Geobulletin alpha

Would Theropods (and Pterosaurs) Really Have Wanted To Eat Humans? 

In every movie I can think of where dinosaurs and humans meet each other, the movies have you believe that any theropod from a Compsognathus to a Tyrannosaurus see humans as a new, tasty prey. Now I understand that it would subtract from the thrill of the movie if the theropods did nothing to the

Fossils Camp 

Old sculptures of Tyrannosaurus and Brontosaurus at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, South Dakota. All images are my own. From June 19th to June 24th, I participated in the Fossils Camp at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) in Rapid City, South Dakota. The camp was hosted by Dr. Darrin Pagnac, a hired

Aegisuchus: A Crocodylian Shrouded In Mystery 

Aegisuchus is an animal we know almost nothing about, but enough to spark interest in me. Aegisuchus has become one of my favorite extinct animals, along with Deinosuchus, Megalodon, and Tyrannosaurus. Why, might you ask, is this creature one of my favorite animals? Well, let me tell you about what we know about it, and

Ten Obscure Dinosaurs 

Not all dinosaurs are as well known as the Famous Four (Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and Stegosaurus). Here are ten dinosaurs that you have probably never heard of: 1. Orthomerus dolloi A poorly known hadrosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Maastricht Formation of The Netherlands. It is a dubious species that may be synonymous with Telmatosaurus. 2. Hypsibema missouriensis A hadrosaurid from the Late

Win The Tyrannosaur Chronicles! 

Following Niroot's previous post, we have at least* 2 copies of Dave Hone's new book, The Tyrannosaur Chronicles, to give away. The book is a superb examination (a chronicle, if you will) of the science surrounding that very sexiest of theropod clades, the tyrannosauroids. Highly accessible and yet detailed and comprehensive with it, The Tyrannosaur Chronicles has plenty to offer for dinosaur enthusiasts of every stripe. It's been met with a flurry of positive reviews, to which we will [...]

Putting dinosaur decline into context 

It is probably safe to say that to many, the idea that dinosaurs were slowly in decline, or that they weren't 'evolving' as fast as they should have been, is an uncomfortable thought.I thought some context will make this idea easier to appreciate.Palaeontologists are generally happy to say that Velociraptor is a very close relative of birds. It is morphologically very similar to birds, and there is even strong evidence that it possessed secondary feathers on its forearms (Turner et al., 2007. [...]

Hind limb proportions cast doubt on the validity of Nanotyrannus 

While it was not the main focus of their paper, Persons and Currie (2016), in a recent paper in Scientific Reports hinted at the possibility of Nanotyrannus lancensis being a valid taxon distinct from Tyrannosaurus rex, using deviations from a regression model of lower leg length on femur length.Similar to encephalisation quotients, Persons and Currie devised a score (cursorial-limb-proportion; CLP) based on the difference between the observed lower leg length and the predicted lower leg length [...]

My (Dinosaur Related) Board Game Exploits 

As I've mentioned in posts before, I've gone quiet on the palaeo-art front for the past three-ish years as I delved into free lance (and one semi-pro) board game design.I find this is no longer holding my interest like it did, and that prehistory is starting to beckon (all be it in a new form... aka my upcoming animated project).Still I thought it'd be worth a post on here to show off some of my prehistoric themed game productions.You'll note not all these are solely based on my own 3D [...]

Rare Fossil Offers a View to a Beast’s Old Age 

Picture a prehistoric animal. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you if it’s Tyrannosaurus or another super-popular species. Any creature will do. Now, what age is the animal you imagined? I’d be willing to bet that it’s an adult, representing a healthy individual in the prime of life. (If not, and you pictured a hatching or

Did Dakotaraptor Really Face Off Against Tyrannosaurus? 

Giant raptor roamed the same ecosystems of T. rex, but did they

New Dinosaur Museum Tracks the “Terrible Lizards” Through Time 

Look what the dinosaur tracked in now. Moab Giants, Utah’s new dinosaur museum, takes focus on the footprints these large critters left behind. Take a chance, visit the museum, and walk a mile in a dinosaurs shoes! smithsonianmag.com Towering above the sagebrush, the Tyrannosaurus stands with its jaws agape, serrated teeth shining in the desert

Special Serrations Gave Carnivorous Dinosaurs an Evolutionary Edge 

Railroad spikes. Knives. Razors. The teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs like Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus have been compared to plenty

A year of Tyrannosaurus rex artworks 

A minor milestone was reached this week at my print store - there's now 50 different bits of art in there. Given that I only started selling prints less than a year ago, I'm happy to see some substantial growth in my catalogue already (albeit with some cheating - many are 'reworked' older pieces, rather than entirely new bits). Lots more will be available in the near future - I'm holding several bits back for various reasons, including a project I'll elaborate more on soon. Working on these in [...]

The Call of the Terror Bird 

When you think of a scary dinosaur, what comes to mind? The agile, sickle-clawed Utahraptor? A towering Tyrannosaurus?

Carcharodontosauru S Sahricus 

Introduction: 98 million years ago,a apex sauropod hunter appeared,Carcharodontosaurus. Size: Carcharodontosaurus was estimated at 11-15 meters and 6-15 tons.More recent estimates put Carcharodontosaurus at 11-13 meters and 7 tons.It was beaten in size ONLY by Spinosaurus agyptiacus and Giganotosaurus carolinii. Classification: Carcharodontosaurus belongs to the Carcharodontosaurid group,a subgroup inside the group Carnosauria unlike Tyrannosaurus which belongs to the Coelosauria. [...]

TYRANNOSAURUS: Warrior Or Wimp? 

The imagination has captured our mind,a 7 ton predator.Is this always correct?this is a argument that should of been over 25 years ago. Jack Horner at The Museum of The Rockies suggests that T.rex was an all time scavenger after looking at T.rex,s 1 meter long arms.He said:”T.rex,with its tiny arms could not do anything with

Dinosaur Intelligence 

Model of the brain case of a tyrannosaurus A topic heavily debated among paleontologists is dinosaur intelligence. The earliest paleontologists perceived dinosaurs as simple-minded, fairly unintelligent creatures. As paleontology and technology have evolved, however, scientists of today perceive dinosaurs as very intelligent creatures, especially the carnivorous dinosaurs. Two of the smartest dinosaur families were dromaeosauridae (the

Of tiny tyrants and Triassic big-heads: Tyrannosaurus rex and Garjainia madiba 

This week sees two new pictures of mine being 'released' in one way or another. Much as I'd like to go into lots of detail about each, that realistically isn't going to happen anytime soon. I'm going to attempt a sort of 'picture[s] of the day'-style writing. I'm sure I can do it... right?Chidumebi Browne's resting Tyrannosaurus teensTwo young adult old male (left) and female Tyrannosaurus on a break from pillaging and destroying the Cretaceous, distracted by a group of ruffian moths. [...]

Crania of Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus ; Integument of the... 

Crania of Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus ; Integument of the iguanodont dinosaur Trachodon. Memoirs of the AMNH ; new ser., v. 1, pt. 1-2.Osborn, Henry Fairfield, 1857-1935. via

Interview: Ross Campbell 

We here at LITC were pleasantly surprised by Ross Campbell's art in the recent Turtles in Time #1, which depicted all of its prehistoric creatures with various feathery coverings (including, presciently enough, the ornithischians.) When it turned out that Ross Campbell is active on Deviantart, well, that was too tempting an opportunity to resist. I reached out with a few questions, and he was kind of enough to reply.So how did you end up on the Turtles in Time creative team? Did you have [...]