Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Illustrated by Zhao Chuang
As we approach the fourth anniversary of the ground-breaking work on Spinosaurus aegyptiacus published in September 2014 by Ibrahim et al, which depicted this North African theropod as a quadruped, very much at home in aquatic environments, we thought we would feature an illustration of Spinosaurus by Zhao Chuang.
An Illustration of the Dinosaur Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
An illustration of the Cretaceous theropod from North Africa – Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.
Picture credit: Zhao Chuang
The Artwork of Zhao Chuang
Zhao Chuang is a scientific illustrator and palaeo-artist who has been responsible for providing the artwork to accompany numerous dinosaur and pterosaur fossil discoveries. His work has been published in leading academic journals such as “Nature” and “Science and Cell”. He has collaborated with several museums and research institutions including the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chicago University and the American Museum of Natural History, based in New York.
The 1:35 scale PNSO Essien the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus model.
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
The picture (above) shows a PNSO Spinosaurus figure. The artist Zhao Chuang is a prominent member of the PNSO team.
Visitors to the amazing exhibition “Dinosaurs of China – ground shakers to feathered flyers”, held last year at Wollaton Hall and the Lakeside Arts Centre (Nottingham, England), will have viewed a number of his works, as the prehistoric life illustrations of Zhao Chuang formed many or the backdrops and information panels to the fossils on display.
The front portion of the Spinosaurus as depicted by Zhao Chuang is a spectacular piece of art. It is always a pleasure to feature the illustrations of palaeo-artists on this blog.
Chinese Fossils Show How Insects Came to Rule the World
A lot of work has been carried out by scientists to try to understand how marine and terrestrial ecosystems recovered after the End Permian extinction event that wiped out some 95% of all life on Earth.
The focus has been largely orientated towards how the vertebrates recovered, the rise of the dinosaurs, for example. However, relatively little research has been undertaken to examine how insects recovered and diversified over the Triassic. One of the main reasons for this, has been the lack of insect fossils from the Lower and Middle Triassic to study.
Chinese Fossils
A scientific paper that details the amazing fossil discoveries from two locations in China, is helping to change this and plug a gap in our understanding about the evolution and radiation of the most specious group of animals on Earth.
A Treasure Trove of Insect Fossils from China Reflect the Rapid Diversity of the Insect Fauna
Photographs of typical insect fossils from Tongchuan and Karamay entomofaunas.
Picture credit: Zheng at al
Writing in the academic journal “Science Advances”, a joint Chinese/UK-based team of scientists have reported on the hundreds of insect fossils excavated from two sites in north-western China. The researchers have discovered the earliest known fossils of several modern insect groups and also provided new insights into the early evolution of freshwater ecosystems.
New Evidence for Understanding the Process of Insect Diversification
The researchers which included scientists from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, excavated two sites, one dating from the late Ladinian faunal stage (Tongchuan entomofauna), dated to around 238-237 million years ago. The second location represents slightly younger deposits, dating from the Carnian faunal stage (Karamay entomofauna).
The Tongchuan entomofauna was found to consist of at least twenty-eight insect families representing eleven orders, making it the most specious and diverse of all the Triassic deposits where insect fossils have been discovered. The Karamay entomofauna consisted of ten insect families in six orders, including the earliest known examples of water boatmen and caddisfly cases. The discovery of water boatmen insect fossils in strata dating from the Carnian faunal stage, is the earliest record of aquatic insects. These fossils suggest that many of the modern insect ecosystems were in place around 230 million years ago, far earlier than previously thought.
The Insect Fossils from North-western China Reveal a Diverse and Modern Insect Population
Beautifully preserved insect wing fossils from the Tongchuan and Karamay entomofaunas.
Picture credit: Zheng at al
Diversification of Insects (Aquatic Insects)
The researchers conclude that the hundreds of insect fossils indicate that a modern insect biota was established earlier in the Mesozoic than previously thought. In addition, the diversification of aquatic insects had been thought to be part of the “Mesozoic Lacustrine Revolution”, which dates to the Middle Mesozoic. This study suggests, however, that this diversification had already begun by the Middle Triassic, thus providing new insights into the early evolution of freshwater ecosystems.
The research team, which included a contributor based at the London Natural History Museum, conclude that over the period of the Early Triassic a number of new types of plants evolved and spread and the evolution of vegetation very probably contributed to the radiation and diversification of insect faunas.
A Beautifully Preserved Wing from a Planthopper Insect (Tongchuan Entomofauna)
The fossilised wing of a planthopper insect (Boreocixius) a fossil representing the wide range of insects from the Tongchuan biota.
