ESS 100 Final Exam

quadrupedal

walked on 4 feet

bipedal

walked on 2 limbs only

old definition of dinosaurs

a group of terrestrial, extinct reptiles which lived from 230-66 million years during the Mesozoic Era

william buckland

- mineralogist, chemist, + episcopal priest
- described megalosaurus in england 1824

robert plot

- oxford university chemistry professor
- partial megalosaurus limb bone (found in 1676 near Oxford, England) was sent to Plot
- identified it ad a femur, too big to belong to any living species, walked upright --> giant human?

gideon mantell

- described some very large teeth + pieces of bone that his wife, maryann mantell, had found in 1825
- recognized them as fossil reptile teeth
- named it Iguanodon (teeth like an iguana lizard)

richard owen

- founder of the british museum of natural history
- described all "giant lizard" material known at the time in 1842
- 1st used the name Dinosauria (fearfully great/awesome lizards)
- defined dinosauria as "a distinctive group of terrestrial reptiles that walked w/ upright stance"

jospeph leidy

- 1st U.S. vertebrate paleontologist + one of the founders of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia
- 1855: described 1st dinosaur from North America based on teeth (found in Montana + sent to Leidy)
- hadrosaurus (heavy lizard), a duck billed dinosaur, found in Haddonfield New Jersey
- first described trodon in 1856 on teeth

Edward Drinker Cope + Othneil Charles Marsh

- Bone Wars
- hired professional collectors all over the west
- collected + catalogued thousands of specimens + published hundreds of papers
- their rivalry resulted in ruin for both men + discredited paleontology w/ the American public

barnum brown

- obtained fossils by both collecting + buying
- led the 1st expedition to Montana's Hell Creek
- found the 1st T Rex fossil

Charles H Sternberg

- originally collected for Cope, but later for himself

Werner Janensch

- most famous African expedition leader
- African expeditions- Tendaguru
- 1907-1931
- over 220 tons of fossils
- most famous find: Brachiosaurus

Roy Chapman Andrews

- leaders of the Central Asiatic Expeditions
- Gobi Desert, China, Mongolia
- 1920s + 1930s
- found 1st dino eggs
- found raptors (velociraptor)

fossil

evidence of life preserved in rocks
- body fossils
- trace fossils
- chemical fossils

preservation (fossil def)

maintaining the overall structure of the organism + replacing the tissue w/ another mineral

benjamin waterhouse hawkins

- scultpr hired by Sir Richard Owen to make concrete reconstructions of dinos
- Sir RIchard hosted 21 men for a formal New Year's Eve dinner inside the Iguanodon mold

Gideon Mantell

- maintained that Owen's dinos we’re wrong (they had much more slender legs, + the one w/ shorter forelimbs may have been bipedal)

charles knight

- artist conferred w/ O.C. Marsh
- drew dinos based on Marsh's specimens + ideas, then continued long after Marsh's death

John Ostrom

- from Yale University
- described the 1st Deinonychus + recognized that it was far from a "sluggish brute"
- suggests that dinos we’re very active predators (endothermic + have a high metabolism)

Robert Bakker

- "the superiority of dinosaurs" 1968
- "The Dinosaur Heresies" 1986
- Ostrom's student
- Ostrom + Bakker suggested that some of the dinos (carnivores) we’re agile + speedy
- some dinos hunted in packs

Linnaeus

- swedish botanist
- devised + first published the Linnaean system of taxonomy in 1735 (first classification scheme)
- designated one latin name to indicate the genus + one name for the species (binomial species name)
- also innovated the grouping of genera into higher taxa that we’re also based on character of shared similarity

reptiles are defined by

- tetrapod vertebrate
- scaly skin
- short legs relative to body size
- relatively small brain
- 3 chambered heart
- cold-blooded
- amniotic eggs

anapsida

- fossil reptiles
- no post-orbital fenestra

synapsida

- gave rise to the mammals
- 1 post orbital fenestra

diapsida

- all other reptiles, living or extinct
- 2 post orbital fenestra

archosaur (ruling reptile) characteristics

- antorbital fenestra
- another opening in the lower jaw (mandibular fenestra)
- high narrow skull w/ pointed snout
- teeth set in sockets
- fourth trochanter on femur

archosaurs are divided into 2 clades based on different ankle joint

- crocodile like group (very flexible ankle)

