#centrosaur

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Trick or treat!

Pachyrhinosaurus!

[he-who-needs-to-be-silenced]

Ressemblance

A little diabloceratops notices that an old bull has the same birth defect to his crest and feels… uhh…. Idk… i guess comforted?? Knowing that he’s not alone in the weird world of ceratopsian crests. The old bull also notices this and does a little bow of respect.

In the background there is an individual I call mace face, due to the fact the pathology on the crest originates from an ankylosaur or a pachycephalosaur hitting them in the face as a child, scratching themself. The relation of mace face to the other ones into the piece isn’t specific so feel free to headcannon (ideas of mine include: mother of baby, child of gramps, a & b, sibling of baby, and stranger)

[pixel-dinosaurs-daily]

achelousaurus horneri - centrosaurine - late cretaceous discovered by the lovely jack horner, this intimidating ceratopsid lady has Quite the eyebrows. she was part of a study relating to the debate of thermoregulation in dinosaurs- whether they could generate heat or not, like current avian dinosaurs and mammals. by analyzing oxygen isotopes in the fossils of dinosaurs found in the two medicine formation, paleontologists could pinpoint seasonal variations in body temperature! they found the variations pointed to achelousaurus and other dinosaurs in the formation being homeothermic endotherms- the same as our avian dinosaurs today!

higher resolution version and a link to the paper under the cut!

apologies the above article is locked by paywall D: i could rant for hours how much i hate research being locked like this But I Am Normal And Would Not Subject You To That :]

[paleopinesofficial]

my two centrosaurs keep headbutting each other and then both doing their happy wiggles and it's the CUTEST thing ever 😭💖💖 they're best friendsssss!!

they're BEST FRIENDS, that's insanely cute!

[saritawolff]

#Archovember Day 2 - Furcatoceratops elucidans

Hailing from Late Cretaceous Montana, USA, this centrosaur was first described in 2015 as a possible species of Avaceratops. However, this past year it was finally thoroughly described and found to represent a new genus and species: Furcatoceratops elucidans. Because of the disarticulated state of the fossil’s skull and skeleton, it is expected to be helpful in further study of ceratopsid osteology.

An early centrosaurine, Furcatoceratops is closely related to Nasutoceratops (who was originally going to go on this year’s list before Furcatoceratops was described!) Like other Centrosaurines, it likely ate tough low-lying plant material, and may have also used its sharp beak to scavenge. The Judith River Formation where Furcatoceratops was found seems to have had a very diverse community of ceratopsids, such as Avaceratops, Medusaceratops, Spiclypeus, and Judiceratops. It would have also shared its environment with the hadrosaurs Brachylophosaurus, Corythosaurus, and Probrachylophosaurus, as well as the ankylosaur Zuul. Furcatoceratops would have been preyed on by the tyrannosaurids Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus, as well as the giant alligatoroid Deinosuchus (who we will be seeing very soon).

[okapirose]

Out running errands with a few friends ♥

Cocoa Dipped Banana the Dilophosaur

Blueberry Crumble the Ankylosaur

Raspberry Mousse the Triceratops (friend, not helper yet)

and Strawberry Cream the Centrosaur

If you hadn't guessed, yes, ALL the dinos on this ranch are named after food lol

[balanceoflightanddark]

Agathaumas, the Lost Ceratopsian

I've talked about The Lost World (1925) a few times on this blog, partly due to it being the very first feature length film depicting dinosaurs, and partly due to how effective it is as a snapshot of dinosaurs during the early 1900s.

Anyone who has seen the film will note that there are actually two species of ceratopsians portrayed. The first is the more famous Triceratops, as seen in the photo above on the left.

The one on the right resembles a Triceratops, but looks a little...different. The nasal horn is a lot longer, the frill exhibiting more spikes, and it's hide more heavily armoured.

As you might've guessed, this isn't Triceratops. In fact...it's a dinosaur that may not have even existed.

Meet Agathaumas sylvestris ("marvelous forest-dweller"), one of the oldest described ceratopsians ever recorded. In fact, it was "discovered" before ceratopsians were even properly described.

