Pleistocene Pride

Gay Ophthalmosaurus

My 25 years of palaeoart chronology…

The birth of a Paraceratherium is an event to be celebrated. Momma is very proud.

Dsungaripterus

At the edge of a pond in Early Cretaceous China, a Dsungaripterus has come to feed. With a wingspan of nearly ten feet, he had some difficulty alighting to his perch in this small clearing. His troubles, however, will soon be rewarded. A pond such as this could contain a great bounty of mollusks hidden among slippery stones. The great pterosaur shuffles excitedly along a fallen log as he peers into the water.

Behind his curved beak lies a formidable set of molars, and he uses these to pry open and crush shells and bone. In his rush to search for snails and crustaceans hidden under the surface, he has failed to notice the plump turtle that slowly pulls itself across the muddy shoreline.

The turtle, on the other hand, has not failed to notice the pterosaur that looms above. She quietly makes her way toward a thicket of horsetails, hoping to hide before the unwelcome intruder decides to introduce himself.

16" x 20" Oil on Hardboard 2016

Another #paleostream sketch

Source: http://teratophoneus.deviantart.com/art/Miracinonyx-trumani-405537986

Name: Miracionyx trumani (American Cheetah)

Name Meaning: Amazing Cheetah

First Described: 1969

Described By: Orr

Classification: Cellular Life, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Eukaryota, Unikonta, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Metazoa, Eumetazoa, Planulozoa, Bilatera, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Craniata, Vertebrata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Teleostomi, Euteleostomi, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Anthracosauria,  Batrachosauria, Cotylosauria, Amniota, Synapsida, Eupelycosauria, Sphenacodontia, Sphenacodontoidea, Therapsida, Eutherapsida, Neotherapsida, Theriodontia, Eutheriodontia, Cynodonta, Epicynodontia, Eucynodontia, Probainognathia, Chiniquodontoida, Prozostrodontia, Mammaliaformes, Mammalia, Theriiformes, Holotheria, Trechnotheria, Cladotheria, Zathria, Tribosphenida, Theria, Eutheria, Placentalia, Boreoeutheria, Laurasiatheria, Scrotifera, Fereuungulata, Pegasoferae, Zooamata, Ferae, Carnivora, Feliformia, Feloidea, Felidae, Felinae

The American cheetah is an extinct feline, and it actually has another sepcies in the genus, M. inexpectatus. It lived from the Piacenzian age of the Pliocene epoch of the Neogene, to the Tarantian age of the Pleistocene epoch of the Quaternary, aka, from 2.6 to 0.011 million years ago. It lived in North America, and was very similar to the modern cheetah, but actually wasn’t very closely related to it. The similarities are more likely due to convergent evolution with the modern cheetah. It is most closely related to Puma, and evolved from cougar-like ancestors that either were already in America or migrated over from Asia. Convergent evolution is decidedly one of my favorite things, with two different lineage of cats evolving body morphologies that aided in moving rapidly. 

Source: https://chasingsabretooths.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/vanished-with-the-sabertooths-the-american-cheetahs/

It split from the cougar-like ancestor about 3 million years ago. It was morphologically similar to the modern cheetah, and about the same size as a northern cougar. It would have been about 170 cm long with a tail about 92 cm long and about 85 cm high. It would have weighed about 70 kg, but larger ones could reach 95 kg. It had a shortened face and expanded nasal cavities for increased oxygen intake. It had legs proportioned for swift running, and probably would have been a predator of hoofed plains animals such as the pronghorn. In fact, it might have been an interesting bit of an evolutionary arms race between the pronghorn and Miracinonyx, with the pronghorn evolving to outrun the American cheetah and the American cheetah evolving to catch up. 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheetah

Shout out goes to that lovely anon!

By @apsaravis​

Etymology: Linked crocodile

First Described By: Case, 1920

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota, Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Sauropsida, Eureptilia, Romeriida, Disapsida, Neodiapsida, Sauria, Archosauromorpha, Crocopoda, Archosauriformes, Eucrocopoda, Archosauria, Pseudosuchia, Aetosauria, Stagonolepididae, Desmatosuchinae

Referred Species: D. spurensis, D. smalli

Status: Extinct 

Time and Place: 237 to 208 million years ago, from the Carnian to the Norian of the Late Triassic

Desmatosuchus is known from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming.

Physical Description: Desmatosuchus was yet another weird crocodile relative. It grew up to around 4.5 meters (15 feet) in length. Its head was small relative to its body size, and had a narrow, slightly upturned snout. The front of the upper snout was slightly expanded, forming a shovel-like structure. The teeth, which were only present in the backs of the jaws, were peg-shaped. It would have stood pretty much upright off the ground, although the limbs were not very flexible. The body was heavily armored, with the back being covered with a row of blocky osteoderms and bordered by a row of triangular osteoderms on each side. On the neck and over the shoulders, these had grown into large, backward-curved spikes.

Diet: Desmatosuchus was likely primarily herbivorous, although a degree of omnivory (for example, also eating insects) is not off the table, based on a few anatomial similarities to armadillos.

Behavior: Desmatosuchus like used its shovellike snout to uproot soft plants from the ground. This is slightly similar to modern pigs, but with less rooting around because Desmatosuchus probably didn’t have any movable fleshy bits to its snout. When chewing, the lower jaw would have fit almost perfectly into the upper jaw, to help shear soft plant material. Desmatosuchus lived in herds, possibly of related individuals - there are instances of Desmatosuchus fossils being found together in quarries, with up to 14 individuals found associated in the Placerias Quarry of Arizona. The spikes on its neck and shoulders were likely used for defense against predators such as Postosuchus, but given the size of them can vary dramatically, they may have also been used for visual display.

Ecosystem: Desmatosuchus is - yet again - from late Triassic North America! We’ve been over what lived in this area many times before. In one instance, Desmatosuchus was found in association with, among other things, temnospondyls, poposaurids, a pterosaur, and what was either an early ornithischian or Revueltosaurus. This assemblage only spans one meter of Dockum Group rock, suggesting that it was deposited there by a flash flood. Desmatosuchus probably hung around waterways, as it’s often found alongside phytosaurs and temnospondyls.

Other: There are two species of Desmatosuchus: D. spurensis and D. smalli. D. smalli lived later than D. spurensis and, among other minor differences, had fewer teeth and larger spikes. 

~ By Henry Thomas

Sources under the cut

Paleo-Files: Enigmacursor