Illuminating the Evolution of Animal Life – Humbling Thoughts
Recently two scientific papers have been published that delve deep into the origins of life on Earth. In one paper, published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA”, the origins of animal body plans (Animalia) were explored, analysing the anatomical designs of animals, looking at how animal life half a billion years ago evolved and changed over time to bring us the biodiversity we see today and that which is preserved in the fossil record.
Tracing the Origins of the Animalia
This study mapped shared characteristics and one of the conclusions drawn from the research was that all those weird and wonderful Cambrian creatures, as preserved in the Burgess Shales of British Columbia or in the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of Greenland, are actually less weird than the butterflies and birds that you might see in your own garden.
The Body Plans of Bizarre Cambrian Creatures Such as Hallucigenia are not that Bizarre According to a New Study
A Hallucigenia specimen (Royal Ontario Museum). The red arrow is pointing towards a teardrop shaped object that might represent the fossilised remains of this strange creature’s head.
Picture credit: Royal Ontario Museum/Dr Jean Bernard Caron with additional annotation by Everything Dinosaur
In the second scientific paper, which shares a number of authors with the first publication and was published last month in the journal “Nature: Ecology & Evolution”, researchers examined the evolution of all life as a whole, conducting research using a new molecular clock analysis to plot a unified timescale for the early evolution of life on our planet.
What is the Molecular Clock?
The idea of a molecular clock is based on the idea that evolutionary changes occur at regular time intervals, that the rate of genetic change (mutation), has remained constant over time. The molecular clock uses this premise, it plots the number of differences in the genomes of two living species (for example a human and a bacterium) and these changes are proportional to the time since they shared a common ancestor.
Using this methodology, the scientists, from the universities of Bath and Bristol were able to avoid putting too much reliance on a very fragmentary and often highly controversial early life fossil record.
This research team concluded that the last universal common ancestor of cellular life existed more than 3.9 billion years ago and that the crown clades of two primary divisions of life – Eubacteria and Archaebacteria emerged less than 3.4 billion years ago. Furthermore, the scientists concluded that modern eukaryotes (organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within membranes – animals, protists, plants and fungi), don’t constitute a primary lineage of life and emerged relatively late during life on Earth’s evolutionary history (around <1.84 billion years ago).
Eukaryote Cell Compared to the Prokaryote Cell Typical of Eubacteria and Archaebacteria
Simple diagram showing differences in eukaryote cells and prokaryote cells. In a new study, scientists conclude that prokaryotes such as Eubacteria and Archaebacteria emerged less than 3.4 billion years ago whilst our branch of life on Earth, the eukaryotes emerged much more recently about 1.84 billion years ago.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Did Animal Body Plans Emerge Over Deep Time or Come About in Response to Sudden Changes?
This was the question that the researchers set out to answer in the paper published the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA”. It is agreed that complex animal life evolved from single celled eukaryotes and that multi-cellular animals diversified into thirty or forty distinct anatomical body plans, but when and how did these body plans emerge? Were the majority of these different body plans already in existence after the Cambrian explosion, some 500 million years ago?
To answer these questions the research team, consisting of scientists from Bristol University, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the University of West Georgia, looked at features from living groups of animals and cross-referenced those characteristics against what can be identified from the fossil record.
Professor Philip Donoghue (Bristol University) a co-author of both scientific papers explained:
“This allowed us to create a ‘shape space’ for animal body plans, quantifying their similarities and differences. Our results show that fundamental evolutionary change was not limited to an early burst of evolutionary experimentation. Animal designs have continued to evolve to the present day, not gradually as Darwin predicted, but in fits and starts, episodically through their evolutionary history.”
Mapping the Evolution of Different Types of Animal Body Plan
Grouping similar body plans and separating dissimilar body plans in the Animalia.
Picture credit: Bristol University
The research team propose that major expansions in the type of animal following the Cambrian explosion aligns with other major ecological transitions such as the conquest of terrestrial environments.
Bradley Deline (University of West Georgia) added:
“Our results are important in that they highlight the patterns and pathways in which animal body plans evolved. Many of the animals we are familiar with today are objectively bizarre compared with the Cambrian weird wonders. Frankly, butterflies and birds are stranger than anything swimming in the ancient sea.”
Trying to Fit Extinct Animals into the Study
Contributors to both scientific papers, James Clark (Bristol University) and Mark Puttick (Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath), looked at how fossils could be incorporated into this research.
Dr Puttick stated:
“One of the problems we had is that our study is mostly based on living species and we needed to include fossils. We solved the problem through a combination of analysing the fossils and using computer models of evolution.”
James Clark added:
“The fossils plot intermediate of their living relatives in shape space. This means that the distinctiveness of living groups is a consequence of the extinction of their evolutionary intermediates. Therefore, animals appear different because of their history rather than unpreserved jumps in anatomy.”