The original partial remains (AMNH 4000) were discovered in 1873 by Fielding Bradford Meek and Henry Martyn Bannister near Black Butte and Bitter Creek in Wyoming. They were eventually sent to the famous paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope who initially described it as a hadrosaur due to how fragmentary the fossils were. It wasn't until his rival Othniel Marsh described Triceratops did Cope recognize it as a ceratopsian in 1889.

And here's where things get...interesting.

As anybody interested in paleontological topics should know, Cope and Marsh were locked in a fierce rivalry called the Bone Wars, where the two competed to find the most specimens and describe the most species. In a series of publications ("The horned dinosauria of the Laramie" from the American Naturalist) Cope initially didn't recognize the name "ceratopsid" as a proper family name (believing that the namesake Ceratops wasn't related), and even argued for his own classification: Agathaumids. Furthermore, he grouped 4 other of his discoveries together in this family: Monoclonius, Dysganus, Manospondylus, and Claorhynchus.

Despite his efforts, Cope's gambit ultimately failed when in 1907, Agathaumas's validity was challenged by John Bell Hatcher. Due to the fragmentary nature of the fossils, it was later reclassified as a pseudonym for Monoclonius. This isn't anything unique for species described in the Bone Wars due to the rush to name new animals. And to rub salt in the wound, all of the members of the Agathaumids were considered to be nomen dubium (doubtful name) while Marsh's name Ceratopsids was chosen as the classification for the group (The Ceratopsia).

Armor for Agathaumas – Incertae Sedis (wordpress.com)

So where does that leave Agathaumas and the original remains? Nowadays, while the remains are still considered a holotype, it's widely considered to be a centrosaur. The painting by Charles R. Knight as seen from above came from the species Agathaumas sphenocerus, later reclassified as a species of Monoclonius, which is now believed to have been described from specimens of Styracosaurus and Centrosaurus. The reconstruction would later be used for the animal's depiction in the 1925 The Lost World. The genus as a whole is now typically regarded as synonym for Marsh's dinosaur, Triceratops (in a bit of irony).

So while now considered nomen dubium, Agathaumas is still rather interesting due to how a once notable dinosaur fell victim to science marching on, and how it got caught in the center of a notorious rivalry.

A big thanks to the I Know Dino podcast for covering this. Feel free to check them out cause they have a lot of good material for dinosaur enthusiasts. Also feel free to check out any of the articles cited in the post if you want some additional reading, and this great video by E.D.G.E from YouTube.

Agathaumas | The Horned Dragon That Never Was - YouTube

[its-suanneschafer-author]

BOOK REVIEW: Dinosaur Summer by Greg Bear

Dinosaur Summer is a coming-of-age story set in an alternate past after the two world wars. On a plateau in South America, dinosaurs still exist. In the 1920s, the creatures were captured and used in circuses. The top circus at the time was the Lothar Gluck Circus which features avisaurs, centrosaurs, ankylosaurs, and a huge T. rex type predator named Dagger. Now in the 1940s, Gluck is retiring…

[iknowdino]

Episode 294: New Triassic dinosaur/pterosaur

I Know Dino Podcast Episode 294: New Triassic ornithodiran Kongonaphon, the "tiny bug slayer." It's from Madagascar and fills in some gaps in early #dinosaur and/or #pterosaur evolution.

Episode 294 is all about Albertaceratops, a relative of Styracosaurus (centrosaurine) that looks more like a Triceratops (chasmosaurine).

Big thanks to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on 

[artapir]

Operative from an interstellar agency monitoring human interference into developing sapient cultures pursued by an enraged Centrotaurion injured during the man’s earlier escape from the local authorities. His protocentauropsine companion is a condemned cultist whose people were converted to Christianity by human missionaries. She's urging him not to do anything rash, but do humans ever listen?? NOOOOOO. https://www.deviantart.com/thomastapir/art/Go-Down-Fighting-782936697

[j-gold-art]

Pachyrhinosaurus! Based on the boy from that set of 36 I did. Maybe I’ll do a few more?

