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crownedrose:

Look, a big meat-eater! Is that a Tyrannosaurus rex?
A simple guide to telling the difference in large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs.
by: crownedrose.


I’ve been in situations where I’ve witnessed, or have had someone ask me the question to whether that big theropod over there is a T. rex. Seeing as the Tyrannosaurus is one of the most well known dinosaurs on Earth, many people mistake other large meat-eating dinosaurs as the T. rex as well. The photos above showcase nine different large sized theropod dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus rex in the middle photo.

What is a theropod, you ask? To put it simply, theropoda is the suborder for the bipedal saurischian dinosaurs, which consists of the world’s favourite, T. rex, and is also the suborder which helps us link to the evolution of birds. Many people can’t tell straight away if the big skeleton they see on display is a T. rex or not until they look at the identification panel. If it looks to have a similar skull or a large skeletal body like T. rex, some people will pin it as such. This post is meant to help you see the differences in these guys for the next time you’re at the museum. Each photo above is the skull profile of a large theropod, and the descriptions will also include quick identification traits for the rest of the skeleton. How many can you identify?

1. Albertosaurus sarcophagus (photo source): Albertosaurus is commonly mistaken for a Tyrannosaurus because they are both in the same family: Tyrannosauridae. Albertosaurus was smaller than Tyrannosaurus, but shares the similar features of a large skull, heterodont teeth, and two digits on short forelimbs. On the top of the skull (above and slightly in front the eyes) are bony crests. As well, Albertosaurus is more slender than Tyrannosaurus, especially when you look at the lower legs. (full skeleton)

2. Allosaurus fragilis (photo source): Allosaurus may be one of the more common theropods mistaken for a T. rex that I’ve witnessed. Though smaller than the T. rex, the shape of an Allosaurus skull is flatter at the top, and also is decorated with horns above the eyes, along with a pair of ridges that went along the top of the nasal bones, meeting to the horns. Allosaurus as well had three digits on its forelimbs instead of two like Tyrannosaurus rex. (full skeleton)

3. Carcharodontosaurus saharicus (photo source): In Jurassic Park III, we witness a fight between T. rex and Spinosaurus. Though, do you want to know who who the true rival is? You guessed it: Carcharodontosaurus! (Both reining from what is now Northern Africa). Carcharodontosaurus is larger than T. rex, with three digits on it’s forelimbs (of decent length), a longer skull, and long serrated teeth. (full skeleton)

4. Carnotaurus sastrei (photo source): I’ve done a lot of research work on Carnotaurus the past few months, and when it comes to pathetic forelimbs, Carnotaurus definitely wins out compared to T. rex! Meaning “meat-eating bull”, Carnotaurus has two thick horns decorating its skull right above the eyes; definitely an appropriate name. The skull itself is bulky (and short in length) looking, until you look at the lower jaw that tends to be slender. It’s a very distinctive skull, but those two bull-like horns on the top of the skull and very short arms (don’t let Terra Nova’s bad rendition of the “Carno” fool you!) will help you quickly identify it. (full skeleton)

5. Tyrannosaurus rex (photo source): In centre is the skull of my favourite T. rex: Sue! Most people can recognise them by their iconic skeletons and thick/massive teeth and jaws, but you’d be surprised as well. With such a massive head and body, these dinosaurs were machines when it came to ripping apart carcasses. Then there’s those small forelimbs with two finger digits which are not as pathetic as the public thinks; they’re actually quite powerful! In the Tyrannosauridae family, T. rex is the largest. Most people know a Tyrannosaurus when they see one, but the skull is featured in the centre to show the differences in all nine animals listed here. They have long hind legs (especially compared to the skeleton proportion as a whole), and their skull is quite wide near the back, whereas the tip of the front part of the skull is more narrow; overall, the skull of T. rex is very robust. This structure helped T. rex to have great binocular vision (unlike how T. rex is depicted in Jurassic Park to have movement-based vision was just a fabrication). Like other theropods (and sharks), T. rex constantly replaced their teeth, which were also heterodont (meaning their teeth took on different shapes depending where they lay inside the jaws). (full skeleton)

6. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus (photo source): Believe it or not, I’ve seen people mistake Spinosaurus as a T. rex multiple times. I’ve been surrounded by dinosaurs my entire life, so I’m not sure how you can confuse two very different (and distinct) specimens. Spinosaurus has a large sail on its back, which are extensions of the vertebrae, and a long crocidillian-like snout. If you’ve ever watched Jurassic Park III, you’ll remember this guy being the main antagonist. (full skeleton)

7. Daspletosaurus torosus (photo source): Daspletosaurus is another good example of being mistaken for a T. rex. Daspletosaurus - just like Albertosaurus - is actually in the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex: Tyrannosauridae. Just like T. rex, Daspletosaurus is equipped with two finger digits ending with claws, short forelimbs (though not as short compared to T. rex), but was smaller compared to its North American cousin. Daspletosaurus also walked what is today western North America, but lived about 10 million years before Tyrannosaurus rex came onto the scene. The skull itself had crests near the eyes, and the ‘holes’ in the skull (aka orbit/eye socket, for example) were a bit different in shape compared to T. rex. Sometimes for closely related dinosaurs such as Daspletosaurus and T. rex, you must look closer and closer at detail, and one good way is by look at the shapes of those “holes”. Random note: this guy is the blurry dinosaur in my layout background. (full skeleton)

8. Giganotosaurus carolinii (photo source): This dinosaur is usually confused with Carcharodontosaurus as they are closely related, both belonging to the family Carcharodontosauridae. Giganotosaurus has a long skull (some have described it to me as almost “stretched”), is estimated to be the largest skull of any known theropod, and its teeth are different than Tyrannosaurus: shorter and more narrow. Many though do confuse this to be a T. rex, which is why it’s on the list! (full skeleton)

9. Ceratosaurus nasicornis (photo source): Ceratosaurus is one of my favourite theropods. Decorated with horns/crests above the eyes and a blade-like nasal horn (which is where its name comes from: “horned lizard), these dinosaurs lived in the Late Jurassic. The horns help easily identify these dinosaurs, along with its distinctively long and serrated teeth. Ceratosaurus was much smaller than the T. rex, had shorter forelimbs for its body (possessing three digits on each hand), and one of the more flexible theropods on this list. (full skeleton)


As I was entering the dinosaur names in google and flickr to get photos, I can’t tell you how many of these nine specimens came up in the search when I was not looking for them at that time! There are more theropods out there who get mistaken as a Tyrannosaurus, but the eight above are the ones I see this happen to the most. In the end, you can’t just look at the skull or just the rest of the body to clearly identify a dinosaur; you must take everything into account. Luckily, museums have those nice identification plates for the public to read, but hey, next time you may not need to read them!

If you’d like to know more detailed information about the theropods mentioned here, I am currently writing a series of posts (for Tumblr) called “Theropod Of The Day”. Daily posts (depending on my schedule) will give you quick and easy information on the dinosaurs listed above, and others that are not mentioned here! I’m hoping to get the series started next week, so keep a lookout for the posts, and track the tag “theropod of the day” on Tumblr!


Hey, look guys, somebody posting about dinosaurs. Frolic in the wisdom. Also, you should probably check out dino-files.tumblr.com, they do dinosaurs on a regular basis.

(Source: crownedrose)