Studying the Genomes of Different Animals (Animalia)
Jenny Greenwood, also from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, wanted to explore how this study might be reflected in the genomes of different organisms. She wanted to work out which of the many proposed genetic mechanisms drove the evolution of animal body plans.
Jenny commented:
“We did this by collecting data on the different genomes, proteins, and regulatory genes, that living animal groups possess. The differences in anatomical designs correlate with regulatory gene sets, but not the type or diversity of proteins. This indicates that it is the evolution of genetic regulation of embryology that precipitated the evolution of animal biodiversity.”
These researchers have concluded that animal evolution has been permitted or driven by gene regulatory evolution.
Two Papers Helping to Improve our Understanding of the Evolution of Life on Earth
“Mike and Sue” – the Calymene trilobites. The Cambrian also the rapid diversification of the Trilobita. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the help of a press release from Bristol University in the compilation of this article.
The two scientific papers:
“Integrated Genomic and Fossil Evidence Illuminates Life’s Early Evolution and Eukaryote Origin” by Holly C. Betts, Mark N. Puttick, James W. Clark, Tom A. Williams, Philip C.J. Donoghue and Davide Pisani published in the journal Nature: Ecology & Evolution.
“Evolution of Metazoan Morphological Disparity” by B. Deline, J. Greenwood, J. Clark, M. Puttick, K. Peterson and P. Donoghue published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Terrible Blow to the Fossil Heritage of South America
The scientific community is beginning to come to terms with the devastating fire that took place last Sunday night (2nd September), that left the historic Museu Nacional located in Rio de Janeiro a gutted ruin. The fire tore through the museum, Brazil’s oldest scientific institution (founded in 1818), media reports state that much of the collection, some 20 million items of cultural and scientific interest have been destroyed. The extent of the loss has yet to be confirmed but it is likely that the majority of the artefacts housed in the building have been lost, or damaged beyond repair.
The Impact of the Fire on the Fossil Collection and Palaeontology
Many of the invertebrate specimens and smaller vertebrate fossils were housed in metal cabinets. These cabinets may have survived the fire but the condition of the fossils inside remains unknown. The palaeontology exhibits section of the museum was utterly destroyed as confirmed by aerial views of the museum building taken yesterday. Fortunately, as Everything Dinosaur understands the situation, a significant proportion of the fish and reptile collections were housed in a separate building and have not been affected by the fire. However, it is likely that many of the unique dinosaur, pterosaur and other prehistoric animal fossils documenting the ancient fauna of South America have been lost to science.
Much of the vertebrate fossil collection was excavated from Cretaceous-aged deposits from the Araripe Basin of Brazil, notably from the Crato Formation which dates from the Early Cretaceous. It is likely that many fossils of dinosaurs and pterosaurs including many holotypes will have been lost as a result of this tragic fire.
One Likely Casualty the Holotype of the Spinosaurid Oxalaia quilombensis
Evidence of giant spinosaur? Specimen MN 6117-V, holotype of Oxalaia quilombensis likely lost in the museum fire.
Picture credit: Kellner et al
The Loss of Irreplaceable Specimens
Whilst it is noted, that thankfully, no-one was injured during the fire, this tragedy has resulted in the likely loss of thousands of irreplaceable specimens and artefacts, as well as the research notes, papers, reports and other documents of numerous scientists. The laboratories and preparation areas will have been extensively damaged, this is a real blow for the scientific community of Brazil and their colleagues and counterparts throughout the world.
The Crato Formation is famous for its dinosaur and pterosaur fossils, but in addition, more than three hundred types of insect have been identified, both aquatic and terrestrial species and even magnificent aerial hunters like dragonflies.
A Rare Dragonfly Fossil from the Crato Formation Could Specimens Like This Have Been Lost Too?
Odonta fossil from the Crato Formation of Brazil. Museum specimen MN 7936-I.
Picture credit: Museu Nacional
The Impact on the Pterosauria
The Museu Nacional housed a number of holotype specimens of pterosaurs. Several genera of flying reptiles are only known from the Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil and their fossils were part of the vertebrate palaeontology collection of the museum. Pterosaur fossils are exceptionally rare and virtually all of the fossil material associated with these genera was stored in the Rio de Janeiro museum. Potential losses include the holotype of Tapejara wellnhoferi, plus other tapejarid postcranial material including wing impressions, the holotype of Tupuxuara longicristatus, a braincase associated with Anhanguera, plus a holotype associated with Nyctosaurus lamegoi.