As always, available on my redbubble!

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

trick or treat!

Einiosaurus!

[spacetime1969]

Surviving Jurassic World! A Brooklynn Exclusive! Welcome to Camp: Part 3

October 11th, Tweet from @DinosWithDarius

Sinoceratops. These centrosaurs can be identified by their distinct horns along the top of their frill. While usually calm, like most large herbivores, when spooked or cornered this dino is just as dangerous as any predator. #SurvivingJurassicWorld #DinosWithDarius

[Image ID: A looped GIF of Brooklynn and Darius walking towards a sinoceratops. They get too close and the dino bellows at them and turns toward them just before the GIF loops.]

October 13th, Instagram post by BrooklynnUnboxesOfficial:

[Image ID: Darius is sitting in a gyrosphere, one hand on the controls, the other gesturing outside. He has an excited grin on his face.]

New episode! Check out the very first Dinos with Darius in our newest episode of #SurvivingJurassicWorld

Check it out here!

October 13th, YouTube video posted to BrooklynnUnboxesTheWorld:

The video starts and Brooklynn is standing on top of a hill. Behind her, there is a herd of dinosaurs grazing. She isn’t smiling at first, which makes the sudden camera ready grin she switches to slightly off putting.

BROOKLYNN: Hey Brooklanders! Welcome back to Jurassic World! Today we’ll be getting up close and personal with these dinos using Jurassic World’s famous Gyrospheres!

As she says this she turns so that the gyrospheres come into view behind her. Before the video cuts, it shows Brooklynn holding her camera smile for a moment before letting it fall and stopping the video.

The video cuts to the view from the inside of the gyrosphere. The gyrosphere shifts for a moment before Darius’s voice comes from off camera, slightly awkwardly. She doesn't bother turning the camera to face him.

DARIUS: Hey, Brooklynn. Are you as stoked as I am for our gyrosphere adventure?

BROOKLYNN (apathetic): Sure, whatevs.

You can hear the doors slide close and then it rolls forward. As the sphere crests over the hill the dinosaurs come into view, Darius and Brooklynn both making amazed sounds. The camera pans up as they roll up to a brachiosaurus, showing just how big it is.

Brooklynn pans the camera to Darius who is sitting in the seat next to her.

BROOKLYNN (engaged): So Dino Nerd, you got any facts about these dinos that everyone would be interested in?

Darius seems surprised for a second, before grinning.

DARIUS: Yeah! So this herd seems to have five separate dino species. There’s brachiosaurus, parasaurolophus, sinoceratops, stegosauruses, and ankylosauruses.

Brooklynn interjects.

BROOKLYNN: So which ones which?

DARIUS: Oh right, sorry.

Darius points out into the herd and Brooklynn pans the camera to each dinosaur as Darius talks about them.

DARIUS: So first there's the brachiosauruses, they’re pretty easy to identify because they are the only sauropod in the herd. They use their long necks to forage for leaves in treetops, and they eat over 400kg of them a day!

This continues for several minutes. Darius identifies each dinosaur, explains their feeding patterns and behaviors, and their history with the park.

Brooklynn eventually turns the camera back to her.

BROOKLYNN: Well there you go Brooklanders! Dinos with Darius! If you guys enjoyed having more informative stuff like this, let me know down in the comments section and I’ll try to do it more often!

The video continues just long enough for Brooklynn to stop smiling and sigh, before cutting to the gyrosphere following a sinoceratops.

BROOKLYNN: Hey Brooklanders! Check this out! One of the dinos split off from the herd so we're all following her!

The video follows the dino as they chase it across the field, the other gyrospheres moving in and out of frame. They follow the dino until it turns suddenly, revealing a large rock. The camera moves wildly as Brooklynn lets go and then tries to catch it. There's a loud bang when the gyrosphere hits the rock, before Brooklynn catches the phone and the image stabilizes, showing Darius at an angle.

DARIUS: Sorry, that was close.

The camera turns around to show Brooklynn. She pulls a piece of gum out of her mouth and sticks it onto the phone. The camera flips around again and the camera goes back to facing the sinoceratops.

