#paleontologist ama

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I know it's such a highly popular dinosaur but are they any interesting facts about the Tyrannosaurus Rex that isn't well known? I still love the Rexes wishing more dinosaur media treated it in the same way nature documentaries treat modern carnivores as animals just trying to surive and not just ripping up every living thing they encounter.

T. rex is actually one of the best studied (non-neornithine) dinosaurs ever, period. In fact, writing all the interesting facts we know about it is... more work than I particularly want to do right now, lol.

some things off the top of my head:

it wasn't built for moving fast in terms of miles per hour or whatever, but they were built for extreme cursoriality in other ways. Essentially, T. rex and its relatives were built for turning, quickly, on a dime. And they moved faster than the herbivores they were chasing. So these were animals built for short, surprise attacks on their prey. And ballet dancing

T. rex had the best sense of smell... ever. Like, ever ever. And its eyesight and hearing were good too. It had a fairly large brain for where it is in the dinosaur family tree, as well. Essentially, this was a dinosaur built to take in as much sensory info as possible, to pinpoint prey as quickly as possible.

T. rex aged kind of like people! IE, the process of going from infant -> sexually and skeletally mature adult takes about the same amount of time, with similar stages happening at similar times. So, T. rex had an awkward teenage phase! They were tall, but very skinny and lanky, and many researchers think that different ages of Tyrannosaurus filled different niches, with bigger rexes eating larger prey and the teens eating smaller faster dinosaurs.

That said, there's lots of evidence for familial groups and social life in Tyrannosaurs, based on fossilization patterns and footprint records. So it's very likely they took care of their young, and hunted in groups.

did they have feathers? no idea. they're big enough to have lost them for thermoregulation like many other dinosaurs did. they are in a group that have some big feathered animals, though, like Yutyrannus. Maybe babies had feathers and adults lost them. Maybe adults kept them some places and not others. We do know that there are parts of the Tyrannosaurus adult body that had scales. Beyond that - whether feathers were present too, or not - we don't know.

it was not skeletally sexually dimorphic. however, we do know that some tyrannosaurs were female because the fossilized when they were in the process of making eggs. during this process, dinosaurs - including living birds - deposit extra tissue in their bones called medullary bone. This tissue stores calcium to make eggshells from later. It's only present in actively ovulating female dinosaurs. So, we know some of our fossils were making eggs when they died!

the arms were small, yeah, but they were VERY strong. these weren't vestigial organs, yet, though their shortness was mainly due to the strengthening of the neck muscles. T. rex interacted with the world primarily with its head and jaws. The arms would have been helpful with holding on during mating, or possibly for display.

it wasn't a scavenger. it was an opportunist. No predators today avoid easy meals - life is all about minimizing energy spent to get more energy. But obligate scavengers tend to be flying organisms, ones that can cover huge distances, in order to find enough carrion. T. rex was definitely a predator, and had to hunt occasionally, but wouldn't turn up its nose at an easy meal.

T. rex lived all over western north america, right at the end of the age of dinosaurs. It was one of the most successful nonavian dinosaurs, ever, and would probably not have gone extinct so quickly if there hadn't been an asteroid.

[paleopinesofficial]

Megalosaurus Comparison

ALT TEXT: Two Megalosaurus; One drawn by a palaeontologist, another is a 3D Artist rendition of the Megalosaurus in the game 'Paleo Pines'. On the left, the megalo is scaled in browns and dark greens. On the right, Paleo Pines' megalo is a bit chunkier, mostly blues, and is standing in the middle of a forest environment.

Our resident Paleontologist, Natalia Jagielska is back again - this time giving us some insider information about the Megalosaurus

The Bare Bone Basics:

A bulky carnivore with a large head, an apex predator haunting small islands that once made up Middle-Jurassic British Isles. It was a far cry from carnivorous giants of the Cretaceous, but already showcasing the ferocity of theropods and foreshadowing things to come. The animal grew up surrounded by flying pterosaurs and long-necked sauropods.

An Interesting Story:

Megalosaurus wasn't the largest or most nefarious of theropod dinosaurs, but it was among the more important regarding its role in palaeontological history. Its fossils were recovered as far back as 1699, before people knew what dinosaur bone was, with one leg bone being famously labelled as a petrified human body part! It was the first extinct dinosaur to be properly described and named, and illustrated by Mary Morland in the early 19th century. Thanks to it we've got the word Dinosaurs!

