#middle triassic

So, in the midst of the thousand thousand other projects I have started, on this website and in life…I just wanna have some fun with art. Not the best artist, so forgive my trespasses here, especially with a dinosaur species I’ve, admittedly, never heard of! Neat one, though! This is a part of the #DrawDinosDaily challenge posted by @a-dinosaur-a-day, so I’ll try and do as many of these as I can this month (or…year?)!

So, middle Triassic dinosaur known from fossils in Tanzania, which is super neat! He’s kind of a weirdy, with longer front limbs, functional fifth toes, a toothless front of the mouth, and an unclear phylogenetic relationship to a primitive group of the dinosaurs, the silesaurids. I skimmed a few papers (unaccustomed to reading paleontological species description papers, so that was a lot of jargon), got some vibe of the guy, and put him to paper! Or iPad.

The potential inaccuracies in my depiction are the implications of feathers (no direct evidence, especially for a dinosaur this old, but there is some academic speculation that feathers may be this early), the way the feet are drawn (that was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I think I got that functional fifth toe right in there), and the length of the front limbs (they ARE long, but I leant into some older interpretations of the species). So, to my fellow dinosaur lovers, sorry about that! Been a while since I’ve drawn a non-avian dinosaur, and certainly not in this style. Hopefully, sticking with this challenge helps me improve a bit! Next up, the Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarnicus)!

Archosauriform Erythrosuchus africanus, of Early to Middle Triassic, South Africa!

Before the large pseudosuchians took over the Late Triassic of South Africa, a different kind of archosauromorph ruled the Karoo. This was the big-headed Erythrosuchus africanus, a true giant of its time, at around 4.75–5 m (15.6–16.4 ft) long, including a 1 m (3.3 ft) long head. It walked on all fours and had limbs positioned semivertically under its body, unlike the sprawling gait of most other early reptiles. This apex predator was the largest of its own family, the erythrosuchids. It was not an archosaur, but is thought to be closely related to the last common ancestor of all archosaurs.

Erythrosuchus africanus has been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Burgersdorp Formation. Erythrosuchus was highly successful, its 5 million year rule spanning from the early to middle Triassic, and it would have seen the rise and extinction of multiple species. Its main prey were likely dicynodont synapsids, such as Kannemeyeria and Kombuisia, cynodont synapsids like Bolotridon, Cricodon, Cynognathus, Diademodon, and Lumkuia, and therocephalian synapsids like Bauria and Microgomphodon. It could have also preyed on other reptiles, rhynchosaurs like Eohyosaurus, Howesia, and Mesosuchus, procolophonids like Myocephalus, Teratophon, Theledectes, Thelephon, and Thelerpeton, and others like Euparkeria. Erythrosuchus likely wasn’t picky, and may have also fed on the wealth of large temnospondyl amphibians here, such as Batrachosuchus, Jammerbergia, Laidleria, Microposaurus, Vanastega, and Xenotosuchus.

Just got done watching Surviving Earth Episode 1 - "When the Earth Burned"

I finally found NBC 😊😄

Honestly, I liked it a lot ☺️

I think the animals were well animated and their portrayals were fairly accurate, though I fell like the Rival Inostrancevia was a little too focused on that particular family of Gorgons for a little too long, realistically.

The young Inostrancevia was rather adorable ☺️

The part were the Elph was playing dead made me chuckle a little bit 🤣 . I noticed their behavior seems to be inspired by Prairie Dogs, just like in Walking with Monsters (which was also made by Impossible Pictures).

The use of Protopterosaurus, a speculative/fictionalized Pterosaur ancestor, reminds me of the Protomosasaurus from Amazing DinoWorld. Kinda weird they didn't use a real species from that middle Triassic. Personally, I would've skipped the pterosaurs and showcased a descendant of the surviving dicynodont's from the earlier Permian, probably something like Kannemeyeria or Dinodontosaurus.

I like how the Great Dying isn't portrayed as just one big volcanic explosion, but a slow death caused by the release of carbon dioxide and other toxic gasses from the siberian traps (and other volcanos) causing global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer causing extinctions even before the big eruption we all know.

The Elph were by far my favorite animals from this episode, followed by Suminia and then the Dongusuchus.

I like how at the end when talking about The 6th Mass Extinction and modern day Climate Change & Global Warming they don't just say Land/Tree Forests are the only carbon sink, they also mention Sea Grass Meadows (and oceans in general) as well as Peat Bogs.

Overall, i give this a 8.5/10. I highly recommend checking it out. You can find it on NBC and Peacock.

I highly recommend checking out Dino Guy's Review on YouTube. It's definitely more in-depth, especially in terms of the science.