BROOKLYNN: Voila! Instant phone mount.

DARIUS: Great idea. And also, ew.

BROOKLYNN: Well, just keep driving, Dino Nerd.

DARIUS: Sure thing, Super Star.

The gyrosphere speeds up and approaches the sino.

BROOKLYNN: Come on Darius! Get closer!

DARIUS: Someone flank her on the other side and we can lead her back to the herd.

There's some muffled sounds from their communicators before Darius starts talking again.

DARIUS: I’ll cut her off. It’ll be fine Sammy.

The gyrosphere speeds up, the sino falling behind them. Suddenly Darius stops and turns the gyrosphere around to face the charging herbivore, the other gyrospheres coming up from behind. The dino comes to a stop and bellos angrily before turning and running back towards the herd. There’s some more sounds from the headsets but Darius and Brooklynn don’t reply to it, instead chasing after the dino again.

Passing the dino, Darius again flips the gyrosphere around, stopping in front of the dino and forcing her to stop.

The sinoceratops bellows again and charges them, smacking the gyrosphere and sending it, and the camera, spinning. There’s the sound of several impacts and startled dinosaurs heard over Darius and Brooklynn screaming. By the time the camera stabilizes to show a clear picture instead of a blur there are dinosaurs bellowing and stampeding all around them. Brooklynn and Darius continue to scream as the gyrosphere is smacked back and forth by panicked dinos.

The gyrosphere is sent spinning again, stopping only for a moment when they hit a stegosaurus that immediately sends them spinning again. Darius eventually manages to regain control and keeps the gyrosphere moving in a straight line.

Suddenly an ankylosaurus runs in front of them, causing them to yell and Darius to jerk the gyrosphere to a stop to try and avoid hitting it. They still hit the dino but it's more glancing then it would have been. They pause for a second before Brooklynn starts yelling.

BROOKLYNN: Go! Go, go, go, go!

Darius pushes the gyrosphere to full throttle and they accelerate rapidly into the forest. After they get farther into the forest they come to a stop, both panting audibly.

DARIUS: I think we lost them.

BROOKLYNN: I think we lost everyone.

Darius gasps before turning the gyrosphere to the side.

DARIUS: Look!

As Darius stops turning the sinoceratops they were following comes into view.

DARIUS: Okay think, sinoceratops are fast on open ground so we just need to corner her, then we can get her back to the herd.

BROOKLYNN: Great! Here we go! Another Brooklynn exclusive!

There’s the sound of the gyrosphere doors sliding open, and Brooklynn leans over to talk to the camera, coming into view.

BROOKLYNN: Keep watching, ‘cause it’s about to get real!

DARIUS: Wait, wait! Brooklynn, wait!

Brooklynn gets out of the gyrosphere and walks towards the sinoceratops, Darius hurrying after her. They get too close and the dino bellows and turns toward them.

BROOKLYNN: Too real! Too real!

The two campers run back to the gyrosphere, the doors closing as the sino charges at them. They scream from behind the camera as the dino rams the gyrosphere with its horn. The horn pierces the shell of the gyrosphere right in front of the camera, filling the entire view.

The view shifts up and down as the sinoceratops lifts the entire gyrosphere up on its horn, shaking it until it comes loose and goes spinning back into the forest again. The gyrosphere comes to a stop and Darius and Brooklynn start laughing, stopping suddenly when the view starts to dip, the gyrosphere sinking.

DARIUS: Okay this is fine, we just need to drive out of here.

There’s the sound of rattling as darius tries to get the gyrosphere to move.

DARIUS: Come on, come on. Why isn’t it moving?

BROOKLYNN: Let me try!

There’s the sound of shuffling for a moment before there is more rattling.

BROOKLYNN: Come on you stupid thing. Work!

Suddenly the gyrosphere starts spinning rapidly, but instead of moving out of the mud it only starts sinking faster. Brooklynn yelps and the gyrosphere immediately stops.

DARIUS: Stop! It’s only making us sink faster!

BROOKLYNN: Thanks for that captain obvious! I noticed!