- pterosaurs + dinosaur group (not flexible in sideways motion, moves up + down, reduced 5th digit)

Pterosaurs =

the closest clade to the dinosaurs
- flying reptiles

defining characteristics of dinosauria

- upright stance
- at least 3 (but usually 5) fused vertebrae forming sacrum
- expanded ilium or pelvic girdle to attach to the sacrum
- pelvic girdle w/ acetabulum
- femur w/ angled ball joint to fit into acetabulum
- ribs w/ 2 heads
- complex, forward facing shoulder girdle

saurischia: lizard hipped

- pubis point forward w/ a large "boot" on the end (extra muscle attachment
- herbivores + carnivores
- ex: sauropodomorpha + theropoda

ornithischia: bird hipped

- tip of pubis bone pointed posteriorly
- all herbivores
- ex: ornithopoda, thyrephora
- leaf shaped teeth
- ossified tendons along backbone (strengthen spine for carrying heavy muscles)

oldest dinosaur found in

Patagonia, Argentina

sedimentary rocks

- usually fossils only found here
- lakes, swamps, + flood rivers (freshwater depositional environment) are great places for preservation of fossils

primitve

has traits of the last common ancestor

derived

has the traits of the common ancestor + others that have evolved
- does not imply superiority

facultative quadruped

prefers to walk on 2 legs but could walk on 4

facultative biped

- prefers walking on 4 but could walk on 2

hadrosaurids

first animal that evolved the ability to process food before digestion (chewing)

edwin colbert

- suggested that pachycephalosaurus + its dome-headed relatives we’re the bipedal equivalnts of the big horned sheep today

mark goodwin + jack horner (+Dr. Joseph Peterson)

- said the domes on their heads could not be used to fight
- must be for species recognition or sexual selection

marginocephalia = ridged head

- pachycephalosaurids: have bony dome
- caratopsia: have bony frill behind skull
- most common in late cretcaeous

late cretaceous environment

high sea levels, flooding North America + formed the Western Interior Seaway

Ceratopsians

- all have rostral bone forming beak
- oldest found in latest Jurassic
- greatest number in late cretaceous
- last major dinosaur clade to evolve

Sauropodamorpha (those that have sauropod body type)

- largest land animal ever
- mostly late jurassic-cretaceous

plateosaurus

- earliest sauropodomorph
- latest triassic

Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum

- china
- has the longest neck

brachiosaurus

late jurassic
- only sauropod that had the skeletal structure to hold its head up high
- only dino w/ longer front limbs than hind limbs

diplodocus

- late jurassic
- elongated snout, peg like teeth, very small head, long whip-like tail

apatosaurus

- elogated snout, peg like teeth
- late jurassic

titanosaurs

- all continents
- largest of the sauropods
- late cretaceous

argentinosaurus

- a titanosaur

dreadnoughtus

- possibly the largest of all the titanosaurs

Dr. David Button

- used engineering techniques (developed by Dr. Emily Rayfield)
- diplodocus was a branch stripper, feeding on soft, abrasive plants like horsetails
- camarasaurus was a generalized browser, likely feeding on hard, possibly woody material

Kristi Curry-Rogers

- collected apatosaurus bones to determine growth rate
- interior of bones contain a record of the animal's growth
- discovered the placement of vessels was irregular --> apatasaurus might have reached its full size in 10-12 years

sauropoda characteristics

- very long necks + tails
- erect pillar-like limbs (forelimb shorter than hindlimb)
- feet w/ all 5 digits touching ground, elephant-like pads, claws on toes
- very small skulls (small brain)
- small simple teeth (without inset teeth row)
- large nares located high up on the skulls

advantages of being large

- less competition for food (can reach food sources others can't)
- have room for big gut to contain extra digestive systems for digesting low nutritional food
- self defense, predator cannot hunt them due to size
- greater body size of an animal the less the are of skin in relation to body mass --> no need to maintain their body heat all the time

disadvantage of being large

- require more food sources
- how do they pump blood around their body
- how do they get enough oxygen