crownedrose: Mongolia President Enters Fray Over T. bataar Fossil And the feud continues! As some of you already know, a few days ago a rare tyrannosaurid skeleton (T. bataar), was auctioned off and sold for just over $1,000,000. The problem here is that this skeleton was stolen out of Mongolia, and the country would like it back. Here’s a bit of information from Huffington Post that was published yesterday: “The president of Mongolia says the skeleton, which stands 8 feet tall and 24 feet long (2.4  by 7.3 meters), was almost certainly taken illegally out of his country. American and Mongolian paleontologists have supported President Elbegdorj Tsakhia’s claim that this dinosaur, a species sometimes called Tyrannosaurus (aka Tarbosaurus) bataar, is from Mongolia, where these close relatives of the North American Tyrannosaurus rex are found.” “So far at least, the remains of tarbosaurs haven’t shown up in many places. In fact, all fossils that can be positively identified as tarbosaur remains come from one spot in the Gobi Desert.” “‘The specimens we can clearly tell are tarbosaurus, and all of the nice material of Tarbosaurus comes from a particular rock formation,’ said Lawrence Witmer, an anatomist and paleontologist at Ohio University. ‘So we all feel pretty confident this specimen almost certainly comes from Mongolia.’” “We want this dinosaur to go back to Mongolia, where it belongs; that is the sole purpose of this,’ said Mongolian paleontologist Bolorsetseg Minjin as she stood on the sidewalk with other protesters near the auction in Manhattan on Sunday (May 20).” Let’s hope it is taken back to its rightful country and studied by professionals, as well as being viewed by the public. If you’d like to read the full article from HP, click this link! I hope this gets resolved peacefully, respectfully, and justly.

crownedrose:

Mongolia President Enters Fray Over T. bataar Fossil

And the feud continues! As some of you already know, a few days ago a rare tyrannosaurid skeleton (T. bataar), was auctioned off and sold for just over $1,000,000. The problem here is that this skeleton was stolen out of Mongolia, and the country would like it back. Here’s a bit of information from Huffington Post that was published yesterday:

“The president of Mongolia says the skeleton, which stands 8 feet tall and 24 feet long (2.4  by 7.3 meters), was almost certainly taken illegally out of his country. American and Mongolian paleontologists have supported President Elbegdorj Tsakhia’s claim that this dinosaur, a species sometimes called Tyrannosaurus (aka Tarbosaurus) bataar, is from Mongolia, where these close relatives of the North American Tyrannosaurus rex are found.”

“So far at least, the remains of tarbosaurs haven’t shown up in many places. In fact, all fossils that can be positively identified as tarbosaur remains come from one spot in the Gobi Desert.”

“‘The specimens we can clearly tell are tarbosaurus, and all of the nice material of Tarbosaurus comes from a particular rock formation,’ said Lawrence Witmer, an anatomist and paleontologist at Ohio University. ‘So we all feel pretty confident this specimen almost certainly comes from Mongolia.’”

“We want this dinosaur to go back to Mongolia, where it belongs; that is the sole purpose of this,’ said Mongolian paleontologist Bolorsetseg Minjin as she stood on the sidewalk with other protesters near the auction in Manhattan on Sunday (May 20).”

Let’s hope it is taken back to its rightful country and studied by professionals, as well as being viewed by the public. If you’d like to read the full article from HP, click this link!

I hope this gets resolved peacefully, respectfully, and justly.

crownedrose: ralphdgamf: starkidwholived: kimburrit0: I was helping my little brother Where the fuck does jack come from That’s basically what math is like for the rest of your life.I love how the answer is at the bottom of the page. And how is any kid suppose to know how many stickers Jack has? Does Tani and Jen give Jack their stickers? I wish I was Jack. My friends never give me stickers.   You’re all missing the point. This isn’t math. Rather it’s metaphysics, or the existence of our being. Theoretically speaking, Jack isn’t a person. Jack exists in all of us. We are Jack. Jack is all of us. Every single one of us. In each inept part of our being, our existence, Jack lives. Forgotten and ignored, yet he exists in our never ending subconscious. The question, rather, is how many stickers do we all have? There’s even more to that statement though. The number 23. Jack comes out of nowhere. We are all Jack… Wait a minute… Jack has 0 stickers.

crownedrose:

ralphdgamf:

starkidwholived:

kimburrit0:

I was helping my little brother

Where the fuck does jack come from

That’s basically what math is like for the rest of your life.

I love how the answer is at the bottom of the page. And how is any kid suppose to know how many stickers Jack has? Does Tani and Jen give Jack their stickers? I wish I was Jack. My friends never give me stickers.  