DARIUS: It’s fine we just need to get the doors open and we can leave.

There's a pause.

DARIUS: They’re stuck.

BROOKLYNN: Well then get them unstuck!

DARIUS (yelling): What do you think I’m trying to do?

There’s banging as the two try and get the doors open. The video still showing the outside of the gyrosphere, slowly being swallowed by mud.

DARIUS: They're not opening!

BROOKLYNN: We need help!

DARIUS & BROOKLYNN (together): The headsets!

BROOKLYNN: Help! Can you hear us? We're stuck in a mud hole and we’re sinking!

The view of outside shifts suddenly and the mud climbs further up the shell of the gyrosphere.

BROOKLYNN: Help! Is anyone there!

DARIUS: Hello! Where are you guys? We need help!

BROOKLYNN: Anyone?

DARIUS: They’re not there. We need to get these doors open.

The banging starts up again, the kids panting and yelling as they try to escape.

DARIUS: It won’t budge! The mud is jamming the door shut.

BROOKLYNN: Try driving out again!

DARIUS: We’ll only sink deeper!

BROOKLYNN: Then you think of something Mr. Let's-Go-Corner-The-Dinosaur!

Suddenly the gyrosphere rolls upward, the two kids yelping and the camera moving to face the sky. The level of the mud isn’t visible any more but Brooklynn and Darius come into view and start pounding on the shell.

BROOKLYNN: Anybody! HELP!

DARIUS: Help!

They keep pounding.

BROOKLYNN (crying): No!

The kids stop pounding on the shell, panting and sniffling. They just sit there, frozen. The mud has risen far enough up that it’s visible again, climbing up from both sides of the gyrosphere.

Suddenly there’s a muffled sound of someone talking. Brooklynn and Darius react immediately, hands flying to the headsets in their ears.

DARIUS: Hello? Sammy?

They listen to the sound of the headsets, before standing up to look out over the mud. Brooklynn gasps excitedly.

DARIUS: Help!

BROOKLYNN: Help! Get us out of here!

BEN: Roxie? Dave? We’ve got a real emergence here!

There's a sound of running footsteps and then Kenji and Yaz appear above them and start trying to lift the gyrosphere out.

YAZ: I can’t grab ahold of it!

KENJI: It’s too heavy!

BEN: It’s gonna pull you under!

Kenji and Yaz yelp and disappear from the view.

BEN (worried): Uh guys…

There’s an audible snort from what sounds like the sinoceratops, and Ben yelps. The dino bellows and the mud continues to rise, still blocking any view of what’s happening.

SAMMY: I’ve got an idea.

YAZ: What are you doing?

BEN: What? Wait!

The dino bellows angrily again and Sammy’s brief fearful yelp can be heard. Darius and Brooklynn are pressed up against the gyrosphere shell, watching intently. The dino continues to bellow, though more quietly, and Sammy can be heard speaking, but most of what she’s saying is too quiet for the camera to pick up.

SAMMY (barely audible): I’ll trust you if you trust me.

There’s a snort from the sinoceratops and Darius and Brooklynn sigh in relief, only to tense up again when they notice how high the mud has gotten.

DARIUS: G-guys!

BROOKLYNN: Real touching and all, but we’re still gonna die!

DARIUS: Help!

SAMMY: Hurry! Give me those vines!

There’s the sound of the other campers rushing around as the gyrosphere sinks deeper and deeper into the mud. Suddenly a vine gets thrown onto the gyrosphere, next to the hole where the sinoceratops rammed it.

YAZ: Take the vine and tie it to the gyrosphere!

BROOKLYNN: Got it!

Brooklynn reaches through the hole and pulls the vine into the gyrosphere, handing it to Darius who immediately starts tying it to the seats of the gyrosphere. The mud starts to rapidly close over the top of the gyrosphere as darius finishes tying the vines. He reaches out the hole and gives a thumbs up just before the mud closes over the hole. Everything goes black and Darius and Brooklynn both scream in fright.

DARIUS: Brooklynn! Help me plug the hole!

