#alpkarakush

[knuppitalism-with-ue]

HERE IT IS!

For some time now I have been waiting to reveal to you my press release artwork of Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus, a new metriacanthosaur from the mid Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan doesn't have many dinosaurs described so far and there is little funding for research and excavations which is why this is a German/Kyrgyz cooperation. Previous excavations had already hinted at it but Kyrgyzstan seems have potential for a lot of important fossil find.

Here the paper: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/201/4/zlae090/7736730

The material recovered so far consists of two specimen, an adult and a sub-adult, found disarticulated next to each other. The hindlimbs are largely complete but much is still missing. Still, the remains reveal an impressive animal.

In my reconstruction I largely patched things up with Sinraptor and Yangchuanosaurus resulting in an nearly 8 m long animal. In theory it could also go up to 9 m, but these guys appear to have a rather short tail. (not all theropod postcrania are the same!)

Two skull bones have been recovered, plus some teeth. Most interesting here are the postorbitals, these show some gnarly bosses which were probably much larger in life.

The teeth, likewise, are interesting, while most are your typical theropod blades two, maybe from the premaxillary, are round in cross section and rather slender. Without any other theropods in the locality they are tentatively referred to Alpkarakush as well.

I worked on the reconstruction of this animal for quite a while and one of the main discussion points we had was the restoration of the postorbital bosses. I made several different versions before we settled on the one you see in the next tweet.

A combination of these charismatic lizards led to the shape you see now in my restoration.

The composition for this piece came together quickly, but refining it took a while. As an important note: this image doesn't reflect precisely the environment Alpkarakush was found in. But for dramatic sake we added a little elevation into this piece.

The prey item of our theropod here is a basal stegosaur of which a few dorsal vertebrae are know. While being an early member of this group it was already impressively large.

Other animals from the Balabansai Formation include the sauropod Ferganasaurus, the small, dubious ornithischian Ferganocephale as well as turtles, pterosaurs, crocodiles and some of the youngest temnospondyl remains. And potentially lots more!

[adamworks]

Here’s my reconstruction to the recently described Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus from the Middle Jurassic, discovered in Kyrgyzstan

[new-dinosaurs]

Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus Rauhut et al., 2024 (new genus and species)

(Postorbitals [bones in the skull behind the eyes] of Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus [scale bar = 5 cm], from Rauhut et al., 2024)

Meaning of name: Alpkarakush = large mythical bird from the Epic of Manas; kyrgyzicus = from the Kyrgyz Republic

Age: Middle Jurassic (Callovian)

Where found: Balabansai Formation, Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyzstan

How much is known: Partial skeletons of two individuals, together including parts of the skull and limbs, as well as some vertebrae. Some isolated teeth and a wishbone from the same locality may also belong to this species (and possibly to one of the aforementioned individuals).

Notes: Alpkarakush was an allosauroid, a group of medium-sized to large theropods that also includes Allosaurus and Giganotosaurus. More specifically, it was a metriacanthosaurid, a lineage of allosauroids known mostly from the Jurassic of Eurasia. The bones in its skull forming the back rim of the eye socket exhibit prominent projections and a rough surface texture, suggesting that they may have supported keratinous display structures overhanging its eyes.

The type specimen of Alpkarakush is estimated to have been about 7–8 m long in total body length and to have weighed about 1.2 tons. Based on microscopic examination of their bone structure, the type specimen was at least 17 years old and close to fully grown when it died, whereas the second partial skeleton found alongside it belonged to a smaller, younger individual. The describers of Alpkarakush consider it plausible that the two individuals were associating with one another before they died.

(Schematic skeletal of Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus showing known bones [scale bar = 1 m], from Rauhut et al., 2024)

Reference: Rauhut, O.W.M., A.A. Bakirov, O. Wings, A.E. Fernandes, and T.R. Hübner. 2024. A new theropod dinosaur from the Callovian Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 201: zlae090. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae090

[fishsfailureson]

Spent twelve days on this. My goodness. (Never drawing ferns again /j)

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

Alpkarakush

This one, a young male, enjoys the morning mist while his black head starts growing in

[neovenatorgirlteeth]

DINOVEMBER 5/13: Alpkarakush Kyrgyzicus

Alpkarakush is a theropod, a metriacanthosaurid specifically, which were a group of medium large allosauroids that were the apex predators of Asia and parts of Europe during the middle-late Jurassic. Alpkarakush itself was about 7-8m long and was found in Kyrgyzstan near the border with Uzbekistan. Two individuals were found in the rocks from the top of the Balabansai formation, dating back to 164-165Ma before present: a subadult, nearly fully grown and at least 17 years old, and a smaller and younger animal, probably a juvenile.

