Raeticodactylus
- A quick vector sketch of the head of
Raeticodactylus filisurensis
- New pterosaur: Raeticodactylus filisurensis
- Name means: (Wing) Finger from the village of Filisur, in Raetia (the old name for the Swiss Canton Grisons, where it was found)
- Relations: Basal pterosaur
- Location: Eastern Switzerland
- Age: Late Triassic, ~203,000,000 years ago
- Material: Nearly complete skull, partial postcrania
- Wingspan: 135cm (~4.5 feet)
- Info: The oldest known pterosaur fossils come from late in the Triassic period, when this finger-winged group of reptiles first took to the skies. Newly-described Raeticodactylus adds to the handful of currently known Triassic pterosaurs. Raeticodactylus sported a unique crest above its nose, a deeply-keeled lower jaw, and a unique combination of teeth—fangs at the front of its mouth with wrinkled enamel on the inside, and crunching teeth further back in its jaws tipped with three to five cusps. Its limbs were long and thin compared to its contemporaries, giving it about twice the wingspan of the most famous Triassic pterosaur, Eudimorphodon ranzii. And, oddly enough, the head of its femur is offset 90° from the shaft, suggesting an upright stance more similar to that of dinosaurs than other pterosaurs.
- Reference: Stecher, R. 2008. A new Triassic pterosaur from Switzerland (Central Austroalpine, Grisons), Raeticodactylus filisurensis gen. et sp. nov. Swiss Journal of Geosciences doi: 10.1007/s00015-008-1252-6.
- Web coverage:
—Matt Celeskey.
File under: Recent Discoveries, Reptiles, Triassic.
Comments on record: (4)
More on the Triassic Exhibit
A little more news on the upcoming Triassic exhibit at the day job—Discovery News writer Larry O’Hanlon met with the NMMNHS Triassic Team last week, and has posted a teaser article up on his blog, Earth Impacts, with the promise of more to come.
The post includes a couple of illustrations done for the hall: a rendering of the early mammal Adelobasileus by illustrator Mary Sundstrom, and my own painting of a large archosauriform known from a few dozen well-weathered fossils from the Middle Triassic of New Mexico. The restoration (shown above) is based largely on big erythrosuchian predators like Erythrosuchus and Shansisuchus (from South Africa and China, respectively).
—Matt Celeskey.
File under: Museumabilia, The Day Job, Triassic.
Comments on record: (4)
The Upcoming NMMNHS Triassic Exhibit
The Albuquerque Tribune ran a story today on the project that’s been keeping me busy at the day job: a new Triassic Exhibit opening this March at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
This is the project I’ve been looking forward to working on since I started at the museum almost a decade ago, and finally all the pieces have come together to pull it off. Everyone involved in the exhibit is itching to show off some the fantastic Triassic fossils from the museum collections. The article only hits some of the highlights: this photo shows a beautifully preserved young Coelophysis from the Museum’s Ghost Ranch block (read the article for more Coelophysis-as-cannibal news). Another picture shows a the beginnings of a life-sized model of a New Mexican erythrosuchian, while the final position of one of the big stars remains tastefully hidden until the opening.
I’m not certain how much I’ll be able to share here until the exhibit opens, but I’ll definitely pass along any info that’s been made public before then.
—Matt Celeskey.
File under: Museumabilia, The Day Job, Triassic.
Comments on record: (9)
Glacialsaurus hammeri
Glacialsaurus restoration from Science Centric
© 2007 William Stout
New Dinosaur: Glacialsaurus hammeri
Name means: Hammer’s Frozen lizard
Relations: Basal sauropodomorph (prosauropod) dinosaur
Location: Beardmore Glacier region, Antarctica
Age: Early Jurassic, 190,000,000 years ago
Material: Partial right foot and ankle, partial left femur
Est. Length: 8 meters (25 ft) long
Est. Weight: 5 tons
Glacialsaurus hammeri is only the second dinosaur described from the Jurassic of Antarctica, the first being the pompadour-crested theropod Cryolophosaurus ellioti. Although fragmentary, the remains of Glacialsaurus identify it as a prosauropod, one of several types of early long-necked dinosaurs that split off from the sauropodomorph line before true sauropods like Apatosaurus and Camarasaurus evolved. Other fossils found in the same rock formation as Glacialsaurus may come from a true sauropod, suggesting that prosauropods survived alongside their more advanced relatives for a time in the Early Jurassic.
Technical article: Smith, N. D. and Pol, D. 2007. Anatomy of a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 52 (4): 657–674. PDF.
Elsewhere on the web:
—Matt Celeskey.
File under: Dinosaurs, Jurassic, Recent Discoveries.
Comments on record: (1)
Paleo-posts of the day
A few paleontology posts of note have sprung up within the past 24 hours or so…
Laelaps takes a look at pachycephalosaurs, and the possibility that three named genera of these thick-headed dinosaurs might actually represent three growth stages of a single species.
Zach reviews the Troödontidae, which paleontologists suspect filled the niche of the skinny, brainy outcasts compared to their more popular dromaeosaur cousins.
And Amanda shows off a few stunning works-in-progress at the Self-Designed Student household: a lovely Triceratops skeleton, and the “Pteranodon jeebus,” a fantastic paleo-icon sure to inspire praise among the fossiliferous faithful.
—Matt Celeskey.
File under: Cretaceous, Dinosaurs, Paleo-Pop, Webbery.
Comments on record: (0)