BROOKLYNN: I’m trying! I can’t see!

Suddenly the two yelp and there’s the sound of them falling against the floor. Before long the camera is able to see again, going from black darkness to a lighter and lighter view of mud as the gyrosphere is lifted out of the pit. As mud begins to slide off Yaz comes into view attacking the door with a stick. She manages to wedge it into a crack and forces it open, turning back to check on Darius and Brooklynn, who are out of view of the camera because everything shifted.

DARIUS: Hey.

Yas falls to the ground and laughs, before throwing her head back and cheering, the other campers joining her in the camera view with their own excited noises.

BEN: It worked!

SAMMY: Alright! Alright!

KENJI: Cowgirl for the win!

The two high five and Brooklynn grabs the phone from where it’s stuck to the dash of the gyrosphere. She turns it back to Sammy as she starts talking.

SAMMY: Hey look! It’s Dave and Roxie! Hey!

She waves to them as Ben falls to his knees with a sigh of relief. Brooklynn leans out of the gyrosphere with the camera to show a shocked looking Dave and Roxie sitting in their truck. The sinoceratops bellows from behind them.

The video cuts and Brooklynn is now standing in front of the sino.

BROOKLYNN: Here we are guys! Take a look at this dino! We followed her here into the forest, and Sammy got her to calm down with her mad cowgirl skills!

Brooklynn's voice gets softer as she walks closer to the sinoceratops, glancing briefly at someone off camera before reaching out to pet it.

BROOKLYNN: I promised I'd get you all up close with dinosaurs, and here we are! Petting a real live sinoceratops!

Brooklynn takes a moment to pet the dinosaur before turning back to the camera.

BROOKLYNN: Well Brooklanders, that's all for today! Make sure to like and subscribe! And I'll see you all next time on Brooklynn Unboxes… Camp Cretaceous! Bye!

Brooklynn grins.

BROOKLYNN: Let’s see you call that boring!

The camera fades to black before fading back in to show two short silent clips, Sammy taking a saliva swab from the sinoceratops, and security footage of Sammy stealing Brooklynn’s phone from the common room.

Video End

October 14th, Instagram post by BrooklynnUnboxesOfficial:

[Video ID: The video starts showing the campers sitting on the couch where they announced the series in their updated looks. They wave before Brooklynn starts talking.

BROOKLYNN: Hey everyone! We wanted to announce a Q&A that we will be doing for the next video!

DARIUS: We noticed that a lot of people have questions about our experiences and the series, so we’re going to do a Q&A live stream for our next video. So if you have any questions about the series so far let us know in the comments!

SAMMY: Thanks for watching y'all! See you next week!

ALL: Bye!

YAZ: Camp fam out! Peace!]

Leave a comment if you have any questions about the series and we’ll answer them in our Q&A!

——————————————————————————————

AN: For the Q&A thing, if you have ideas please leave comments about  questions that viewers of the series might ask, or questions that you are wondering about. I’d really appreciate the help!

Master Post | Beginning | Previous | Next

[sciencespies]

Malignant bone cancer has been diagnosed in a dinosaur for the first time ever

https://sciencespies.com/nature/malignant-bone-cancer-has-been-diagnosed-in-a-dinosaur-for-the-first-time-ever/

Malignant bone cancer has been diagnosed in a dinosaur for the first time ever

A palaeontologist, a medical pathologist, and an orthopaedic surgeon walk into a museum. No, it’s not the start of a joke, but the research team that has now diagnosed the first confirmed case of aggressive bone cancer in a dinosaur.

The specimen in question is a fossilised shin bone from Centrosaurus apertus, a plant-eating horned dinosaur that lived and died roughly 76 million years ago.

What looked – at least on first impression – like a poorly healed fracture turned out to be a tumour engrossing the upper half of the animal’s shin bone, or fibula. The centrosaurus was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma; it’s the most common type of bone cancer in humans, but marks the first confirmed case of any malignant cancer we’ve found in a dinosaur.

“Here, we show the unmistakable signature of advanced bone cancer in [a] 76-million-year-old horned dinosaur – the first of its kind,” said pathologist Mark Crowther. “It’s very exciting.”