The Impact on Pterosaur Research May Be Particularly Severe
A number of pterosaurs that model collectors will be familiar with have been affected by the fire. Fossils related to these well-known flying reptiles are believed to have been destroyed in the fire.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The President of Brazil Michael Temer has described the loss of the exhibits, specimens and artefacts as “incalculable to Brazil”. The devastating fire and the subsequent loss of so many items in what was one of South America’s largest natural history collections, made last Sunday, a sad day for the whole of science.
By Mike|2023-10-28T18:30:41+01:00September 3rd, 2018|General Teaching|Comments Off on Back to School with Everything Dinosaur
Back to School with Everything Dinosaur
It is the start of the new academic year and Everything Dinosaur team members like lots of teachers and teaching assistants, are busy finalising plans for the upcoming autumn term.
Many primary schools are kicking off their Reception (Foundation Stage Two) and Key Stage One schemes of work with a dinosaur themed term topic. Topic areas such as “Jurassic Forest” and “Dinosaur Planet” can be linked to core elements of the national curriculum such as English to help the pupils develop an understanding of non-chronological reports and non-fiction writing, whereas, in science, the topic area can link to work exploring carnivores, herbivores, omnivores and food webs.
Everything Dinosaur Making Preparations for the Autumn Term
Dinosaur fossils have been found all over the world, studying prehistoric animals can assist with the children learning about the world’s continents and oceans, helping to support geography teaching in schools.
The Art and Design element of the curriculum can be included by challenging the children to use drawings and paintings of prehistoric animals to help them develop their imagination and to share their ideas. Lots of different resources such as pasta shapes, straws, stencils and charcoal can be used in creative art and design projects to help the children learn more about the properties of different materials.
Prehistoric Animals Helping to Support the Art and Design Elements of the Curriculum
Dinosaur salt dough fossils spotted at a school. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture Credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Creative Curriculum – History
Learning about events beyond living memory by studying the time of the dinosaurs – the Triassic, Jurassic and the Cretaceous geological periods. The science element can further be supported by incorporating how and why palaeontologists study fossils. Learning about fossils can provide a real sense of discovery at the heart of the term topic.
Historical figures can be introduced, such as learning about the life and contribution to science made by Mary Anning, a fossil collector and amateur palaeontologist from Dorset (southern England).
Studying the Life and Works of Mary Anning Dove-tails into the History Section of the National Curriculum
Helping Year 4 to learn all about scientists.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Dinosaurs as a term topic provides lots of important “touch points” to the curriculum. Furthermore, such an exciting and challenging topic area can really help young learners to settle down and to make good progress as they start the new school year.
For further information about Everything Dinosaur’s work in schools and outreach work: Email Everything Dinosaur.
Please remember to include the name and postcode of your school, plus, it would be helpful if you could let us know the age of the children.
Study of Marine Reptile Teeth Hints at Faunal Turnover as Sea Levels Changed
New research undertaken by scientists at Edinburgh University in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bristol, analysing marine reptile teeth, has revealed that marine faunal turnover during the Jurassic could well reflect what is likely to happen to apex marine predators today, as sea levels rise.
With global warming, so sea levels are likely to rise as ice sheets and glaciers melt. This will have a significant impact on our planet, not least of all for our own species, but scientists are trying to predict the extent of the impact on changing sea levels on marine food chains and ecosystems. Computer modelling can help, but surprisingly, so can studying the fossils of long extinct sea creatures.
Studying Marine Reptile Teeth
Sea levels have risen and fallen on numerous occasions throughout deep geological time. It really is a question of history repeating itself and the scientists writing in the academic journal “Nature: Ecology & Evolution”, report on the study of marine reptile teeth fossils from the Jurassic, which shed light on how reptiles adapted to major environmental changes and how these adaptations might provide a useful metaphor for extant marine life.
The researchers conclude that marine predators that lived in deep waters during the Jurassic Period, thrived as sea levels rose, whilst in contrast, those species that lived in shallower environments, such as near-coastal areas, became extinct.
A Jurassic Marine Ecosystem (Jurassic Sub-Boreal Seaway)
A Jurassic marine ecosystem. A life reconstruction based on fossils found in the Oxford Clay Formation (England).
Picture credit: Nikolay Zverkov
The picture (above) depicts a marine ecosystem from the late Middle Jurassic (Callovian faunal stage). A marine crocodile (metriorhynchid crocodyliform) avoids the attention of a large pliosaur attacking a plesiosaur, whilst sharks and a pair of giant, filter feeding Leedsichthys swim nearby. A trio of ammonites can be seen (bottom right).
Marine Food Chains Unchanged for 150 Million Years
The study also indicates that the broad structure of food chains in today’s oceans have remained largely unchanged since the Middle Jurassic. Naturally, the species are very different with mammals taking over the role once occupied by many types of extinct marine reptile, but the underlying structure of the food chain remains similar to what you would have seen had you been scuba diving in the shallow, tropical Jurassic Sub-Boreal Seaway some 160 million years ago.
