#late triassic

Just got done watching Surviving Earth Episode 2 - "When the Climate Broke"

It was pretty Neat 😄

My favorite animals featured were (in order): 1. Ischigualastia 2. Chaliminia 3. Hyperodapedon 4. Zupaysaurus

This is the second time The Carnian Pluvial Episode has been featured in PaleoMedia in recent times, the first being The Dinosaurs (Netflix Series).

The Droughts featured in this episode really reminded of the Droughts were currently having in Florida and Much of the United States and other parts of the world Thanks to Climate Change, Environmental Destruction, and A.I Datacenters.

Personally, I don't think it's really realistic for an animal as big and successful as Ischigualastia to be reliant on 1 species of plant. Although I can understand why Impossible Pictures made the choice to portray them that way considering the themes of the episode (and the series as a whole) and the fact there's likely real life analogs I'm not currently aware of or just can't think of while typing this.

Just like the Elph in the previous episode, the Hyperodapedon's behavior reminds me of Prairie Dogs.

I'm kinda disappointed with the modern day/ending section. It just didn't have as much to say compared to the previous episode. At least in my opinion.

Overall, i give this episode a 8/10. Still recommend checking it out.

The Italian Alps stand as silent, majestic giants, their snow covered peaks and sheer rock faces a testament to the immense power of geological time. For centuries, these mountains have been a playground for skiers, a challenge for climbers, and a source of inspiration for all who witness their beauty. They are a symbol of permanence, of a world carved from ice and stone. Yet, these same…

Phytosaur Smilosuchus gregorii, of Late Triassic, USA!

While the pseudosuchians were still figuring things out in the Triassic, trying out diverse body types, the entirely unrelated phytosaurs had already perfected the semi-aquatic reptilian predator bodyplan. Phytosaurs are known from many different morphologies, specifically with vastly different skull forms, though they can be told apart from pseudosuchians by the position of their nostrils close to their eyes on their snout. One of the largest phytosaurs was the North American Smilosuchus. There are three known species of Smilosuchus, each with different skull morphologies. Smilosuchus gregorii, seen here, had a robust skull, less long and slender than its relatives. Like other phytosaurs, it had heterodont teeth; with large tusks at the front of its mouth for impaling prey, and smaller, blade-like teeth near the back for slicing flesh. It had powerful jaw muscles, and was likely able to hunt large prey, perhaps ambushing the giant dicynodonts and even aetosaurs of the time.

Smilosuchus gregorii was found in the Late Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona, USA. It would have lived alongside its Smilosuchus relatives, S. adamanensis and S. lithodendrorum, and other phytosaurs like Leptosuchus, Machaeroprosopus, Pravusuchus, and Protome. Pseudosuchians lived here too, though they had the land colonized while the phytosaurs dominated the waters. These included the aetosauriformes Acaenasuchus and Revueltosaurus, the true aetosaurs Adamanasuchus, Calyptosuchus, Desmatosuchus, Kryphioparma, Paratypothorax, Rioarribasuchus, Scutarx, Typothorax, and Tecovasuchus, the small, cat-like Hesperosuchus and Parrishia, the bipedal, theropod-like predator Poposaurus, and the giant land predator Postosuchus. Other archosaurimorphs Smilosuchus would have come across would have been the tanystropheid Akidostropheus, doswelliids like Doswellia and Vancleavea, allokotosaurs like Puercosuchus and Trilophosaurus, and others like Syntomiprosopus. Other animals that lived here (and could have been preyed on by Smilosuchus) included the enigmatic Acallosuchus, drepanosaurs like Ancistronychus, Fabanychus, and Skybalonyx, cynodonts like Kataigidodon, the dicynodont Placerias (thought to be Smilosuchus’ preferred prey), and temnospondyl amphibians like Anaschisma.

(Type femur [thigh bone] of Gondwanax paraisensis, from Müller, 2024)

Meaning of name: Gondwanax = Gondwana king [in Greek]; paraisensis = from Paraíso do Sul

Age: Middle–Late Triassic (Ladinian–Carnian)

Where found: Santa Maria Formation, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

How much is known: A right femur (thigh bone), along with several vertebrae and a partial pelvis from the same site. It is unknown whether the other bones belonged to the same individual as the femur.

Notes: Gondwanax was a silesaurid, a group of probably quadrupedal Triassic reptiles that often had adaptations for herbivory (though there is evidence that they also ate insects). Until recently, silesaurids were generally considered to be close relatives of dinosaurs instead of dinosaurs themselves, and I previously excluded them from coverage on this blog. However, multiple recent analyses have suggested that they might in fact be true dinosaurs, specifically early members of Ornithischia ("bird-hipped" dinosaurs), so from here on out I will tentatively include them within this blog's purview. In fact, some of those studies have found that most "silesaurids" may not have formed a unique evolutionary group, but instead a series of lineages with some being more closely related to later ornithischians than others.

Regardless of whether it is a true dinosaur, Gondwanax is one of the oldest known dinosauromorphs (the group containing dinosaurs and their closest relatives). Compared to other dinosauromorphs of similar age, Gondwanax more closely resembles later dinosaurs in having three hip vertebrae (whereas dinosaurs ancestrally appear to have had only two). It is unusual among dinosauromorphs in having a very small fourth trochanter, a attachment point on the femur for muscles that pull the hindlimb backward.

(Schematic skeletal of Gondwanax paraisensis, with preserved bones in orange, from Müller, 2024)

Thalassiodracon

Thalassiodracon — вимерлий рід плезіозаврів з родини Pliosauridae, що існував у пізньому тріасі – ранній юрі і відомий виключно з Нижнього Ліасу Англії. Типовий і єдиний вид — Thalassiodracon (Plesiosaurus) hawkinsi (Owen, 1838).

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