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Description

Continuation of the challenge:

Day 13 "Wild speculation": a hadrosaur with filamentous integument. This hadrosaur is a close relative of Edmontosaurus, from which the "mummies"are known to be perfectly preserved. But, unlike Edmontosaurus, it is covered with fibers similar to wool or fuzz. It would help to keep warm in the polar night (there are remains of hadrosaurs from locations in Alaska and Chukotka). The tuft on the head is used for behavioral demonstrations. Unfortunately, this is an extremely unlikely reconstruction, because many hadrosaur skin impressions have been described, and they all show scales. Scaly coverings must have occurred even in polar forms that would have migrated South of the Arctic circle for the winter.

Day 14 "Dinosaur love, courtship or mating or something": Melanorosaurus readi. Melanorosaurus is a large sauropodomorph from the late Triassic of South Africa. It had well-developed forelimbs with massive bones, so that it was quadrupedal, but it could still grasp with its wrist fingers. The ability to grab still remained in the most primitive sauropods like Antetonitrus, and then the wrists acquired a specific shape to maintain mass. This male Melanorosaurus attracts a passing female by throwing back its head and making loud noises with its inflating throat pouch. Its neck is decorated with long scales. The female seemed to notice his attempt.

Day 15 "Make up a believable dinosaur": Testavastator planidens (Latin: "flat-toothed destroyer of shells"), durophagous abelisaurid. It feeds on armored animals such as turtles and crustaceans. In order to cope with such protected prey, Testavastator has developed a truly destructive bite comparable to that of a proportionate crocodile. This force is generated by very large jaw muscles. In addition to the bite, this abelisaurid developed specialized teeth. With its front teeth pointing slightly to the sides and forward, it grabs the prey, and with its large and flat back teeth, it crunches it. To improve the effect, Testavastator's maxillary and mandibular teeth lock together, which is very unusual for theropods. In this sense, it is similar to a hyena. To withstand the enormous loads, the skull became stronger, some bones, such as the nasals, merged, and the lower jaw increased its height and acquired a profile similar to that of a tyrannosaurid. In addition to shelled animals, this abelisaurid likes to eat large bones, crushing them into pieces for better swallowing. Interestingly, its food preferences change with age. The hatchlings do not differ from the hatchlings of other abelisaurids. They catch lizards, other small vertebrates, and large insects. Their teeth are uniform and sharp, differentiation manifests itself later. The adult usually reaches a length of 5 m. This abelisaurid is a close relative of such forms as Carnotaurus and Scorpiovenator and also lives in Argentina.

Here I depicted an adult crushing the femur of a large dinosaur. At the top, I made a drawing of the skull with some muscles. Below, I drew a chick with a lizard in its mouth to show its food preferences (changes in food I "borrowed" from the modern Nile monitor).

Blue, black and red ballpoint pens, 2020.

Description

Continuation of the challenge:

Day 13 "Wild speculation": a hadrosaur with filamentous integument. This hadrosaur is a close relative of Edmontosaurus, from which the "mummies"are known to be perfectly preserved. But, unlike Edmontosaurus, it is covered with fibers similar to wool or fuzz. It would help to keep warm in the polar night (there are remains of hadrosaurs from locations in Alaska and Chukotka). The tuft on the head is used for behavioral demonstrations. Unfortunately, this is an extremely unlikely reconstruction, because many hadrosaur skin impressions have been described, and they all show scales. Scaly coverings must have occurred even in polar forms that would have migrated South of the Arctic circle for the winter.

Day 14 "Dinosaur love, courtship or mating or something": Melanorosaurus readi. Melanorosaurus is a large sauropodomorph from the late Triassic of South Africa. It had well-developed forelimbs with massive bones, so that it was quadrupedal, but it could still grasp with its wrist fingers. The ability to grab still remained in the most primitive sauropods like Antetonitrus, and then the wrists acquired a specific shape to maintain mass. This male Melanorosaurus attracts a passing female by throwing back its head and making loud noises with its inflating throat pouch. Its neck is decorated with long scales. The female seemed to notice his attempt.

Day 15 "Make up a believable dinosaur": Testavastator planidens (Latin: "flat-toothed destroyer of shells"), durophagous abelisaurid. It feeds on armored animals such as turtles and crustaceans. In order to cope with such protected prey, Testavastator has developed a truly destructive bite comparable to that of a proportionate crocodile. This force is generated by very large jaw muscles. In addition to the bite, this abelisaurid developed specialized teeth. With its front teeth pointing slightly to the sides and forward, it grabs the prey, and with its large and flat back teeth, it crunches it. To improve the effect, Testavastator's maxillary and mandibular teeth lock together, which is very unusual for theropods. In this sense, it is similar to a hyena. To withstand the enormous loads, the skull became stronger, some bones, such as the nasals, merged, and the lower jaw increased its height and acquired a profile similar to that of a tyrannosaurid. In addition to shelled animals, this abelisaurid likes to eat large bones, crushing them into pieces for better swallowing. Interestingly, its food preferences change with age. The hatchlings do not differ from the hatchlings of other abelisaurids. They catch lizards, other small vertebrates, and large insects. Their teeth are uniform and sharp, differentiation manifests itself later. The adult usually reaches a length of 5 m. This abelisaurid is a close relative of such forms as Carnotaurus and Scorpiovenator and also lives in Argentina.

Here I depicted an adult crushing the femur of a large dinosaur. At the top, I made a drawing of the skull with some muscles. Below, I drew a chick with a lizard in its mouth to show its food preferences (changes in food I "borrowed" from the modern Nile monitor).

Blue, black and red ballpoint pens, 2020.