The Known Unknowns:

We don't have the full skeleton of the Megalosaurus, so our understanding of its anatomy and size comes from filling in the gaps and extrapolation using fossils of other similarly sized and anatomically analogous dinosaurs from other formations and locations. This is the case for much of the known species of dinosaurs, as the fossil record rarely preserves full-in-tact well-preserved skeletons. It also means we sometimes might get things wrong and that even long-known dinosaurs still hold many mysteries.

How did our own in-game Megalosaurus rate?

Natalia gives our chonker a 4/5. "Teeth definitively smaller, more numerous, and likely covered by lips; love the plantigrade stance."

Wishlist Paleo Pines to find your own Megas in the wild! News Alert!!! Be sure to catch Natalia tonight in our Discord for an AMA. They'll be talking all things dinos so start prepping your questions now...

[whatthefuckerin]

Imagine marrying an archeologist or paleontologist and they name a full body of dinosaur bones they found after you, I think that would be romantic.

[topofreddit]

Science AMA Series: I’m Siobhán Cooke, paleontologist, professor and adventurer looking for fossil clues to inform how we preserve the future. AMA!

Original post | Reddit thread

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Some "Theme Park Trip" Headcanons For More Modern AU Valice/Vemilicia

Inspired by the fact that I've gone to my fair share of theme parks, most recently Six Flags New England and Canobie Lake Park this summer (the latter just last Sunday, in fact!), and have very fond memories of taking vacations to Universal Studios Florida when I was younger:

-->As you might guess from the header there, I'm generally picturing these theme park escapades with Victor, Alice, Victoria, and Emily all going together. The rest of the headcanons work the same if it's a double date between two separate couples, or a group date with a polycule, so I decided to leave the possibility of poly open. Depending on the verse, Lizzie and Bonejangles would probably like to tag along at least once too.

-->Victor and Victoria are frightened of roller coasters at first, but Alice and Emily eventually tempt them to try one of the gentler wooden coasters (which obviously can't go upside-down or anything), and they end up enjoying that. They graduate up to steel coasters as time goes on, but I don't think either of them ever gets up the nerve to try a coaster where your feet dangle -- they like proper cars with seat belts and lap bars.

-->In fact, Alice is the only one who will go on the biggest and baddest coasters, especially the dangling ones. Emily's enthusiasm for the rides only goes so far, and -- well. She tries a couple of the more intense ones, and the resultant losing her lunch convinces her to stick with the coasters Victor and Victoria like.

-->Water rides are a favorite with all four -- again, Victor and Victoria need some coaxing to get on their first one, but they soon come to enjoy it. Though Victoria never breaks the habit of squealing really loudly when they hit the final big splash and get soaked. (The others think it's adorable.)

-->Victor actually quite likes those chain swing rides that rise up and whirl you around -- given how he's always wanted to fly, it's a good substitute!

-->They're all fond of spinning cup rides, especially when the theme is actual teacups. They'll often ride multiple times in different configurations, and sometimes have little spin contests where it's one pair versus another. (Victor's long arms make him a much-wanted partner!)

-->They definitely take every opportunity to load up on junk food! They each have staples too -- Alice likes getting a bag or tub of popcorn; Emily will get a stick of cotton candy; Victoria enjoys funnel cakes or doughboys, whichever they have; and Victor always gets a giant ice cream sundae.

-->Emily insists they always take a bunch of silly pictures in front of rides and at every photo opportunity. Alice makes a habit of kissing Victor in what she feels is the worst place to take a photo of someone kissing every time. (Victor puts up the occasional token protest, but he's actually got his favorite as his phone lockscreen.)

-->For a more "magical" universe -- remember the "Alice vs ALICE" fan-comic series where you had Disney's animated Alice hanging out with American McGee's Alice? One of the arcs was them visiting Disneyland, with one specific comic showing off AMA Alice's dress changing with each new area, much like it changed with the domains in A:MR. Given my love of designing new Wonderland outfits for Victor and Alice. . . I have a few outfit ideas in mind already, themed around Universal's Islands of Adventures in Florida (as that's the park I've been to with the most distinct theming so far):

1. Superhero costumes for the Marvel island (maybe Victor could have something with a spider pattern of some sort, since I've made enough jokes about him climbing as well as Spidey)