You’re all missing the point. This isn’t math. Rather it’s metaphysics, or the existence of our being. Theoretically speaking, Jack isn’t a person. Jack exists in all of us. We are Jack. Jack is all of us. Every single one of us. In each inept part of our being, our existence, Jack lives. Forgotten and ignored, yet he exists in our never ending subconscious. The question, rather, is how many stickers do we all have?

There’s even more to that statement though. The number 23. Jack comes out of nowhere. We are all Jack…

Wait a minute…

Jack has 0 stickers.

dailyfossil:

“T-rex” skeleton sold for one million dollars

Heritage Auctions  had their big center piece auction anyway, basically ignoring the courts. Its a conditional sale, so at least the buyer, whoever it is, can’t disappear with the specimen right away. 

Press release from the link above:

Tyrannosaurus Brings $1,052,500 At Heritage Auctions New York 


Conditional Sale of Tyrannosaurus bataar, 8-feet high and 24-feet long, will be contingent upon resolution of a court proceeding.

NEW YORK – One of the great dinosaurs of the Cretaceous era, an eight-foot tall, 24-foot long, 75% complete Tyrannosaurus bataar – the slightly smaller Asian counterpart to the legendary North American T-Rex – has sold for $1,052,500, contingent upon resolution of a Texas state court proceeding. Heritage Auctions sold this dinosaur on May 20 as part of the company’s Natural History auction at Center 548 (548 W. 22nd Street, between 10th Ave. and West Street). The entire auction realized $2.63 million, not counting post-auction sales, which are still in progress.

“This is a once in a generation dinosaur and collectors definitely responded to both its rarity and its fierce beauty,” said David Herskowitz, Director of Natural History at Heritage Auctions. “A dino like this is rare to come across in any condition, let alone one as pristine as this.”

The sale – marking the first time a fully prepared Tyrannosaur has been made available at public auction (“Sue” the T-Rex was sold in 1996, but was still in field jackets) – was not without controversy, as the Mongolian government released a statement 48 hours before the auction suggesting the fossil belonged to the country.

“We respect the various opinions on the subject and wish to protect the legal rights of all parties involved,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “We have legal assurances from our reputable consignors that the specimen was obtained legally. As far as we know, the Mongolian government has not produced any evidence that the piece originated in its territory, but the final determination will be up to the American legal system.”

The proceedings were not without event, however, as Mongolia’s Texas-based attorney, without authority from the New York judicial system, tried to interrupt the auction.

The Tyrannosaurus bataar roamed what is now Central Asia in the Cretaceous period, around 80 million years ago. The dino had been in storage in England, still in its field jackets, until it was brought to the United States last year.

I really do not like these people. 

I will let you all know if there are any more updates. 

Right, no evidence it came from Mongolia, other than that that’s the only place it’s been found to date.

Megaloceros giganteus or Irish Elk Megaloceros giganteus (Megaloceros from Greek meaning Great Horn and giganteus from Latin meaning Giant) or the Irish Elk was one of if not the largest deer to ever exist. Though it is called “Irish Elk,” it is not closely related to the American Elk (Cervus canadensis,) or the Eurasian Elk, known in North America as the Moose (Alces alces,) and as such has been referred to as the Giant Deer in some publications.  We first have evidence of it arising in the mid Pleistocene, ~400,000 years ago, lasting until the early Holocene, about 7,700 years ago (from the latest known specimen.) It ranged from Ireland, where most specimens have been found in peat bogs, all the way across Eurasia to East of Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest lake, which is at least 25 myo. It stood about 2.1 meters high (6.9 feet,) and had magnificent antlers, with the largest known being 3.65 meters in width (12 feet,) it had the largest known antlers of any other cervid (deer.)  This is my picture of the mounted specimen at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, forgive me for its blurriness, I was using a phone camera, and I do not have the steadiest of outstretched arms. 

Megaloceros giganteus or Irish Elk

Megaloceros giganteus (Megaloceros from Greek meaning Great Horn and giganteus from Latin meaning Giant) or the Irish Elk was one of if not the largest deer to ever exist. Though it is called “Irish Elk,” it is not closely related to the American Elk (Cervus canadensis,) or the Eurasian Elk, known in North America as the Moose (Alces alces,) and as such has been referred to as the Giant Deer in some publications. 