mesothermy

raise body temp metabollically, but do not maintain a particular temp

allosaurus

-north america, europe, central africa, australia
- late jurassic
- bony ridge over eyes

megalosaurus

- england
- middle jurassic

carcharodontosaur

- egypt + algeria
- sharp or jagged teeth
- mid cretaceous

spinosaurus

- egypt
- long narrow snout
- sail

ernst stromer

- german paleontologist
- 1915- described the original specimen of spinosaurus

Ibrahim

- 2014- published on new spinosaurus fossils (after the original fossil was destroyed in air raid on munich in 1944)
- depicted spinosaurus to have been adapted for swimming

donal henderson

- 2017- computer modeling of biomechanics suggest spinosaurus prob did not swim
- too bouyant to dive
- point tail could not propel or stabilize it

henry fairfiel osborne

named T rex in 1905

jack horner

over 20 years ago, suggested that T rex was a scavenger

Drs Paul Gignac + Gregory Erickson

used biomechanical methods to reconstruct T rex's skull + jaw muscles to study bite force

Theropoda (beast foot)

- includes all carnivorous dinos + some that became secondarily omnivorous or even herbivorous in late cretaceous
- 1st arose in mid triassic
- expanded in late triassic
- very diverse throughout jurassic + cretaceous
- many genera + different forms, but almost all genera w/ single species
- theropod foot looks like bird's foot (3 wight bearing toes, other digits reduced)

theropoda characteristics

- bipedal
- hollow limb bones
- sharp, serrated teeth
- furcula (2 clavicle bones fused into wishbone)
- primitively 4 digits on hand
- all digits w/ claws
- larger brain to body weight ratio

tetanurae (fused or stiff tails)

- a clade w/ a number of parallel evolutionary lines
- all evolved increasingly bird like features

tetanurae characteristics

- projections of bone on tail vertebrae to keep tail stiff
- many bird like features (ex: reduction of teeth so all teeth are in front of orbit)
- 2nd orbital fenestra
- hind limbs modified for fast running
- rounded rib cage (air sac lung system)
- advanced respiratory system
- advanced circulatory system
- 4 chambered heart

giant carnivores

- primitve tetanurae (sometimes called carnosaurs)
ex: spinosaurus, allosaurus

- derived tetanurae (coelurosaurs)
ex: tyrannosaurids

primitve tetanurae characteristics

- very long femur
- lone, narrow skull
- large orbits
- good sized forelimbs

coelurosaurs characteristics

- extra fenestra in palate
- long, slender hand
- specialized wrist (allowed tearing of flesh)
- long arms (exception T Rex)
- slender rear portion of tail
- brains 2 to 3 times larger than other theropods of same size

Tyrannosaurids

- 1st disc was Trex in 1850s
- named by henry fairfield osborne in 1905
- orig thought to be descendents of allosaurus (disproven)
- modification to skull
- D shaped cross section of teeth
- very short forelimbs
- massive neck muscles

T Rex

- excellent sense of smell
- great vision - big eyes
- great bite force of 8000 lbs

feather quill knobs on velociraptor

alan turner
peter makovicky
mark norell
mike novacek

derived tetanuran clades

ornithomimuds
therizinosaurs
alvarezasaurs
oviraptors

ornithomimuds (bird mimics)

- ostrich dino
- late cretaceous
- asia + N america
- long arms
- long, bony tails
- slender neck
- small head w/ toothless beak
- very large eyes
- three fingered hands

deinocheirus

- original fossils found in 1965 in gobi desert
- terrible hand
- largest
- duck like snout w/ no teeth
- big belly
- may have been an omnivore
- slow moving

Therizinosauridae

- Late Cretacous
- Mongolia, China, NA
- Omnivorous or herbivorous
- Huge theropods
- Long arms
- Giant claws(but not for slashing
- Fat gut (beer belly)
- Some had short stumpy legs
- “Sloth dinosaurs”

Alvarezsauridae

- Late Cretaceous
- Argentina
- Small (0.5-2m)
- Small stout arms with massive muscles
- Hand has one very large thumb, other fingers are ver small
- Long legs
- Long tube-shaped beak with tiny teeth
- Thought to have been insectivores - smashing into termite nests to eat the ants

