-with-ue]

Results from the #paleostream!

A spec evo wish by Bear Rangell, Embolotherium (another wish), Saadanius (newest #MonkeyCruise) and Protuberum.

[fizzledlines]

Embolotherium. gouache on paper

[scienceambersandfantasy]

Brontothere

Megacerops protects cubs (Jan Sovak)

1. Megacerops coloradensis

2.Embolotherium grangeri

3.Metamynodon planifrons (Metamynodon is actually an amynodont)

brontotheres, with uintatheres, being the best small brained herbivores

Grigorosuchus Hunting a Gondwanian Multiungulate

[a-book-of-creatures]

Wtf happened to Embolotherium’s face

Got a humongous snuffleupagous

PALEOGENE animals chart

these are some of the many animals featured in my new video dedicated to the Paleogene Period

__  it's not also available at Redbubble for prints and more here  ________

Instagram

Youtube channel

Prints and more merch

[bhramarii]

patience

[paleoart]

She can’t let go.

Embolotherium mother and calf

Patreon • Ko-fi • Facebook  • Twitter • Prints & Merch

[alphynix]

Weird Heads Month #16: Big Honking Snoots

The dinoceratans featured here a few days ago were some of the first large mammalian herbivores to evolve in the Cenozoic, but during the Eocene they were joined by another group: the even bigger brontotheres.

Part of the odd-toed ungulate lineage, brontotheres convergently resembled rhinos but were actually much more closely related to horses. And much like the dinoceratans they also had some unusual heads, with some species evolving concave foreheads and sexually dimorphic ossicone-like pairs of blunt horns on their noses.

But others went really weird.

Embolotherium andrewsi lived in Mongolia during the late Eocene, around 37-34 million years ago. Standing around 2.5m tall at the shoulder (8'2"), it was one of the largest brontotheres and also one of the oddest-looking.

It had a large bony "battering ram" at the front of its snout, formed from modified nasal bones – and while some reconstructions tend to shrinkwrap this structure as a horn, the fact that the nasal cavity appears to have extended all the way to its tip suggests that it was actually supporting a huge bulbous nose.

Since Embolotherium also doesn't seem to have been sexually dimorphic like other brontotheres, its enormous ridiculous-looking snoot may instead have been a resonating chamber used for sound production and communication.

———

Nix Illustration | Tumblr | Pillowfort | Twitter | Patreon

[esmaniottoart]

Sketch_Embarassed Embolotherium.

Pencils, 2019.

[ask-palaeoblr]

Where were Embolotheriums nostrils (likely) at? I've seen reconstructions with the nostrils on the side of the face where a rhinoceros' nostrils are but I've also seen the nostrils placed at the top of their horn/ram things

[makairodonx]

“In the course of twenty million years, mammals got more and more successful until they were the biggest, fiercest, and most spectacular animals on the planet. Whatever the climate, whatever the habitat, mammals made it their own. Their great strength was their ability to adapt. They grew to gigantic sizes, they evolved into powerful killers like the famous sabre-tooth cats, and they even laid claim to the oceans.”

- Kenneth Branagh, prologue to “Walking with Beasts”

Sketches of some of the incredible wildlife of the Cenozoic Era. None of the animals are exactly shown to scale. From left to right, bottom to top:

Arctocyon, Barylambda, Coryphodon, Titanoboa

Uintatherium, Notharctus, Mesonyx, Eobasileus

Leptictidium, Gastornis, Propaleotherium, Titanomyra, Godinotia, Pakicetus, Ambulocetus

Apidium, Arsinotitherium, Andrewsarchus, Embolotherium, Moeritherium, Dorudon, Basilosaurus, Perucetus

Megacerops, Cainotherium, Merycoidodon

Cynodictis, Paraceratherium, Hyaenodon gigas, Chalicotherium, Paraentelodon

Gentilicamelus, Amphicyon, Daeodon, Moropus, Dinocrocuta, Platybelodon, Gomphotherium, Pelagornis, Purussasaurus, Odobenoceratops, Otodus megalodon