For more than 18 million years, a very diverse, reptile-dominated megafauna co-existed in the Jurassic Sub-Boreal Seaway, a stretch of shallow water that covered present-day northern France to Yorkshire on England’s north-east coast. By examining the shape and size of teeth spanning this 18-million-year period when sea levels fluctuated, the researchers found that species belonged to one of five groups based on their teeth, diet and which part of the ocean they inhabited.
Five Feeding Groups Identified Based on the Shape of Fossil Teeth
The fossil teeth were placed into one of five groups depending on their shape. The shape of the tooth provides a guide to the feeding strategy of the animal and using this data plotted against rising and falling sea levels, the researchers were able to plot how the marine animal populations changed over time as sea levels fluctuated.
The five groups (referred to as feeding guilds), identified were:
Pierce
Generalist
Cut
Smash
Crunch
One of the key findings of the study, was that those predators with fine, piercing teeth useful for grabbing fast-moving, slippery prey such as small fish and squid made up a substantial portion of the marine predator population around 165 million years ago (Callovian faunal stage), when sea levels were low and the water relatively shallow. However, as sea levels rose and the sea became much deeper, the teeth of these types of predators were less common in younger rocks dating from around 150 million years ago (Tithonian faunal stage of the Late Jurassic).
Using Fossil Teeth to Map How Marine Apex Predator Populations Changed Over Time
A study of fossil teeth identified five types of feeding guild in Jurassic seas. The fossil finds were then plotted against data for changing sea levels to map how animal populations changed as the environment changed.
Picture credit: Nature: Ecology & Evolution
The scientists concluded that the pattern that was identified is very similar to the food chain structure of modern oceans, where many different species are able to co-exist in the same area because they do not compete for the same resources. Species used the resources in the environment differently and this permitted them to live together, this is termed niche partitioning.
Niche Partitioning
This niche partitioning enabled many species to co-exist. Although a highly diverse fauna was present throughout the history of the Jurassic Sub-Boreal Seaway, as the scientists studied the teeth found at different stratigraphic levels they found that fish and squid eaters with piercing teeth declined over time while hard-object and large-prey specialists diversified, in concert with rising sea levels.
Larger species that inhabited deeper, open waters began to thrive. These reptiles had broader teeth for crunching and cutting prey. Deep-water species may have flourished as a result of major changes in ocean temperature and chemical make-up that also took place during the period, the researchers postulate. This could have increased levels of nutrients and prey in deep waters, helping the species that lived there. This research provides an analogy for modern ocean environments providing an insight into how species at the top of the marine food chain might respond to rising sea levels brought on by global climate change.
The Fate of Jurassic Predators May Well Provide an Analogy for Modern Marine Ecosystems
Marine crocodiles such as the large, broad-snouted Plesiosuchus manselii were apex predators specialising in hunting other marine reptiles. These types of predator may have thrived as water depth increased, whereas, other smaller fish-eating marine crocodiles declined along with the long-necked plesiosaurs.
Picture credit: Fabio Manucci/University of Edinburgh
The scientific paper: “The Long-term Ecology and Evolution of Marine Reptiles in a Jurassic Seaway” by Davide Foffa, Mark T. Young, Thomas L. Stubbs, Kyle G. Dexter and Stephen L. Brusatte published in the journal Nature: Ecology and Evolution.
Scientists find Kayentatherium wellesi Fossil Along with Young
The Order Mammalia has a number of distinguishing characteristics when compared to the other vertebrates. For example, mammals tend to have bigger brains and tend to produce some of the smallest numbers of offspring per litter. Mammals evolved from reptiles and at some point in their evolutionary history, larger brains developed and smaller broods became the norm. Scientists writing in the academic journal “Nature”, have published details of the discovery of the fossilised remains of a Jurassic stem mammal, one that was found in association with thirty-eight babies.
The fossilised specimens might help palaeontologists to work out how mammals developed a different approach to reproduction when compared to their reptilian ancestors.
A Skeletal Reconstruction of the Probable Mother (Kayentatherium wellesi) and Offspring
Offspring and a probable mother found in association (Kayentatherium wellesi).
Picture credit: Eva Hoffman/The University of Texas at Austin
Jurassic Stem Mammal Kayentatherium wellesi
The fossils represent Kayentatherium wellesi, a cynodont, it was only as the specimen was being prepared that the researchers realised that this was an exceptional fossil. The find of a 185-million-year-old K. wellesi with offspring are the only known fossils of baby stem mammals with what is believed to the mother.