We first have evidence of it arising in the mid Pleistocene, ~400,000 years ago, lasting until the early Holocene, about 7,700 years ago (from the latest known specimen.) It ranged from Ireland, where most specimens have been found in peat bogs, all the way across Eurasia to East of Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest lake, which is at least 25 myo. It stood about 2.1 meters high (6.9 feet,) and had magnificent antlers, with the largest known being 3.65 meters in width (12 feet,) it had the largest known antlers of any other cervid (deer.) 

This is my picture of the mounted specimen at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, forgive me for its blurriness, I was using a phone camera, and I do not have the steadiest of outstretched arms. 

Information about the “T-rex” skeleton being auctioned in NYC

crownedrose:

dailyfossil:

Statement from the President of Mongolia

As some of you might have seen in the media, there is going to be an auction in New York City tomorrow, May 20th 2012. Heritage Auctions is the auction house running the event. The biggest ticket item, and the one that is getting this auction a lot of coverage in the press, is an almost complete skeleton of Tarbosaurus bataar, which is being referred to as a T-rex in some stories. The two dinosaurs are very simular to one another.  The problem is that this specimen assuredly comes from Mongolia. Thus, it is stolen. 

Here is a letter from Dr. Mark Norell, the dinosaur curator at the American Museum of Natural History, explaining the situation:

It is with great concern that I see Mongolian dinosaur materials listed in the upcoming (May 20) Heritage Auctions Natural History catalogue. For the last 22 years I have excavated specimens Mongolia in conjunction with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. I have been an author on over 75 scientific papers describing these important specimens. Unfortunately, in my years in the desert I have witnessed ever increasing illegal looting of dinosaur sites, including some of my own excavations. These extremely important fossils are now appearing on the international market. In the current catalogue Lot 49317 (a skull of Saichania) and Lot 49315 (a mounted Tarbosaurus skeleton) clearly were excavated in Mongolia as this is the only locality in the world where these dinosaurs are known. The copy listed in the catalogue, while not mentioning Mongolia specifically (the locality is listed as Central Asia) repeatedly makes reference to the Gobi Desert and to the fact that other specimens of dinosaurs were collected in Mongolia. As someone who is intimately familiar with these faunas, these specimens were undoubtedly looted from Mongolia. There is no legal mechanism (nor has there been for over 50 years) to remove vertebrate fossil material from Mongolia. These specimens are the patrimony of the Mongolian people and should be in a museum in Mongolia. As a professional paleontologist, am appalled that these illegally collected specimens (with no associated documents regarding provenance) are being are being sold at auction.

 Sincerely,

 Dr. Mark A. Norell

Chairman and Curator

Division of Paleontology

So far the only response from the auction house has been ‘we didn’t break any US laws, why didn’t the Mongolian government contact us before?’ and my favorite, and I will quote here: Mongolia won its independence in 1921 and this specimen is obviously quite a bit older than that.

What can be done? Probably not much, sadly. But it is important that people realize it is /NOT/ okay to take these materials out of their countries of origin with out working with the local governments. That is true for both for profit enterprises such as this auction but also for purely scientific studies. Most of the mongolian material at the AMNH currently is on long term loans, and many amazing specimens have already been returned to Mongolia.  

It is very upsetting that the vast majority of articles in the media about this specimen and the auction make NO mention of the illegal source of the material.  Spread the word! And please, never buy vertebrate fossils from private collectors.

Here, guys. Check out this petition on change.org which has 357/500 signatures! It may not do much, BUT you can at least show your support.

This kind of issue - like I said earlier - is big these days. Well, it’s been going on for far too long as it is, but with the advancement in media, technology, and things like the internet, deals are happening even more than before.

At one of my latest palaeo events, we discussed the issues of illegal (and even legal) fossil sales. Not to mention the looting that can happen at sites, as obviously stated above. It’s scary to leave half a skeleton in the middle of nowhere, hoping no one else will discover it until you can get back next year to dig the rest of it out.