Phoruschracos, Astrapotherium, Teleoceras, Synthetoceras, Samotherium, Livyatan

Australopithecus afarensis, Deinotherium, Ancylotherium, Dinofelis

Mammuthus columbi, Smilodon fatalis, Bison latifrons, Aenocyon dirus, Arctodus simus, Panthera atrox, Titanotylopus, Equus hersternus, Sivatherium, Gigantopithecus, Paleoloxodon

Smilodon populator, Macrauchenia, Doedicurus, Megatherium, Glyptodon, Toxodon

Mammuthus primigenius, Megaloceros giganteus, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Bos primigenius, Homo neanderthalensis, Elasmotherium, Bison bonasus

[veloci-raptor]

Flocking Together

Proapteryx

Jeholopterus

Styxosaurus

Embolotherium

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

For the late birthday of the late Marin Mizuta, Akira gets his room absolutely thrashed by an Embolotherium.

Oh come on...I didn't even kill that one!

[neovenatorgirlteeth]

HEHEHE HIII, what are YOUR favourite dinosaurs/prehistoric species!!

OOOOOOOHHH BAPY ITS TIME. Thanks for asking!!!! I could literally talk about dinosaurs and palaeontology for days without stopping if you’d let me. You have opened Pandora’s box and it ain’t shutting.

Sosososo I’ve always been a fan of the sauropods, and Brachiosaurus was my first favourite dinosaur, but it was pretty quickly overtaken by Sauroposeidon!! This behemoth from middle Cretaceous USA has often been restored as a pumped-up Brachiosaurus due to its incomplete nature, leading to height estimates of up to 18m tall!!!! MAKING IT THE TALLEST ANIMAL TO EVER EXIST!!!!!! That’s pretty sick in my opinion, though more recent estimates have shaved it down to a still impressive 15m after considering its place on the sauropod evolutionary tree, closer to the titanosaurs than Brachiosaurus is. Sorry I couldn’t help but say my piece about Sauroposeidon while I had the opportunity. It’s still my favourite dinosaur, though the mysterious Bruhathkayosaurus did hold the title for a little while when I was like 8? 9? And I sometimes consider Dreadnoughtus to be joint favourite thanks to a combination of Prehistoric Planet and some talks that I listened to by its discoverer, Kenneth Lacovara.

OTHER FAVOURITE (non avilaean) DINOSAURS INCLUDE, in no particular order:

SAUROPODOMORPHS

Dreadnoughtus, as I mentioned

Unaysaurus

Argentinosaurus

Apatosaurus, PALAEOACCURATE ONLY

Mamenchisaurus

Liaoningtitan

Brachiosaurus

Dzharatitanis

THEROPODS

Dakotaraptor, thanks to Saurian

Latenivenatrix

Zhenyuanlong, thanks to Steve Brusatte

Therizinosaurus

Anzu, again, Saurian

Khaan

Yutyrannus, particularly when restored with the headcrest

Juratyrant

Gorgosaurus

Metriacanthosaurus

Saurophaganax, mainly because it has a kickass name

Carcharodontosaurus

Neovenator, obviously

Eustreptospondylus

Baryonyx

Oxalaia, which is really fun to say

Masiakasaurus

Dracovenator, like Dilophosaurus but more obscure. And from South Africa.

Coelophysis

ORNITHISCHIANS

Triceratops

Turanoceratops

Protoceratops, thanks to Dinosaur Planet

Stegoceras

Aralosaurus

Edmontosaurus, particularly E.annetens

Saurolophus

Charonosaurus, like Parasaurolophus but more obscure. And from China.

Maiasaura, because in BestInSlot hated it in Jurassic World Evolution so it reflexively became one of my favourites out of spite/pity. It’s also cool in its own right don’t get me wrong.

Orodromeus. Hee hee. She dig

Lurdusaurus. I actually think it was Beasts of Bermuda that sold me on this one

Altirhinus. The schnoz on this man

Iguanodon

Rhabdodon

Dryosaurus

Heterodontosaurus

Scelidosaurus, particularly after seeing Prehistoric Kingdom’s rendering of it

Jakapil, newly discovered and straight on the list babey

Stegosaurus

Tuojiangosaurus. Spikey

Sauropelta

Borealopelta. WE KNOW WHAT COLOUR IT WAS!!!!

Ankylosaurus

Saiachania. Yes it is because of Dinosaur King.