The presence of so many offspring, probably only recently hatched from their eggs when they died, indicates that these types of stem mammal had litters more than twice the size of any living member of the Mammalia. The size of the brood is akin to the breeding strategy of extant reptiles
Lead author of the study, Eva Hoffman (who studied the fossils whilst a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin), commented:
“These babies are from a really important point in the evolutionary tree. They had a lot of features similar to modern mammals, features that are relevant in understanding mammalian evolution.”
The Kayenta Formation of Arizona
Hoffman co-authored the study with her graduate adviser, Jackson School Professor Timothy Rowe, who collected the specimen during fieldwork exploring the Early Jurassic sediments of the Kayenta Formation in Arizona, more than eighteen years ago.
Computerised tomography was used to reveal the bones inside the matrix back in 2011. However, advances in CT-scanning finally permitted researchers at the University of Texas at Austin to reveal the babies, including complete skulls and partial postcranial material.
Advances in Computerised Technology Over the Last Seven Years Permitted the Fine Details of the Babies to be Discerned
Kayentatherium skull and images of the baby’s skulls indicating brood size.
Picture credit: Eva Hoffman/The University of Texas at Austin
The Skulls of the Babies – The Same as the Adult’s Only Smaller
The highly detailed computer-generated images permitted the researchers to verify that the tiny bones were Kayentatherium wellesi, the same as the adult. The analysis revealed that the skulls were scaled-down replicas of the adult, only ten percent the size of an adult skull, but otherwise proportional. This contrasts with extant mammals, as their babies are born with shortened faces and large skulls to accommodate a big brain. The brain of mammals is a very energy demanding organ, for example, in humans the brain needs more energy than any other organ of the body.
It has been estimated that the brains of human beings require around 20% of the total energy needed by our bodies each day. Breeding and producing offspring also requires a lot of energy. The discovery that Kayentatherium, a stem mammal, had a tiny brain and many babies, despite otherwise having much in common with extant mammals, suggests that a critical step in the evolution of the Mammalia was trading large litters for large brains. This evolutionary change is therefore likely to have taken place more recently than 185 million-years-ago.
Professor Rowe explained:
“Just a few million years later, in mammals, they unquestionably had big brains and they unquestionably had a small litter size.”
Where does the Jurassic Stem Mammal Kayentatherium Sit on the Mammalian Evolutionary Tree?
Kayentatherium was very probably endothermic (warm-blooded) and the skeleton shows a number of anatomical traits associated with modern mammals.
The Place of Kayentatherium on the Mammalian Family Tree
A simplified family tree showing mammalian evolution, the placement of Kayentatherium is shown in red.
Picture credit: Eva Hoffman/The University of Texas at Austin
The mammalian approach to reproduction directly relates to our own species development (Homo sapiens), including the development of our own brains. By looking back at our early mammalian ancestors, we can learn more about the evolutionary process that helped shaped the development of humans.
Professor Rowe added:
“There are additional deep stories on the evolution of development and the evolution of mammalian intelligence and behaviour and physiology that can be squeezed out of a remarkable fossil like this now that we have the technology to study it.”
The scientific paper: “Jurassic Stem Mammal Perinates and the Origin of Mammalian Reproduction and Growth” by Eva A. Hoffman and Timothy B. Rowe published in Nature.
Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a press release from the University of Texas at Austin in the compilation of this article.
The fossilised remains of a little reptile that roamed the land we now know as Devon has helped make links with the prehistoric vertebrate fauna of the Middle Triassic of Russia. Thanks to the use of computerised tomography (CT) scans, palaeontologists have had the rare opportunity to study the skull and postcranial elements of a procolophonid reptile. The fossil was found by co-author of the scientific paper, Dr Rob Coram of Swanage in November 2014, from a foreshore exposure of the Pennington Point Member of the Otter Sandstone Formation located close to the town of Sidmouth on the south Devon coast.
The Triassic sandstone deposits in these cliffs, which ironically form part of the famous UNESCO World Heritage site the “Jurassic Coast” contain vertebrate remains, but they are quite rare and often show signs of extensive weathering and transportation prior to burial and fossilisation.
The Fossil Specimen (BRSUG 29950-13) and Two Computer Generated Images
Kapes bentoni fossil (top) and two images generated from the CT scans (BRSUG 29950-13).
Picture credit: Bristol University/Papers in Palaeontology
Procolophonid Reptiles (Procolophonidae)
The reptile has been identified as an example of Kapes bentoni, several species are included in this genus, all of which, including the type species K. amaenus, which was named in 1975, come from Russia. Procolophonids looked superficially like lizards, but they are not closely related to the Squamata. They are parareptiles, which evolved in the Permian and had a wide distribution during the Triassic, before becoming extinct shortly before the Triassic came to an end. When Dr Coram tried to clean and prepare the fossil, he found that the fossil material was too fragile and conventional preparation techniques would have resulted in permanent damage to the fossil bones.