Oviraptors

- Late Cretaceous
- Mongolia
- First skull collected by Roy Chapman Andrews
- Thought to be egg eater because found many egg shells with the bones
- Strong beak, no teeth
- Diet uncertain
- S-shaped long neck
- Short deep skull with a bony crest
- Nesting by sitting on eggs

Deinonychosaurs

- Include Dromaeosaurids & Troodontids
Both started out as crow-sized fast moving hunters
- Grasping hands
- Distinctive foot
- Small, very speedy derived theropods
- mid-Jurassic - Cretaceous
- NA, Europe, China, Mongolia, Japan, Madagascar, Argentina & Antarctica
- True raptors

Deinonychosaurs clade characteristics

- Small carnivorous dinosaurs
- Characteric foot structures
- 2nd toe is hyper-extendable and bears a large claw which could be slashed down in a narrow plane of vertical movement
- Use of sickle claw on 2nd toe as a cutting & slashing weapon
- Tail stiffened by ossified tendons & extra vertebral processes
- Could move up and down through very large angle, but not very flexible
- Used for balance and stability during quick maneuvers and rapid acceleration
- Backwardly directing pubis for extra muscles to maneuver the tail
- Three fingered hand with long fingers and long claws on both fingers and toes
- Skull with large eyes and stereoscopic vision, big olfactory lobes to the brain
- Excellent sense of smell
- Largest brain relative to body weight of all dinosaurs
- simple serated teeth (like all other theropods)

deinonychus

- one of the larger dromaeosaurs w/ a more solid skull

utahraptor

- early cretaceous
- biggesy dromaeosaurid

trodon

-small
- slender + lightweight
- large eyes --> might have had good night vision
- largest brain than other dinosaur

feathered dinos

- Sinovenator : Chicken size
- Velociraptor: Quill knobs on forelimb
- Sinosauropteryx: contain simple fur feathers
- Caudipteryx: an oviraptor
--> all had no flight feathers or forelimb adaptations for flight

functions of having feathers

- thermal regulation (insulation, keep broods warm)
- assist in locomotion (trap air + provide "lift")
- species recognition
- sexual display

paleopathology

study of diseases, defects, + injuries in fossil remains

developmental abnormalities example

- Apatosaurus (Late Jurassic, Morrison Formation)
- Vertebrae fused together early in growth
- Congenital problem
- Development of “block vertebra” during growth and development
- Occurred during early embryonic development
- This particular occurrence was the 1st case of congenital malformation in a sauropod dinosaur.

dino scoliosis

- iguanodont
- late jurassic
- tanzania
- only have half a vertebra formed (hemivertebra)
- would caused curvature
- probably backache

dental + facial probs

hadrosauroid facial deformity
- upper cretaceous
- romania
- deformity of mandible (lower jaw)
- caused a bulge that would have been evident on the exterior
- died before mature
- did not cause death, but may have contributed

triceratops w/ hole in its head

- hole goes thru fringe behind horn
- analysis shows it had started to heal before the animal died

Sue the T Rex

- found in south dakota 1990
- field museum, chicago
- largest + most complete T rex skeleton
- documented by wolf in 2009
- pathology on jaw (first thought to be bites)
- closer exam showed holes we’re erosive
- believed to be caused by avian protozoan, Trichomonas gallinae
- may have come in contact thru prey
- only found in tyrannosaurids
- too painful for eating, prob starved to death

cancers in dinos

- study involved paleontologists, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists
- often attacks younger indivs who are actively growing
- centrosaurus was a teenager

callus

bony tissue that forms around sites of injuries or infection in bone (indicated animal lived long enough to heal an injury)

big al 2

- 15 pathology sites
- trauma, infection, combination of trauma + infection, healed + unhealed, developmental or idiopathic
- Fractures in cervical vertebrae (healed)
- Humerus (upper arm) - illness or infection
- Healed injury to toe bones. May have been injury or infection
- Fractured ribs (healing incomplete)
- Scapula fractures (healing incomplete)
- Fractures in ischium (unhealed)