Crichtonsaurus

Ok I lied there was an order. I sorted them by taxonomic Order. Also sorry there was so many I kept thinking of more. That was 52 I total??? 53 if you include Sauroposeidon. I just couldn’t decide.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!!!!!

Particularly as of recent, I’ve become really interested in non-dinosaurs, particularly the megafauna of Cenozoic South America. Though I do have a side blog dedicated to lomg whale Basilosaurus, it’s tying with the terror bird Devincenzia for the top spot I think.

OTHER FAVOURITES INCLUDE:

BIRDS

Kelenken, another terror bird

Gastornis, thought to be terror bird-esque up until recently when it was revealed to be a fruit eater

Dinornis, the Moa

Hieriaaetus, Haast’s Eagle

Confusciousornis

Anchiornis, if you consider it a bird

Vegavis

MAMMALS

Megatherium, the largest of the giant ground sloths

Doedicurus

Panochtus

Macrauchenia

Toxodon, which probably lived like a hippo

Thylacosmilus

Hyaenodon, in all its many species

Enteldon, my favourite of the Entelodonts

Embolotherium, the best looking brontothere imo

Chalicotherium

Ancylotherium. I would say thanks to walking with beasts but I think that applies to too many animals here.

Deinotherium

Platybelodon, which I stumbled across in an old encyclopaedia with a friend and had a good laugh at

Coelodonta

Paraceratherium

Leptictidium. The schnoz on this man.

NON-DINOSAURIAN ARCHOSAURS

Hatzegopteryx. WHADDA GAL AMIRITE?

Barbaridactus, thanks to Prehistoric Planet

Tupandactylus

Tropeognathus, thanks to Walking With Dinosaurs, even if they do call it Ornithocheirus.

Thalassodromeus

Istiodactylus

Germanodactylus

Archosaurus. The schnoz on this man

Silesaurus, which is NOT a dinosaur

Desmatosuchus

Saurosuchus, a big land croc

Redondasaurus, one of the largest Phytosaura

Erythrosuchus, with its huge stupid head

Areripesuchus

Dakosaurus, a sea croc

Plesiosuchus, one of the largest sea crocs

Purussaurus

Barinasuchus

Quinkana, the last of the land crocs

NON-ARCHOSAURIAN SAUROPSIDS

Varanus priscus, aka Megalania

Mosasaurus

Tylosaurus

Thalassotitan, also because it has a kickass name

Platecarpus

Pliosaurus, particularly P. rossicus

Kimmerosaurus

Rhomaleosaurus

Tuarangisaurus

Nothosaurus

Temnodontosaurus

Opthalmosaurus

Tanystropheus. NECK

Longisquama

Coelurosauravus. It’s a liddle flying lizard!

Scutosaurus. Chonky dude

NON-MAMMALIAN SYNAPSIDS

Inostrancevia, thanks to Primeval

Lycaenops

Diictodon

Placerias

Lystrosaurus, the survivor

Estemmenosuchus

Tapinocephalus, a barrel of a beast

Edaphosaurus

Dimetrodon

Ophiacodon

NON-AMNIOTE CHORDATES

Koolasuchus, the last of the giant amphibians

Metoposaurus

Prionosuchus

Anthracosaurus

Hynerpeton, thanks to Walking With Monsters

Macnamaraspis

Xiphactinus

Thrissops

Cladoselache, a shark relative

OTHER

Arthropleura

Pulmonoscorpius

Pterygotus

Lyrarapax

Opabinia. IT HAS 5 EYES!!!!

Perisphinctes, a Jurassic ammonite

Belemnotheutis, a Jurassic belemnite

Paradoxoides, a Cambrian trilobite

Ok that’s finally everything. APART FROM THE PLANTS no I’m joking. You see what I said about days? Yeah.

Thank you again for the ask! I hope this wasn’t to much :3

[majingojira]

Dinosaur Representation in Film

Just on a lark, I decided to go over as many dinosaur films (features, as well as theatrical shorts) and see just how often things were represented.  Here are a few things I learned. 

Tyrannosaurus rex is by far the most popular dinosaur, with 72 showings that I was able to track down.  