2. Either paleontologist shorts and shirts or a dress and suit combo with a dinosaur theme for Jurassic Park island (you know, scale-pattern cloth, maybe a fake tail in the back, some feather detailing to catch up with what we know currently about the beasties)

3. Harry Potter robes for the Harry Potter island, natch (I'm thinking Gryffindor for Alice, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw for Victor)

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

i do not know who birdsrightsactivist is sorry. but im bird!

hi bird!

birdsrightsactivist is a silly twitter account of someone pretending to be a bird. or a european robin (I think, that was the bird in the icon) actually learned how to use twitter. one of the two. this account created some timeless memes, like

I am feel uncomfortable when we are not about me?

and

maybe i should paint some of your babby and hide them around see how you like it / happy ester. i have hidden ur human childs.

and

i been working on my summer bod: it the same as my regular body, but this time more popsackles in it.

and

why birds decide to go from being big dinosaucers to small puf u ask??? to. fit. inside. doritos. bag.

^ I can confirm that one personally as the caretaker of a parrot that keeps going for the doritos even though we say "no" because, well, not good for bird.

anyways, hello bird!

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

As a former human child I’ve always wanted to know: how exactly does one become a paleontologist?

okay there are lots of ways. this is my way

have parents that, while poor, value education and learning

have significantly older siblings that do not care about appropriateness for children in terms of television content

bc of b, see jurassic park as an infant

bc of that, and land before time, fall in love with dinosaurs

be neurodivergent

become OBSESSED with dinosaurs

bc of a, have parents encourage this and rent me all the documentaries

learn everything about dinosaurs

when asked "why do you like them" at age 5, answer "because their evolution is cool"

survive elementary school

survive middle school

do a lot of science stuff in school

do science competitions in high school

remain obsessed with dinosaurs/birds and other reptiles and prehistoric life

survive high school

go to college

major in biology

do research in evolution and the cambrian explosion

graduate

go to graduate school to become an evolutionary developmental biologist because your parents wanted you to do genetics bc they thought it had a better chance of me getting a job

be miserable during that program

only derive joy from docenting at the field museum and going to dino science conferences

cut out with a masters' when you realize you can't take it anymore

ponder being a rabbi for a while bc maybe you're not cut out for science

go to a dino conference online and actually network with a paleontologist who wants students

interview with him and find he has a lot of research interests in common with you

apply to the school, get accepted

move across the fucking country (chicago -> new mexico)

work hard because this is your second chance and you have *meds* now

help describe a bird in the first year

have a really holistic and ambitious thesis project idea

paleontologist now, I guess

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

what's your favorite paleo fact and why?

that is *way* too broad of a question. I know so many facts and they're all awesome. I need it narrowed down!

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

stegouros is my favorite dino puppy do you have a favorite dino puppy?

I think I need the term "dino puppy" defined before I know my answer

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I’ve missed mariasanguis

Ah, but see, now we’ve said it’s name three times, and much like with beetlejuice…

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

My fave dino is probably velociraptor. But not because of JP. But because of Dinosaur Planet. I saw JP before that and it was the small spark of interest in dinos, but when I saw DP and saw White Tips Journey, I was hooked. I looked at White Tip and my little five or so year old brain went: Birds with TEETH. I remember running around the yard pretending to be a black version of those raptors and hunting my prey and making nests and stuff. Yes I'm also neurodivergent

Dinosaur Planet was such a great doc. Honestly, Discovery Channel at the time was doing great stuff with their dinosaur depictions - both Dinosaur Planet and When Dinosaurs Roamed America portratyed them as birdie and fluffy, something Walking With never really did. So, points to the Discovery Docs! Major points! White Tip's journey is such a great segment. And honestly, influenced my raptor designs for years. Thank you for confirming that falling in love with pointy birbs was a universal neurodivergent response to that documentary!

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

what’s ur favourite extinct arthropod? 👀

this is a weird answer, but its a tie between the last few trilobite species in the last age of the Permian (two different Acropyge species and a handful of Pseudophillipsia species). They aren't particularly visually interesting for trilobites, or weird or anything like that. But they're the last of a dying breed. They're a dead clade walking. And they're the remnants of one of the greatest groups of organisms to ever exist. the fact that they clung to existence through two major mass extinctions previously. The fact that they were still around at all. But couldn't survive the great dying.

