#dmm2017

I made a poorly drawn dino march madness final 8 thing

Well, here we have it: The winner of Dinosaur March Madness, 2017. Maiasaura!

I don’t really know exactly what to say - obviously I think it’s a good choice - but it was a super close race, as you’ll see under the cut. 

Not going to lie, Spinosaurus and Maiasaura seem to be... mostly on par, with Maiasaura only taking the prize because more people dislike Spinosaurus than they do Maiasaura. 

So here’s your new Dinosaur Government to replace last year’s! Here’s to a good year of governance :D

Alright, I realize this may come as a bit of a surprise, but hear me out.

Scientific significance

Yes, Dreadnoughtus may be another stinkin’ titanosaur but I would say that it is definitely one of the best stinkin’ titanosaurs.

Up until the AMNH titanosaur stole its thunder, it was definitely the most complete example known - 70% of the skeleton as a matter of fact

It gives us an excellent look into the paleoenvironment of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation, which is very understudied compared to other Cretaceous Argentinian sites

There are some biogeographic implications due to its lat/long - particularly, the notion that giant Antarctic titanosaurs are a distinct possibility (get digging, folks)

The authors actually bother to measure the skeletal elements and list them so people can actually LOOK at them and compare it to other animals, in stark contrast to a distressing number of other papers. #MYDD

It's open access

Unlike every other contender on the list, the descriptive papers for Dreadnoughtus are entirely 100% open access. You can read it right here! Here's the supplementary information! All free!

Compare that to the Spinosaurus paper, which was released the exact same month, but buried behind a paywall and chopped up to fit the page requirements of Science. A complete bummer that could have easily been avoided if it was submitted to an open access journal instead of upholding authors' academic loyalties to certain outlets for no good reason *cough*throwing shade*cough*

Embraces the Shiny Digital Future

Just because paleontology is an old dog it doesn't mean it can't learn new tricks.

The entire skeleton has been 3D scanned and is viewable & downloadable right here online, for free, as is the Dreadnoughtus way. You want some individual high-res bones? You got 'em. The whole thing, mounted as in life? You got that too. I bet you could take the files and 3D print them yourself if you've got the tech. Remember Aquilops, and how it captivated the Internet with its tiny printable skull? You can thank Dreadnoughtus for pioneering that.

And those prints are being put to good use in the lab, where they're being hooked up to wires and makeshift muscles in an attempt to imitate the joints and tendons in life. Want a muscle study based on this data? Boom! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7tsdSj-t7k

There's a personal touch

I'm making this case in the first place because Dreadnoughtus holds a special place in my heart. It takes literal years of manpower and effort to prep those bones, and a young Diplotomodon would go down to the Academy of Natural Sciences year after year to watch it happen. It was after a lecture by Ken Lacovara, the lead author, where I realized that the nearby university in Philadelphia had a paleontology program - something I'd been looking for since I knew it was a proper science. Today, I work with many of the coauthors and help to support their projects. Heck without Dreadnoughtus I would probably not be here writing this up.

(seriously I know like all of those people)

It's a wholesome, feel-good story of achievement and perseverance

Think about it. An expedition to a wild, little-studied corner of the world with barely any coverage in the literature. Against all odds, they find a giant bone, and then another, and then another, and then whoops they've got a giant sauropod. So they make deals with the Argentinian government, carve it out, pack it up, send it to two separate museums in the US for preparation, and after ten years of working away finally reveal it to the world, where it's met with great interest, response publications, and future research opportunities. The bones get sent back to Argentina as part of the country's cultural heritage, and everyone has a good time. Ain't that all warm and fuzzy?

And finally:

Straight-up bribery

If it wins, I'll spill some spicy Dreadnoughtus secrets that have never actually made it online. Like what its original name was.

Now I’m no expert on Neornithes, and I’m not going to bother listing what I voted for in every category (not that I can remember), however I would like to take just a moment of your time to recommend a very special parrot to you all:

SHADOW THE PARROT

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Or ‘Pesquet’s parrot’ as it’s known to its middle-class, suburban parents.*

Just look at it

OW THE EDGE

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Not only does it have jet black and blood red feathers, but it’s got a naked face (also black, of course) and a bill that’s so long and hooked it looks like a miniature vulture.*

You have to try to be this goddamn edgy of an animal. Especially when you’re a parrot.

*teleports (without flying) behind you* Nothing personnel, kid

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And it doesn’t stop there, this thing is so freaking extra that it’s been designated an entire subfamily for its one singular genus with only one species. 

If parrots wore trenchcoats, this is what it would be like.

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Does the Pesquet’s parrot know no limit to the edge?

Yes, yes it does.

Despite appearances, this parrot is a specialised fruit-eater, particularly fond of figs, along with flowers and nectar. See? It was sweet on the inside all along!

You know that trope where the dark, brooding gothic character is paired up with the bright, upeat, peppy (usually blonde) character? This is it except it’s parrots.

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To round off with some general information, it’s relatively large for a parrot with a length of ~46 cm (whatever that means)—despite several attempts, I could not come up with any results for its wingspan, go figure. The species is only known from the hill and montane rainforests of New Guinea, and in part to its rarity, an in part to its sick feathers, it is overhunted and currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

I’m running out of edgy-jokes and fun facts about it, so I’ll finish here and say to totally go and vote for Shadow the Parrot as this year’s parrot for DMM2017. 

((*Pesquet’s parrots also sometimes go by the name “Vulturine parrot”, however there’s already another species of parrot called this.

This species gets its name because while they start off like your typical small, green parrot as juveniles, they shed all the feathers on their head as adults, leaving them with a naked, black head.

The closely related bald parrot is similarly bald, however this species has bare orange skin on its head which I swear down looks just like all those old garishly colourful Archaeopteryx with inexplicably bald heads.

VOTE

THE

MYSTERY

Also if you could help make sure this little friend wins its fight too that would be great:

Cryolophosaurus is my favorite dinosaur (if that wasn’t obvious enough), and while I don’t necessarily expect it to win, I think it could be neat to have it get somewhere in the voting process.

-Name means “Cold crested lizard”

-Nicknamed “Elvissaurus” for it’s cool crest

-Yeah look at that neat crest honestly, it was probably used for display

-From Antarctica, the first non-avian theropod discovered from Antarctica and the second dinosaur fossil discovered there overall

-The first non-avian dinosaur actually named from Antarctica (it was named before the first dinosaur fossil discovered there, Antarctopelta, was)

-It’s jaw shape indicates it may have fed on fish

-From the early Jurassic

-One of the largest theropods of its time 

-Fancy

Yutyrannus is the largest dinosaur found with evidence of feathers. This has big implications for the occurrence of feathers in dinosauria, proves that large theropods could be feathered, and shows feathering within tyrannosauroidea.

Yutyrannus has three near-complete specimens, from various life stages. This allows for not only pretty thorough study and description, but also establishes the species’ ontogeny. Near-complete specimens are a big deal, and it’s always awesome to be able to establish some ideas on how the animal changed as it aged.

Apart from the feathers, has some other pretty cool features such as a nasal crest.

Isn’t disproportionally popular, didn’t star in a sub-par Jurassic Park movie, is not riding on “awesome” factor. Okay so these ones are a little petty but fuck you I’m allowed to be petty.

In short - vote Yutyrannus or I will be Disappoint

@a-dinosaur-a-day My predictions for Dinosaur March Madness 2017.  It would be really nice if Cryolophosaurus or an ankyolosaur won, but I think it’s going to go to the floof ball that is the Burrowing Owl.  The raven will have another modern bird to hang out with at the winners table.