The shin bone, with the main tumour mass in yellow. (Danielle Dufault/Royal Ontario Museum/McMaster University)

In humans, osteosarcomas often affect growth-spurting teenagers and young adults. If an osteosarcoma metastasises – grows beyond the bone – it most often spreads to the lungs, but can also form tumours in other bones, and even the brain.

However curious we are about the evolution of diseases such as cancer, soft tissues like tendons, ligaments, bone marrow and tumours, are rarely preserved in fossils. Given a few years – let alone a million – these tissues would decay. So even if dinosaurs were regularly struck down by cancer, any diagnostic samples are going to be hard to find.

Scientists have come across similar cancer-like symptoms on dinosaur fossils before. Unusual lesions in the tail vertebrae of a young hadrosaur resembled a condition called Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a complex cancer which leaves room for debate over its manifestation. In the case of this most recent discovery, the malignancy is far more clear.

The cancer-stricken fossilised shin bone of C. apertus was unearthed in Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada back in 1989, and had been stored at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, outside of Calgary, until its recent reanalysis.

Cross sections of the C. apertus bone were taken first with a CT scanner, the same machine used to identify bone fractures and tumours in people. The X-ray image ‘slices’ were reconstructed to see how the tumour grew through the fossilised bone.

In fact, it had spread through the bone quite extensively, which the team of medical specialists took as a sign that this centrosaur lived with its cancer for quite some time.

Artist’s impression of Centrosaurus apertus. (Royal Ontario Museum/McMaster University)

“This discovery reminds us of the common biological links throughout the animal kingdom and reinforces the theory that osteosarcoma tends to affect bones when and where they are growing most rapidly,” said Seper Ekhtiari, an orthopaedic surgeon-in-training at McMaster University in Toronto, who examined the fossil.

As the cancer was so advanced, the researchers think it might have spread to other parts of the dinosaur’s body, but we don’t have any of those tissue samples – such as the spongy lungs – from this ancient animal to make sure.

“The shin bone shows aggressive cancer at an advanced stage,” said paleontologist David Evans. “The cancer would have had crippling effects on the individual and made it very vulnerable to the formidable tyrannosaur predators of the time.”

After imaging the cancerous shin bone, thin sections were carefully sliced off the fossil and compared to a normal C. apertus fibula, along with one case of human osteosarcoma, from a 19-year-old man who had it in his lower leg.

In their paper, the authors note that ”a similarly advanced osteosarcoma in a human patient, left untreated, would certainly be fatal.”

But they suspect the dinosaur died with its herd mates, possibly in a sudden flood event, because the fossil was found in a massive bed of Centrosaurus bones.

“The fact that this plant-eating dinosaur lived in a large, protective herd may have allowed it to survive longer than it normally would have with such a devastating disease,” Evans said.

And when we often marvel at the age of dinosaurs and their size, big and small, this latest medical discovery brings the plight of the dinosaurs a little closer to home.  

“Evidence suggests that malignancies, including bone cancers, are rooted quite deeply in the evolutionary history of organisms,” the authors concluded. Yes, even dinosaurs.

The study is published in medical journal The Lancet Oncology.

#Nature

[doorbloggr]

Thursday 15/7/21- Monster Hunter Ceratopsians

Monster Hunter is a series I've discussed on this blog earlier. As a dinosaur enthusiast it is a very interesting series because although all of the Monsters are fantasy creatures, usually leaning into a dragonic design, there is very heavy dinosaur inspiration that actually parallel real dinosaur species fairly well (well except that they're dragons).

Today I wanna talk about the ceratopsian-headed flying wyverns Diablos and Monoblos, and how they mirror real ceratopsian diversity.

Above: Diablos, Below: Monoblos

The Monster Hunter world has its own rules for how monsters are named, although sometimes names derive from other real world languages. Large flying dragons are often named with the suffix -los for example, Rathalos and Astalos.

