#ixalerpeton

Last year's portrait of the basal sauropodomorph Buriolestes schultzi in two versions. This early dinosaur was described in 2016 based on a partial skeleton from the deposits of the Santa Maria Formation in southern Brazil. Other specimens were later published, including an almost complete skeleton with a skull. Buriolestes is unusual in that, having sharp serrated predator teeth, it was an early relative of sauropods. This means that sauropodomorphs, like other herbivorous dinosaurs, switched to herbivory secondarily. Known adults vary greatly in weight: there is a specimen weighing more than 15 kilograms, although others weighed an estimated 6.4-7.2 kg. Interestingly, the lagerpetid Ixalerpeton polesinensis was found next to the holotype of Buriolestes, possibly serving as prey. Soft-tissue structures and protofeather coverings in this reconstruction are speculative

#Archovember Day 26 - Ixalerpeton polesinensis

The Triassic lagerpetids were once thought to be early dinosauromorphs, but recent fossil evidence suggest that they were actually pterosauromorphs… either closely related to pterosaurs or even ancestral to them! Ixalerpeton polesinensis was a lagerpetid from Late Triassic Brazil, a locale that would eventually become a hotspot for pterosaurs. Like other lagerpetids, it had long hind legs with well-developed muscles, but it lacked the neural spines that suggest hopping locomotion as in Lagerpeton. It was small and agile, likely using its long legs to chase and leap after insects.