I'm also excited to hear Unnatural History Channel's thoughts on Surviving Earth (assuming he makes a video on it)

(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)

Day 8: Lotosaurus

Protorosaur Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, of Middle Triassic, China!

Second on our Archovember list this year is the bizarre Middle Triassic protorosaur, Dinocephalosaurus orientalis. Like their relatives, the tanystropheids, Dinocephalosaurus had a long neck with fang-like teeth used for catching fish. But, unlike the tanystropheids, its neck was not lengthened through the elongation of cervical vertebrae, but rather the addition of at least 27 individual neck vertebrae, giving it much higher flexibility. Also unlike the tanystropheids, it had paddle-like flippers which would have given it a purely aquatic lifestyle. Dinocephalosaurus’ long neck would have allowed it to sneak up on potential prey without its larger body being detected. One Dinocephalosaurus specimen was preserved with an embryo that suggests it gave live birth, making it the first known viviparous archosauromorph, (aside from possibly metriorhynchids).

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was first described from the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation, with additional specimens discovered in the Luoping locality. Inhabiting the Middle Triassic seas of China, it would have lived alongside icthyosaurs such as Mixosaurus and Xinminosaurus, a wide variety of early sauropterygians like Keichousaurus, Wumengosaurus, Dianopachysaurus, Nothosaurus, and Placodus, and other marine reptiles like Sinosaurosphargis.

Our last non-archosaur archosauromorph of this Archovember (say that 5 times fast) is Tanystropheus longobardicus. This archosauromorph lived in the Middle Triassic of what is today the border of Italy and Switzerland. It’s most recognizable feature is its long neck, made up of 13 lengthened vertebrae, that stretched out longer than its body and tail combined! What it was doing with this long neck is the subject of debate. The neck was not very flexible, made of long, stiff vertebrae, though it was lightweight and stabilized by tendons. Tanystropheus was likely a fish-eater, with T. longobardicus in particular being equipped with three-cusped teeth suited for holding onto slippery prey, and fish scales and cephalopod hooklets have been found in the stomach region of some specimens. Its body did not seem to have many adaptations for swimming, though its muscular hindlimbs and tail may have allowed for short bursts of active swimming in shallow water. It’s hypothesized that Tanystropheus was a semi-aquatic ambush predator, either using its long neck to reach across the water and snap up fish like a heron, or waiting in the water like a turtle, its body unseen and long neck appearing like an innocent branch.

Tanystropheus longobardicus was the smallest of the known species of Tanystropheus. It lived alongside the larger, bulkier T. hydroides, while even larger Tanystropheus specimens have been found in Germany and Poland. Fossils have also been found in Canada and China, meaning this genus may have had a worldwide distribution. But T. longobardicus in particular lived in the Besano Formation. It was set apart from the larger T. hydroides by its small size, narrow triangular head, and tricuspid teeth in the back of its skull. Meanwhile, the larger T. hydroides had a broader skull and long interlocking fangs. The two species likely did not compete, as T. hydroides would have preferred much larger fish than T. longobardicus. But these were not the only tanystropheids in the Bessano Formation. They would have also lived alongside the smaller, shorter-necked, terrestrial tanystropheid Macrocnemus bassanii. On land, Tanystropheus longobardicus would have had to worry about the early rauisuchian Ticinosuchus. In the sea, Tanystropheus would have had to look out for the nothosaur Nothosaurus, large thalattosaurs like Askeptosaurus, large predatory fish like Birgeria, and even large icthyosaurs like Besanosaurus and Cymbospondylus. It may have also come across smaller icthyosaurs like Mixosaurus, Phalarodon, and Wimanius, as well as placodonts like Cyamodus and Paraplacodus, pachypleurosaurs like Serpianosaurus and Odoiporosaurus, and other reptiles like Silvestrosaurus, Helveticosaurus, and Eusaurosphargis. It could have eaten small fish like Aetheodontus, Cephaloxenus, and Luganoia, and even small coelocanths like Ticinepomis.

Living in Early Triassic South Africa, Euparkeria capensis is known from nearly complete skeletons, and is one of the most heavily described and discussed non-archosaur archosauriforms. It is also one of the oldest known advanced archosauriformes, and most closely related to true archosaurs, providing insight into their evolution. It had a large, boxy head, and two rows of small osteoderms down its back and tail. It had large sclerotic rings, similar to modern nocturnal reptiles, suggesting it was most active in dim light. As the Karoo Basin was at about 65 degrees south latitude in the Early Triassic, this was likely an adaptation for the long, dark Winter months. Euparkeria was fairly small for the time, and likely ate insects and carrion. Due to its hind limbs being slightly longer than its forelimbs, Euparkeria was once thought to be capable of facultative bipedalism, but a 2023 analysis shows that it was incaple of walking on its hind legs even for short periods.