abbyhoward
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Extinct Creatures #3
🕑 Added 2016-06-23 16:18:48 +0000 UTC This week, meet Plateosaurus! It was one of the more widespread herbivorous dinosaurs of the late Triassic. It's related to sauropods, and is referred to as a "prosauropod", which isn't so much a group name as it is a way to categorize things that are kind of like sauropods, but not quite. These fellas wandered across the plains of Laurasia, in the same region as Liliensternus.They were a little odd in that the adults were of varying sizes, they could grow to anywhere between 16 and 33 feet long. That's something that ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals do, but not endothermic creatures (including other dinosaurs.) However, they still had the very rapid growth of an endothermic creature. So drawing them with protofeathers is a liiiittle controversial.
BUT, there is super good evidence that the common ancestor of all dinosaurs had protofeathers, and Plateosaurus is not very large, so it likely wouldn't have been at risk for overheating (which is why the sauropods lost their protofeathers.) So there isn't much of a reason for them to have lost their protofeathers, and I feel comfortable making this guess. And I'm not the only one, either-- check out this amazing piece by one of my favorite paleoartists, Apsaravis.
Anyway I could go on about why I think it's silly to assume nakedness until proven feathered (at least for these early dinosaurs and most theropods), but I will wait til future posts to continue that rant.
As for my life, I just got back from Heroes Con this weekend (and an extra couple days in Charlotte, my hometown!) and I am wiped out, but ready to hunker down and get some work done. Some time later this week there will finally be a new Sistertime, my sis and I are both busy ladies this summer but we love doing the podcast! So even though they may be a little far apart sometimes, they won't stop coming. We will be doing our best to fit our once-every-two-weeks schedule, though. Despite the fact that I move to Boston in two weeks...
I hope you're all doing well, and thank you so much for your continued support! You are amazing, and mean the world to me <3
Comments
Fizz
how do you estimate growth rates in fossils?
DVW
Congrats on the move! I hope it goes well. Boston is a wonderful city. I have a lot of family out there, so I made frequent trips as a kid (and still do). There's so much history in the area. Plus, their science museum can't be beat. And a great aquarium! And hilarious accents!
