Episode 546: Troodon and Dr. Kenneth Lacovara. New support for Troodon as a valid dinosaur genus. Plus Dr. Kenneth Lacovara joins us to discuss the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, Colossal Biosciences, Dreadnoughtus, Jurassic Park, and more.

News:

• Is Troodon a legit dinosaur? (these authors say yes) source
• Based on their jaw mechanics, troodontids may have been omnivores source

Interview:

Kenneth Lacovara, a paleontologist, professor, explorer, science communicator (a TED speaker and author), Explorer’s Club medalist, and he is the founding dean of the School of Earth & Environment at Rowan University, executive director of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, and he serves on the Board of Scientific Advisors for Colossal Biosciences. Check out his book Why Dinosaurs Matter.

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The dinosaur of the day: Veterupristisaurus

• Carcharodontosaurid theropod that lived in the Jurassic in what is now Tanzania (Tendaguru Formation)
• Looks similar to Carcharodontosaurus
• Large, walked on two legs, had a long head, a long tail, kind of a long body
• Estimated to be about 26 ft (8 m) long and weigh 1.65 metric tons, based on comparing bones to its close relative Acrocanthosaurus
• Acrocanthosaurus estimated to grow up to almost 38 ft (11.5 m) long
• May not be a valid dinosaur
• Holotype is an isolated middle tail bone (caudal vertebra)
• Holotype may be in between the 10th and 15th tail bones
• Holotype might be a subadult, based on having some fusions and some parts not fused
• Other fossils found include two partially fused middle tail bones, found in the same location as the holotype, so may be from the same individual, and possibly another tail bone is from Veterupristisaurus
• Other tail bones not part of the holotype because we don’t know the exact association of them (how they were together exactly, when first found)
• Originally thought to be Ceratosaurus? roechlingi, by Werner Janensch in 1925
• Named in 2011 by Oliver Rauhut
• Type species is Veterupristisaurus milneri
• Genus name means “old shark lizard”, and refers to Veterupristisaurus being the oldest known carcharodontosaurid (the “shark toothed lizards”)
• Species name is in honor of paleontologist Angela Milner, “for her many contributions to vertebrate palaeontology, including numerous works on theropod dinosaurs”
• Middle caudal vertebra (tail bone) described in 1925
• Janensch said the other bones (part of the skull, leg bone, one whole and two half tail bones, other pieces of vertebrae, parts of ribs, and other indeterminate broken pieces), were from a large theropod, and “because of the manner of burial it was evident that they all belong to one individual”
• Also said the tail bone and the leg bones seemed so similar to the North American dinosaur Ceratosaurus, “that I do not deem it justified to create a new generic name, and I believe, with reservations, that I can assign them to the genus”
• Named it Ceratosaurus (?) roechlingi “after the patron of the Tendagurus Expedition, Mr. Home-Commerce Councilor Aug. Röchling”
• In 2011, Rauhut mentioned that Ceratosaurus? roechlingi was based on associated fragments, which probably represent more than one type of dinosaur
• However, the bones referred to Ceratosaurus? roechlingi were, according to the 2011 paper, from multiple animals. The piece of skull, leg bones, and ankle bone seemed to be from a larger animal than the vertebrae
• Holotype vertebra (tail bone) is about 4.8 in (12.3 cm), which is a little larger than Torvosaurus (estimated to be about almost 30 ft / 9 m long) and Neovenator (estimated to be about 26 ft / 8 m long)
• Vertebra is a little shorter than the length of those in Acrocanthosaurus (which Rauhut said was a sister taxon, so very closely related)
• Since Veterupristisaurus is so large, and there are lots of other dinosaur fossils in the Tendaguru, with lots of (?) in the names, said it seems probable some of those fossils are also from Veterupristisaurus, but need more fossils to know for sure
• Rauhut mentioned in the 2011 paper that even though the fossils are fragmentary and there’s not much overlap with other specimens in the Tendaguru Formation, he opted to name a new dinosaur genus for a few reasons. 1) The vertebrae had unique features and a combination of characteristics that helped narrow down what type of dinosaurs they belonged to. 2) It seemed unlikely that more complete fossils would be found in the Tendaguru Formation in the near future, so this dinosaur might be a reference point for the theropods found there. 3) Theropods from the Late Jurassic of the Southern Hemisphere aren’t well known, so any new information is helpful. “A formally named taxon will receive more attention than remains described as ‘Theropod indet.’ or ‘Allosauroidea indet.’ and is more likely to be included in analyses of biogeography or diversity studies”. The hope is the new dinosaur will help get more people interested in the theropods of the Jurassic of Africa
• Also said in the paper that in total there were at least seven species of theropods from the Tendaguru Formation. However, some of the fossils Janensch described in the 1920s were destroyed during WWII
• A 2025 study, where Rauhut was a co-author, that described the carcharodontosaur Tameryraptor (talked about in episode 534), found the one character that made Veterupristisaurus was also found in Lusovenator in 2020, so the validity of Veterupristisaurus “is questionable”
• Specifically, “a double spinoprezygapophyseal lamina in the mid-caudal vertebrae” (has to do with the thin, flat layer in one of the tail bones)
• Other dinosaurs that lived at the same time and place include the sauropod Tornieria, the carnivorous theropod Ceratosaurus, and an unknown species of Torvosaurus

Fun Fact:

Emus and Troodon grew in a similar way.

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