Episode 540: Three Cute New Titanosaurs. Uriash kadici and Petrustitan hungaricus lived on Hateg island and would have had to deal with the murder giraffe—Hatzegopteryx. Plus the “titan of salt” Chadititan. We also celebrate world metrology day with some dinosaur size comparisons.

News:

• There are two new titanosaur dinosaurs from Hateg Island: Uriash kadici (the largest known from the island) and Petrustitan hungaricus (formerly lumped with Magyarosaurus) source
• There’s another new titanosaur dinosaur, Chadititan calvoi, from Patagonia that was very small for a titanosaur source

Sponsors:

The dinosaur of the day: Eodromaeus

• Theropod that lived in the Late Triassic (about 230 mya) in what is now Argentina (Ischigualasto Formation)
• Early dinosaur, so looks like other early dinosaurs
• Walked on two legs, had a long tail
• Described as pet sized
• Estimated to be almost 4 ft (1.2 m) long and weigh about 10 to 15 lb (4.5 to 6.8 kg)
• Another estimate that it weighed 16 lb (7.1 kg)
• Had long fingers and sharp claws
• Had five fingers on each hand
• Its fourth and fifth fingers are smaller than the first three fingers
• Had a stiff tail to help with balance
• Had long legs and was lightly built, so may have been a fast runner
• Estimated to run about 20 mph (32 kph)
• Had a low, rectangular skull that was about 12 cm (almost 5 in) long
• Skull had lots of features like other theropods, such as deep depressions on the side of the braincase, and an additional hole (fenestra)
• Had a slender lower jaw
• Had knife-shaped teeth
• Also had a row of small teeth on the pterygoid bone of the palate (back of the mouth)
• First thought to be a new species of Eoraptor
• Eoraptor also has palatal teeth, but rare to see in dinosaurs
• Had longer neck bones than Eoraptor
• Discovery of Eodromaeus led to Eoraptor being reclassified as a basal sauropodomorph (instead of a theropod)
• Eoraptor had leaf-shaped teeth
• Some debate over how to classify Eodromaeus, but most seem to consider it a basal theropod
• Eodromaeus had features in the arms, legs, and hips show it’s likely a theropod
• Eoraptor still being debated
• Fossils found in 1996 by Ricardo Martinez and Jim Murphy
• Six specimens found
• Holotype includes a crushed but nearly complete skeleton
• Named by Ricardo Martinez and others in 2011
• Type species is Eodromaeus murphi
• Genus name means “dawn runner”
• Species name is in honor of Jim Murphy
• Lived in a humid climate
• The name Ischigualasto (name of the formation where it was found) comes from the extinct Cacán language, and means “place where the moon alights”
• Other dinosaurs that lived around the same time and place include the basal sauropodomorphs Eoraptor and Chromogisaurus, and herrerasaurs such as Herrerasaurus and Sanjuansaurus
• Other animals that live around the same time and place include aetosaurs, cynodonts, dicynodonts, and silesaurs (which could be argued to be dinosaurs)

Fun Fact:

In honor of world metrology day: Megaraptor is 1000 times the size of Microraptor, but there are many dinosaurs that are even smaller than Microraptor.

Thank you Patrons!

Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at patreon.com/iknowdino