I love them. I love them for their tragedy.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

What’s your favorite *fossil*? Like, mine is the holotype of Allosaurus jimmadseni because it has a radioactive skull and that’s just. Cool as all hell. (Although it’s stiff competition with the Borealopelta “mummy” and any giant millipede trackways.) I’m curious about your fav. 👀

the Sinosauropteryx that changed the world. Like, yes, that's a basic answer, but here's the thing: I remember that day. My mom read the newspaper every morning, and she always shared paleontology news with me. And she was just so excited, and she showed me the fluffy dinosaur fossil picture in the newspaper, and *I* was so excited. I was four, but I knew what this fossil meant. See, at that point, all the skeletal evidence pointed to birds being dinos, but we didn't have other evidence beyond that, leading to a lot of skepticism (what we now call BANDits, but it was more common then). You can see that in PBS' The Dinosaurs!, A&E Dinosaur, and others. Birds are called dinosaurs, but with an asterisk of doubt. But this feathered dinosaur confirmed it. It sealed the deal. And in 1996, that was the coolest thing in the world. Cool enough for me, a four year old, and my mom, a social scientist & stay at home mom, to understand how important it was, and for the memory of the first time I saw it - in a grainy newspaper photograph - to be burned into my brain.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Fluffiest bird, go

I can't answer this unbiasedly because I have five parrots

but it's Minerva

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Thoughts on that supposed fish eating Ankylosaur found a few years ago?

extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and so far, nah, don't see any. maybe it did swim - most animals can swim - but fish eating? Nah.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Say the asteroid never hit. How long do you think it would be until the dinosauria fauna evolved into something different? I want to know so I can be as scientifically accurate as possible with this one novel I'm writing

I mean, I think they would have continuously evolved just like birds did. In fact, birds would have probably evolved somewhat similarly, though with competition from other birdie dinosaurs and some small pterosaurs. There's not a lot of research on exactly how much the asteroid affected in terms of long term damage or alterations to the ecosystem - we know there was an impact winter for a while after the initial worldwide wildfires, but it's unclear whether or not the subsequent dramatic climatic shifts of the Paleocene would have still happened or not. So I think you could use the rough outline of the Cenozoic as it happened in our world as a baseline if you want, since it seems the Asteroid did not cause these climatic changes. It did, however, have a huge affect on plants - forests that were evenly mixed conifers and flowering plants became flowering plant dominated. Eventually, this would lead to the dominance and spread of grasslands. So if no asteroid, there's no Latin America - style rainforests; and there's probably fewer grasslands (though grasses had evolved by the end Cretaceous, so they may have still arose when the climates dried in the Oligocene and Miocene). The ice would have definitely grown over Antarctica in that time, leading to the first glaciation; eventually, the second one over the North Poll would occur, leading to what we know as the Ice Age.

Probably. Again, everything is extremely interconnected, butterfly flapping wings type shit, but the majority of evidence indicates this explanation at this time.

So, you'd need the dinosaur clades that existed in the Maastrichtian - too many to list, but you got titanosaurs, coelurosaurs (inclusive), abelisaurs, ankylosaurs, ceratopsians, and ornithopods aplenty - adapting to:

rapidly warming world (with possible spread of flowering plants, or at least an increase?)

peak warming 10 million years after the not-asteroid (56 mya) and a world covered in tropical forests (with some arid locals as well)

A stable, warm world for a long time in the Eocene

Shift to drying ecosystems at the end of the Eocene with major climatic implications that cause a minor mass extinction at the end of the epoch

the first glaciation and growth of ice over Antarctica and subsequent lowering of sea levels and drying of continents

the subsequent growth and takeover of c4 grasses

the second glaciation & start of the cycle we know as the "ice age"

so...

dinosaurs might have gotten smaller on average, or forests were still very spacious across the world during the PETM, maybe it wasn't nearly as forested because dinosaurs forced them that way - but it did get warm even for mesozoic dinosaurs during that time. It would have had an effect.

dinosaurs then adapting to a drier world and a world with ice in Antarctica - lots of dinosaurs lived in Antarctica in the mesozoic (well, they do today too!), that is a major extinction waiting to happen in that part of the world, possibly worldwide. It probably happened to the mammals that lived there in our timeline.

then dinosaurs reacting to **grass.**

then dinosaurs dealing with the ice age.

So you have to account for that whole timeline and build changes on one another through all of that turmoil.

the cenozoic is a fun time.