Diablos's obvious name inspiration is the Spanish Diablo, meaning Devil. But the Monster Hunter languages also seem to use -blos to mean horn, because Diablos has a relative called Monoblos. Diablos has two brow horns that bend down and forward, Monoblos has one nasal horn that shallowly curves upwards.

Although this might just seem to be a shallow homage to how different ceratopsian dinosaurs looked, it also a nod to two specific species and the split between ceratopsian lineages.

Ceratopsians (horn faces) are categorised into two lineages, the Chasmosaurs, that had longer brow horns and tall neck frills, and the Centrosaurs, that had large nose horns and shorter neck frills.

(Left) Chasmosaurus, a very typical Chasmosaur, Johan Egerkrans

(Right) Centrosaurus, a very typical Centrosaur, Gabriel Ugueto

You may think to yourself hey, isn't that conflicting with the pattern that Diablos and Monoblos display? Well that's because these two monsters pay homeage to two specific Ceratopsian species that are actually exceptions to the general trend of their families.

Skulls of Diablos and Monoblos (@the-picklepike)

Diablos is based on Triceratops, an obvious connection. Specifically the subspecies, Triceratops horridus, which had recurved brow horns, unlike the straight horns of its sister species T. porsus. And Triceratops had an unusually small frill for a Chasmosaur. So this parallel checks out.

Triceratops, Gabriel Ugueto

Diablos, Monster Hunter Stories

Monoblos is based Styracosaurus, another popular ceratopsian, known for its long single nose horn. Styracosaurus also had quite a large frill for a Centrosaur, and also had long horns jutting out of that frill called parietal horns. So this checks out too as a fairly faithful parallel.

Styracosaurus, atrox1 deviantart

Monoblos, Monster Hunter Stories

Obviously the fact that these two monsters have angry sharp mouths, a bipedal dragon body and nodosaur tail clubs is not accurate to their dinosaur counterparts, but they're fantasy creatures, so they're allowed to have fun. In universe, Diablos and Monoblos are in fact herbivorous, just very territorial, so that's another interesting homage to their ceratopsian inspiration.

Thankyou for stopping to read this if you did, and I hope I gave you something interesting to chew on. I talk about dinosaurs a lot on this blog so feel free to have a browse.

[goldenvicious]

Right you asked for this the other day so here we go, All 29 dinosaurs discovered this year

Therapoda

-Ceratosuchops, spinosaur found on the Isle of Wight -Riparovenator, same as above [Anthem's Best Name Award] -Ulughbegsaurus, Uzbekistani carcharodontosaur -Pendraig, basal therapod from Pant-y-ffynnon, Wales -Llukalkan, Argentian abelisaur -Kurupi, Brazilian abelisaur -Kansaignathus, Tajikstani dromaeosaur -Shri, Mongolian dromaeosaur -Ypupiara, unenlagiine dromaeosaur from Brazil -Tamarro, Spanish troodontid -Papilliovenator, Chinese troodontid

Ornithopoda

-Meneffeeceratops, ceratopsian found in New Mexico USA -Sierraceratops, same as above, but a chasmosaur rather than a centrosaur -Sinocephale, new name for Chinese Stegoceras species -Spicomellus, ankylosaurian from Morocco, with spikes fused onto its ribs [Anthem's Funkiest Discovery Award] -Tlatolophus, Mexican parasaurolophin hadrosaur -Ornatops, New Mexican brachylophosaurin hadrosaur -Yamatosaurus, basal Japanese hadrosaur -Portellosaurus, Spanish hadrosauroid -Fylax, Spanish hadrosauromorph -Napaisaurus, Chinese iguanodontian

Sauropoda

-Australotitan, Australian titanosaur -Hamititan, Chinese titanosaur -Ninjatitan, Argentinian titanosaur [Anthem's Worst Name Award] -Menucocelsior, another Argentianian titanosaur -Arrudititan, Brazillian titanosaur -Arackar, Chilean titanosaur -Silutitan, Chinese euhelopodid -Dzharatitanis, Uzbkistani rebbachiosaur

The fact that it's nearly the end of the year and i didn't hear about any of these before astounds me

Ty for telling me!