Dr Coram commented:
“I tried everything I could. I have had a lot of experience of removing rock from fossils using a fine needle and working under the microscope, but this was a nightmare. When I touched it with a needle, small pieces of bone fell off.”
CT Scanning the Devon Fossil
In order to allow the fossil to be studied, Dr Coram contacted colleagues at Bristol University and a CT scan of the small fossil was organised. The job of interpreting the scans and the resulting computer generated images was given to PhD student Marta Zaher, who was at the Bristol University for a few months, normally she is based in Zagreb (Croatia). The three-dimensional scans of the skull and postcranial material turned out to be far better than the scientists had hoped. Even wear facets on the tiny teeth of the Kapes specimen could be discerned and studied.
Once all the scans had been compiled the researchers could examine the procolophonid fossil in great detail. Most of the procolophonid fossils from England are highly fragmentary, but the scans revealed the presence of a skull, cervical vertebrae, the shoulder girdle, forelimbs and the front half of the torso.
An Illustration of the Skeleton of Kapes bentoni (Lateral and Dorsal Views)
A skeletal reconstruction of Kapes bentoni. Fossil material from the Sidmouth specimen (BRSUG 29950-13) is shown in grey. Lateral view (A) and dorsal view (B). Scale bar = 10 mm.
Picture credit: Bristol University/Papers in Palaeontology
Spectacular CT Scans of a Triassic Specimen
Student Marta explained:
“The scans are amazing. They show every detail of the tiny, five-centimetre (two inch) long skull. You can see each tooth, and even the wear patterns. Almost all the tiny bones of the palate and braincase are there.”
She added:
“This identifies the animal without question as a procolophonid. These lived worldwide at the time, and they were important plant-eaters, with broad teeth fused to their jaws, and which wore down under grinding from the tough plant food.”
Several years ago, less complete specimens of the procolophonid had been found in the Devon rocks, and two academics then at the University of Bristol, Patrick Spencer and Glenn Storrs, had suggested the Devon animal was the same as Kapes from central Russia.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Thanks to the use of computerised tomography, the researchers were able to get an unprecedented insight into the anatomy of an anapsid. This non-destructive technique has helped scientists to identify that this Devon specimen is very closely related to other reptiles, fossils of which come from the terrestrial red beds of Russia.”
A Diagram of the Skull Produced from the CT Scan Data
An illustration of the skull of Kapes bentoni recreated from the CT scans. Scale bar = 10 mm.
Picture credit: Bristol University/Papers in Palaeontology
Co-author of the scientific paper published in “Papers in Palaeontology”, Professor Mike Benton (Bristol University) stated:
“The new study confirms that the two animals are very close relatives, two species of the genus Kapes. This is most unusual, to have evidence of a biogeographic connection over thousands of kilometres. In the Middle Triassic, there was dry land in the UK and in Russia, but the area in between was filled with the Muschelkalk Sea, covering Germany and much of central Europe.”
Kapes bentoni
Many of the early procolophonids were insectivorous, however, Kapes bentoni was a plant-eater. This idea is reinforced by the heavy wear on the teeth as observed in the CT scans from this study. K. bentoni had a short, stocky body and it may have been fossorial (lived in a burrow). The spines on the skull have provided the scientists with a bit of a puzzle. It has been suggested that these spines had a defensive function, making the reptile seem bigger and more intimidating to a potential predator. The spines would also have obstructed any predator attempting to swallow Kapes head-first.
A Life Reconstruction of the Procolophonid Kapes bentoni
An illustration of the procolophonid K. bentoni.
Picture credit: Marta Zaher
The scientific paper: “The Middle Triassic Procolophonid Kapes bentoni: Computed Tomography of the Skull and Skeleton” by Marta Zaher, Robert A. Coram and Michael J. Benton published by Papers in Palaeontology.
Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a press release from Bristol University in the compilation of this article.
Everything Dinosaur will be adding Kaiyodo dinosaur figures to their model range. The first of the figures, the limited edition Sofubi Toy Box Tyrannosaurus rex figures will be in stock next month (September). All three versions of these rare and difficult to obtain articulated T. rex models will be available from Everything Dinosaur including the “smoke green” T. rex and the T. rex “classic colour”.
Everything Dinosaur will be Stocking the Kaiyodo Sofubi Toy Box T. rex Range of Collectables
Everything Dinosaur stocks the Kaiyodo Sofubi T. rex dinosaur figures. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Kaiyodo Dinosaurs
Back in June, Everything Dinosaur sent a newsletter to the company’s subscribers hinting that these models would be available from the UK-based specialist dinosaur model supplier. Subscribers were given the opportunity to register their interest and to reserve a figure. The response has been overwhelming, very few of these models have been produced and they are very difficult to obtain outside of Japan, but these models are shortly to be going on sale at Everything Dinosaur.