The top 10 Dinosaurs overall were: 

Tyrannosaurus

Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus

Triceratops

Stegosaurus

Parasaurolophus/Charonosaurus

“Velociraptor”/Dakotaraptor

Brachiosaurus

Allosaurus

Ankylosaurus

Saurolophus

Top 10 Theraopds:

Tyrannosaurus

Velociraptor/Dakotaraptor

Allosaurus

Ornithomimis/Struthiomimus

Ceratosaurus

Deinonychus

Carnotaurus

Compsognathus

Gallimimus

Troodon

Top 5 Sauropods

Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus

Brachiosaurus

Diplodocus

Supersaurus/Ultrasauros

Alamosaurus

Top 5 Ornithopods:

Parasaurolophus/Charonosaurus

Saurolophus

Edmontosaurus/Trachodon/Anatosaurus/Anatotitan

Iguanodon

Hypsolophodon

Top 4 Thyrophora

Stegosaurus

Ankylosaurus

Kentrosaurus

Polacanthus

Top 5 Marginocephalia

Triceratops

Styracosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus

Centrosaurus/Monoclonius

Chasmosaurus

There are 14 The Land Before Time films.  This skews some numbering a little (Saurolophus wouldn’t be so high without it, and its absence would put Ceratosaurus tied with Ornithomimus/Struthiomimus would in the top 10 dinosaurs, and ).  

There are movies that show off amazing things like Therizinosaurs, Microcaptor, and Oviraptorids, but most of them are from Asia (India, Korea, and Japan).  

Prehistoric Mammal diversity is pretty weird in film. 

“Gigantopithicus”

Megalonyx/Ground Sloth

Wooly Mammoth

Cronopio (”Saber-Toothed Squirrel”)

Ape-Man/Neanderthal

Smilodon

Glyptodon

Paleotherium

Embolotherium

Megacerops

As with The Land Before Time, Ice Age and its related films skews the mammal ones, but does add some fun things to the list. 

It does force out Uintatherium and Eohippus.  

Among pterosaurs, Ptreranodon dominates worse than even T. rex.  And that’s not taking into account Geosternbergia.  

Similarly, Elasmosaurus dominates sea-going reptiles, but not AS much.  Mosasaurus is a close second.  

Archaeopteryx and a Phoruschacoid dominate bird appearances. 

Among arthropods, giant prehistoric scorpions actually outnumber giant, prehistoric spiders.  

I ended up classifying some animals as Ludodactylus, Erythrosuchus, and Shringasaurus.  And I feel I shouldn’t have to explain why.  

Dimetrodon was the most commonly shown Permian animal, but I was surprised to find both Edaphosaurus and Scutusaurus in proper movies! 

[primeval--schism]

@downwithwritersblock

Guess I should probably link back to the prompts I’ve been using, huh? Anyway this one had me stumped, because everything I wanted to write for it was way way too spoilery, and I wanted to keep sharing these. So I didn’t even know what I was going to do for this one until yesterday.

-

Guide

-

Connor Temple’s Unofficial Guide to Surviving an Incursion

Don't panic. If you start panicking, you’re going to make a stupid choice that could get you killed. So just... don’t.

But I mean, it’s understandable if you do. I panic on a routine basis. Which actually probably accounts for the inordinate amount of near death experiences.

If you do panic, hide. That’s the only safe thing to do if you panic. Running might get you killed. Trying to confront the creature or get it back to the anomaly without a team or a plan could get you killed. Live to fight another day.

What was number three?

Oh, right. If anybody is with you, stay close. Creatures tend to act like the antagonist in a horror film, they’ll pick you off one by one. There’s safety in numbers.

Unless you’re facing a herd of Embolotherium. Then it’s actually numbers that will get you killed. In that case, there’s not really anything to do except to stay out of their way. Which is actually a lot harder than it sounds.

Oh, right, and keep quiet. Most creatures have far better hearing than us humans. You may not be able to hear them, but they can probably hear you. Especially the Future Predator. Actually, if you come face to face with a Future Predator, make a lot of noise. They have extra sensitive hearing, and loud noises will disorient them. Then run. Fast.

One last thing. Stay away from the anomalies. If you can manage to get whatever creature back through where it belongs, great. But seriously, stay out of the anomalies. Or you might just find yourself as the only person on the planet.

---------------------------------------------

I might write more to go with this later. It was fun.