llewellywhich of the fossil genera listed below are not dinosaurs?
Basilosaurus
Nyctosaurus
Mosasaurus
Lystrosaurus
Poll ended at .
1/4
Basilosaurus was given a name meaning King Reptile, because its teeth look surprisingly reptilian, making its discoverer think it was a reptile. But it's an early whale, from the Eocene! The mistake was soon discovered, leading to attempts to change the name, but sadly the rules of taxonomy don't allow that.
Basilosaurus has been found in the southeastern USA, Egypt, Western Sahara, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, Pakistan, and Peru.
2/4
Nyctosaurus was a pterosaur. Pterosaurs are closely related to dinosaurs, but not actually dinosaurs; they're just outside Dinosauria. Nyctosaurus soared over the Western Interior Sea during the Late Cretaceous, with long, albatross-like wings, similar in overall anatomy to Pteranodon, though much smaller. Some specimens had a famous, antler-like head crest.
3/4
Mosasaurus was a lizard, not a dinosaur! Amazingly, in the Late Cretaceous, a group of lizards, possibly related to modern monitor lizards, or maybe to snakes, evolved a marine, predatory lifestyle.
Mosasaurus, the first mosasaur found, was found near the Dutch city of Maastricht. It lived in the Campanian and Maastrichtan stages of the Late Cretaceous. (The Maastrichtan was named after the Dutch city).
4/4
Lystrosaurus is a non-mammalian synapsid, making it closer to mammals than to dinosaurs.
Lystrosaurus lived between 255 million and 248 million years ago, overlapping the Permian-Triassic boundary, making it one of the few animals to survive the Great Dying.
It has been found in Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia, European Russia and South Africa, which led to it playing a supporting role in the development of plate tectonics.
Ric贸s has moved@llewelly Not gonna lie, I didn't know about Lystros, therapsids don't get any love.
EDIT: I also forgot to check Basilos, but that was a clicking mistake.
@enriquericos
I know, but it's dear to my heart for being a chonker that couldn't have waddled to all those disparate continents, supporting the theory those places were close together when it was alive.
I know, but it's dear to my heart for being a chonker that couldn't have waddled to all those disparate continents, supporting the theory those places were close together when it was alive.
@llewelly I'm outdated and missing out on chonkers and cool ideas like this one.
Unforgivable, I'll subscribe to all the podcasts you usually recommend.
Unforgivable, I'll subscribe to all the podcasts you usually recommend.
@enriquericos Now I'm struggling to think of a podcast that does a good job of covering the role Lystrosaurus played in plate tectonics, but I can't think of one. Common Descent podcast has an episode on synapsids, and another on plate tectonics, and a third on the Karoo supergroup, but I don't think Lystrosaurus gets more than a brief mention in any of the 3 episodes, though they're all good.
@llewelly I can look for Lystrosaurus myself, I meant that your podcasts will help me be on the loop again 馃檪
I used to be fairly informed about palaeo-issues, but for some reason I'm not anymore.
@enriquericos
I guess @KateShaw 's episode on the Great Dying gives Lystrosaurus the most coverage.
https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/2021/06/07/episode-227-the-great-dying/
I guess @KateShaw 's episode on the Great Dying gives Lystrosaurus the most coverage.
https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/2021/06/07/episode-227-the-great-dying/
@enriquericos @KateShaw
@KateShaw has done episodes on other mass extinctions as well, but I can't get the search function on blubrry.net to work anymore. : (
Common Descent podcast and paleocast have also done episodes on mass extinctions.
Martin Rundkvist@mrundkvist
Glad to hear you like it! It's among my favorite podcasts, usually.
Glad to hear you like it! It's among my favorite podcasts, usually.
@mrundkvist
I loved Gould's writing. I guess about half of what I read about evolution and natural history, and about 3/4 of what I read about paleontology when I was growing up was Gould. (In retrospect, it's surprising how few dinosaur books I read prior to my late 20s, but that's what happened.)
I loved Gould's writing. I guess about half of what I read about evolution and natural history, and about 3/4 of what I read about paleontology when I was growing up was Gould. (In retrospect, it's surprising how few dinosaur books I read prior to my late 20s, but that's what happened.)
@llewelly He was *amazing* in the 80s and 90s. The first book where he started to slip for me was "Lying Stones" in 2000. And I really hated "I Have Landed" in 2002.
@mrundkvist
The 80s and 90s Gould was my favorite as well.
The 80s and 90s Gould was my favorite as well.