A Close View of the Head and the Jaws of Sofubi Toy Box Tyrannosaurus rex – A
Kaiyodo Sofubi T. rex (A). One of three articulated T. rex models that Everything Dinosaur has access to.
Rare Collectables
The three T. rex colour variants are T. rex A, T. rex B (smoke green) and the T. rex (classic image colour). These are rare collectables and difficult to obtain outside of Japan. Production of these models has been limited and Everything Dinosaur has been able to acquire stocks of all three of these fantastic figures. Each model measures approximately 29 centimetres in length and they have ten points of articulation. The articulated joints are neck, upper jaw, ankles, forelimbs, the base of the tail (proximal end) and the end of the tail (distal). All the figures have been carefully painted and beautifully designed and engineered.
The Three Sofubi Toy Box Tyrannosaurus rex Figures
Everything Dinosaur and the Sofubi Toy Box Tyrannosaurus rex figures.
These models are limited edition collectables and they will have an age restriction on them 15+ (a collectable prehistoric animal figure).
Dinosaur Model Prices
The T. rex (A) and the T. rex (B) – smoke green will be priced at £32.99 plus post and packing. Whilst the rarer, classic colour Sofubi Toy Box T. rex figure will be priced at £37.99 plus P&P. A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur did state that it was likely that all three models would be offered to collectors together as a special offer. The company has offered similar purchasing opportunities in the past, for example, customers were recently given the opportunity to purchase all three Rebor “War Pig” Ankylosaurus magniventris models together at a special discount.
See the range of dinosaur models available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Models.
Prices correct as of September 2018.
Thanks to Everything Dinosaur – Collectors Can Get Their Hands on Rare Articulated T. rex Figures
Collectors have the opportunity to get their hands on the Sofubi Toy Box T. rex (smoke green).
These fantastic and highly collectable Tyrannosaurus rex figures are expected to be in stock at Everything Dinosaur by the middle of September.
Drawing a Dromaeosaur – The Rebor Velociraptor “Sweeney”
Our thanks to dinosaur model fan Maurizio who sent into Everything Dinosaur a beautiful illustration of the latest Rebor Velociraptor figure, the tiger-striped “Sweeney”. Rebor have introduced several dromaeosaurid figures, a number of which are Velociraptor models in 1/18th scale. “Sweeney” joins “Spring-heeled Jack”, “Pete”, “Alex Delarge”, “Gunn”, “Rose” and the first of the Velociraptor scale model replicas to be introduced by Rebor “Winston”.
Maurizio Sent to Everything Dinosaur a Drawing of the Rebor Velociraptor “Sweeney”
An illustration of the 1:18 scale Velociraptor figure “Sweeney”.
Picture credit: Maurizio
Drawing Rebor Dromaeosaurids
Dromaeosaurids (family Dromaeosauridae), are geographically widespread with an extensive temporal distribution (Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous). This family is further divided into subfamilies, however, the exact taxonomic and phylogenetic placement of all the genera is debated. Velociraptor has two species within the genus and they are members of the Velociraptorinae, along with other Asian “raptors” such as Adasaurus and Tsaagan. Most scientists believe that these dinosaurs were covered in feathers. However, Rebor has opted to give their models scales rather than a plumage – a more traditional look to their model figure range.
Lots of dromaeosaurid models can be found on the Everything Dinosaur website.
The Rebor Velociraptor figure “Sweeney”, part of a range of 1:18 scale Velociraptor models.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Maurizio wrote:
“Thank you very much for your co-operation and for your excellent 5-star service. Just to show you how much I appreciate all of your help, I am sending you an artwork of “Sweeney” that I did for you. I really hope you like it.”
We do like it, we receive lots of illustrations and we are always impressed by the quality of the drawings, our congratulations to you Maurizio. It really is a splendid piece of dinosaur inspired artwork.
A Closer Look at the Head of the Velociraptor “Sweeney”
A closer view of the head of the “Sweeney” Velociraptor model as drawn by a dinosaur model fan.
Picture credit: Maurizio
Rebor Velociraptor Models
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“The Rebor Velociraptors have proved to be very popular amongst dinosaur model fans and collectors. We get lots of complimentary emails about them and, just as on this occasion, we get illustrations of Rebor figures too”.
To view the Rebor “Sweeney” figure and the rest of Rebor replicas product range including the 1:18 scale Velociraptor figures: Rebor Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals.
Our thanks once again to Maurizio for sending in such a superb dinosaur illustration.
