#sauropodmorphs

[jurassicjoowan]

More work from my spec evo project, Saurian Archipelago.

Finished my first concept sheet volume of creatures from the northern highlands of the Saurian Archipelago.

Dromeaolestes ermes

The arid adapted species of the genus Dromeaolestes and a descedant of Compsognathus. Its small size allows it to run around the rocky regions of the highlands undetected, usually scavenging the kills of larger predators without notice. A frenzy between the ermes species can occur if the smell of rotting flesh is picked up upon, as these rat-like theropods love to dine on maggots and other pestering insects.

Saurdios

The largest dinosaur in the archipelago chain and a descedant of early sauropodmorphs. It has a giant neck sac which inflates to scare off predators like Dynamosaurus or others of its kind. This prosauropod is also capable of rearing up on its strong hind legs, such a pose is fear-inducing to anything in its general location as the incoming impact can knock smaller creatures off balance.

Agathaumas

The behemoth descedant of very primitive ceratopsians such as Aquilops. It has quite a territorial temper, lashing out against most creatures that walk near it, such a temper is necessary for its survival against others of its kind and the massive apex predators of its region. A bizzare sail like structure can be seen on its tail, these are actually scale extensions which also serve as a display structure to utilize in a multitude of situations.

Arbator

A man-sized descedant of Deinonychus, specialized as a pursue predator with the capacities to run across long distances with enduring pace. This dromaeosaur's ash-like feathering helps hide it within shade, both to ambush prey or to hide from competition in the region, as Arbators are quite agressive to eachother. Arbators usually have red tinted regions on their body, in most cases their feet, which originates from kicking up the red dust in the region. If a Arbator has a lot of red tint on its body, it shows off the amount of experience they have wandering the arid highlands.

[originalleftist]

Fascinating, and a huge step forward if true.

This would leave the sauropodmorphs as the odd ones out, of the major dinosaur groups. Although they might have had their own version of temperature control simply by being very big (mass homeothermy- their bodies would gain and lose heat more slowly simply because of how big they were).

Some Dinosaurs Evolved to Be Warm-Blooded 180 Million Years Ago, Study Suggests

Researchers studied the geographic distribution of dinosaurs to draw conclusions about whether they could regulate their internal temperatures

Two major groups of dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded—having evolved the ability to regulate their body temperatures—around 180 million years ago, according to a new study. Scientists used to think that all dinosaurs were cold-blooded, meaning that, like modern lizards, their body temperatures were dependent on their surroundings. While scientists have since discovered that some dinosaurs were actually warm-blooded, they haven’t been able to pinpoint when this adaptation evolved, according to a statement from University College London. The new findings suggest that theropods, a group of mostly carnivorous dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor, as well as the ornithischians, which include the mostly plant-eating relatives of Stegosaurus and Triceratops, may have both developed warm-bloodedness in the early Jurassic Period. This change might have been prompted by global warming that followed volcanic eruptions, according to the results published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology...

Read more: Some Dinosaurs Evolved to Be Warm-Blooded 180 Million Years Ago, Study Suggests

[saddinosaurfacts]

VENENOSAURUS “Poison lizard” Early Cretaceous, 112 million years ago

This “poison lizard” is known only from incomplete remains of one adult and one juvenile, but was probably small for a titanosaur (only 33 feet long). There is no evidence that it was poisonous, however; instead, its name comes from the place it was found – the “Poison Strip�� section of Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation – which was, in turn, named after the 80's glam metal band, not the high arsenic content of the soil there. The name Venenosaurus was also chosen to highlight the dinosaur's embarrassing stutter.

[kaijutegu]

The Field’s new Antarctic dinosaur exhibit is extremely cool- and it’s about a lot more than just dinosaurs! A ton of the exhibit is about Antarctic excavation and how to do it, and about how to use Antarctic data to study climate change. But the stars of the show were the fossils and their reconstructions. The big flashy carnivore is a relative of the Dilophosaurus called Crylophosaurus, and it’s a very handsome beastie. I LOVE the reconstruction- beautifully feathered, and coloured with inspiration from a cassowary. The skeleton mount is also posed the same way as the reconstruction, which is SUPER cool. The models themselves also have a lot of character, which is really nice. The little guys are sauropodmorphs; they’re not even named yet, they’re so new to science!! I adore them. They look like you could pick them up and hug ‘em. I wish the reconstructions weren’t bathed in blue light, though- you can’t see their colours, and it’s... kind of a lot of blue. I also enjoyed the way the signs were presented- the narrative had these comics-style illustrations, kind of like The Romance of Ants did a few years back.