There are specimens in private collections that could hold great information for us, yet those owners refuse to have scientists look at their collections. Now, not all owners are like this, but many are.

If this beauty sells, I truly hope the winner does the right thing and returns/donates it back to where it should be, and that this specimen (+ many others) is able to be studied more and put up at museums for all to enjoy.

It’d be great if you guys could sign this petition. 

Information about the “T-rex” skeleton being auctioned in NYC

dailyfossil:

Statement from the President of Mongolia

As some of you might have seen in the media, there is going to be an auction in New York City tomorrow, May 20th 2012. Heritage Auctions is the auction house running the event. The biggest ticket item, and the one that is getting this auction a lot of coverage in the press, is an almost complete skeleton of Tarbosaurus bataar, which is being referred to as a T-rex in some stories. The two dinosaurs are very simular to one another.  The problem is that this specimen assuredly comes from Mongolia. Thus, it is stolen. 

Here is a letter from Dr. Mark Norell, the dinosaur curator at the American Museum of Natural History, explaining the situation:

It is with great concern that I see Mongolian dinosaur materials listed in the upcoming (May 20) Heritage Auctions Natural History catalogue. For the last 22 years I have excavated specimens Mongolia in conjunction with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. I have been an author on over 75 scientific papers describing these important specimens. Unfortunately, in my years in the desert I have witnessed ever increasing illegal looting of dinosaur sites, including some of my own excavations. These extremely important fossils are now appearing on the international market. In the current catalogue Lot 49317 (a skull of Saichania) and Lot 49315 (a mounted Tarbosaurus skeleton) clearly were excavated in Mongolia as this is the only locality in the world where these dinosaurs are known. The copy listed in the catalogue, while not mentioning Mongolia specifically (the locality is listed as Central Asia) repeatedly makes reference to the Gobi Desert and to the fact that other specimens of dinosaurs were collected in Mongolia. As someone who is intimately familiar with these faunas, these specimens were undoubtedly looted from Mongolia. There is no legal mechanism (nor has there been for over 50 years) to remove vertebrate fossil material from Mongolia. These specimens are the patrimony of the Mongolian people and should be in a museum in Mongolia. As a professional paleontologist, am appalled that these illegally collected specimens (with no associated documents regarding provenance) are being are being sold at auction.

 Sincerely,

 Dr. Mark A. Norell

Chairman and Curator

Division of Paleontology

So far the only response from the auction house has been ‘we didn’t break any US laws, why didn’t the Mongolian government contact us before?’ and my favorite, and I will quote here: Mongolia won its independence in 1921 and this specimen is obviously quite a bit older than that.

What can be done? Probably not much, sadly. But it is important that people realize it is /NOT/ okay to take these materials out of their countries of origin with out working with the local governments. That is true for both for profit enterprises such as this auction but also for purely scientific studies. Most of the mongolian material at the AMNH currently is on long term loans, and many amazing specimens have already been returned to Mongolia.  

It is very upsetting that the vast majority of articles in the media about this specimen and the auction make NO mention of the illegal source of the material.  Spread the word! And please, never buy vertebrate fossils from private collectors.

I have everything setup now and posting will once again commence!

Now let’s see what I can find for us today, shall we?

Hey guys, this is a post asking for help identifying this flower. It had no leaves on the stem, with about 3/4 or 1 inch diameter, there are six petals on each flower, and there were leaves at the base, resembling grass blades, only more robust. Oh, it was around North West PA, near Chippewa, PA. Any help is appreciated! ( I’ll be back to regular posts tomorrow, my computer is almost set-up.)

Hey guys, this is a post asking for help identifying this flower. It had no leaves on the stem, with about 3/4 or 1 inch diameter, there are six petals on each flower, and there were leaves at the base, resembling grass blades, only more robust.

Oh, it was around North West PA, near Chippewa, PA.

Any help is appreciated! ( I’ll be back to regular posts tomorrow, my computer is almost set-up.)

I’ll be back with you soon, my finals are done tomorrow

I don’t know what it is about finals, they’re so relaxing for me, but the end of a semester always bugs me out.