One thing Alpkarakush is noted for is its huge rough-textured eyebrows, which with the already high arched skull of most metriacanthosaurs would have created a big brow crest. I chose to cover this brow crest in big scutelike scales, which I think nicely contrasts with the feathery mane I gave it. I'm quite happy with this one and it didn't give me too much grief unlike the last two, so all good. I am going to have to stretch this Dinovember into Dinocember which is FINE AND COOL ALSO. 👍

[stegolophus]

new dinosaur just dropped from Kyrgyzstan

[gnarptado]

I really love this !! You should check out the newly discovered (abt 4 months ago) abelisaurid: alpkarakush, found in Kyrgyzstan Balabansai formation dated somewhere in the Jurassic. He would fit in great here.

An exploration of facial ornamentation and integument among abelisaurids. Pick your favourite!

[misterrogers22]

Welcome to the Juras-Sick Park-Cast podcast, the Jurassic Park podcast about Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, and also not about that, too. 

Find the episode webpage at: Episode 71 - Isla Nublar.

In this episode (stream it here!), my terrific guest A.C. Gleason joins the show to chat with me about:

editing texts, adapating the novel into the film, Jaws, Spielberg films, H.P. Lovecraft, Crichton's writing, Crichton's success at writing screenplays, considering what else could have been added or omitted from the text into the film, dinosaurs, velociraptors, smoothly delivering believable science fiction, the Epigraph by Linnaeus, intellectual properties, gaining power and much more!

Plus dinosaur news about:

A New Theropod Dinosaur from the Callovian Balabansai Formation of Kyrgystan. (Alpkarakush kyrgyicus)

Caletodraco cottardi: A New Furileusaurian Abelisaurid from the Cenomanian Chalk of Normandy. (Caletodraco cottardi)

Featuring the music of Snale https://snalerock.bandcamp.com/

Intro: Buzzsaw Partyboy, and the Outro: Sleepyhead.

The Text:

Stitches and seams in the text.

Then:  

Jurassic Park (1993): Sc. 6 "Isla Nublar."

David Koepp's first draft, and Malia Scotch-Marmo's rewrite of Michael Crichton's draft of the script. 

Corrections:Thanks to @ravensthatflywiththenightm7319 that at 47:13 The movies don't mention "mongoliensis" in the dialogue - that's entirely in the books.

Side effects: 

May cause you to abbreviate the alphabet into a much easier to digest little ditty. 

Find it on iTunes, on Spotify (click here!) or on Podbean (click here).

Thank you!

The Jura-Sick Park-cast is a part of the Spring Chickens banner of amateur intellectual properties including the Spring Chickens funny pages, Tomb of the Undead graphic novel, the Second Lapse graphic novelettes, The Infantry, and the worst of it all, the King St. Capers.

You can find links to all that baggage in the show notes, or by visiting the schickens.blogpost.com or finding us on Facebook, at Facebook.com/SpringChickenCapers or on Youtube by searching for the “Juras-Sick Park-Cast podcast” or on Tumblr @misterrogers22 or on X at @RogersRyan22 or email me at ryansrogers-at-gmail.com. 

Thank you, dearly, for tuning in to the Juras-Sick Park-Cast, the Jurassic Park podcast where we talk about the novel Jurassic Park, and also not that, too. Until next time! 

#JurassicPark #MichaelCrichton

[leontiucmarius]

O rudă a lui T. Rex cu sprâncene uriașe, descoperită în Kârgâzstan

Fosilele speciei Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus sunt primele de acest fel găsite în Kârgâzstan și oferă dovezi ale dinozaurilor prădători care aveau grijă de puii lor în perioada jurasică. Cercetătorii au dezvăluit primul dinozaur prădător gigant descoperit […] Articolul O rudă a lui T. Rex cu sprâncene uriașe, descoperită în Kârgâzstan apare prima dată în Descopera. Această știre a fost preluată de pe…

[gaetaniu]

Scoperta una nuova specie di dinosauro carnivoro in Kirghizistan

Ricostruzione della vita di Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus. Un nuovo genere e specie di dinosauro teropode di grandi dimensioni, denominato Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus, è stato scoperto nella Formazione Balabansai del Giurassico medio, nella parte settentrionale della Depressione di Fergana, in Kirghizistan. L’Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus si aggirava sul nostro pianeta durante l’era calloviana del Giurassico, tra…

[leontiucmarius]

A fost descoperit nou dinozaur carnivor în Kârgâzstan

Un nou gen și specie de dinozaur teropod, numit Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus, au fost descoperite în Formația Balabansai, situată în partea de nord a Depresiunii Fergana, Kârgâzstan. Această descoperire, prezentată într-un articol publicat în Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, este semnificativă, deoarece umple un gol important în înțelegerea noastră despre dinozaurii prădători din această…

[twelvebooksstuff]

Love the art OP, and love the addition @gnarptado, sounds like a very interesting abelisaurid!!

An exploration of facial ornamentation and integument among abelisaurids. Pick your favourite!