Kapitel 19: Chapter 19 : There are two theories
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"I'm fine just wish there were more cases of finding more complete skeletons. But more on this Dromaeosaur.
Even though we only have such a small part, and be thankful it's not anything less fragmentary, we are able to reconstruct it based on closest relatives like Velociraptor;
this reveals that it could've been 6 feet long and 40lbs, making it the smallest theropod in the Hell Creek formation, feeding on smaller reptiles, young dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and carrion." He explained. They wrote this down.
"The next one is called Anzu. And this name could be familiar to either of you. It comes from a Demon in Mesopotamian Mythology of the same name that translated to "Heavenly Eagle."
It was described as being a large bird that could breathe fire and water. Does this demon ring any bells to you either of you ladies?" He explained and asked. They think,
"I have heard about them living in mountains, can breath fire and water, wings conduct electricity, but are rare and often mistaken for Dragons or Griffons." Rias explained. George's eyes widened,
"Wow. Let's hope we don't run into one." He said, a bit afraid of encountering one. Rias rolls her eyes.
"So what about the Dinosaur version?"
"Described in 2014, it's an Oviraptorid, theropod dinosaurs that are mainly found in Mongolia and China, most have these large crests; they are toothless but have these bony projections in the jaw that they use for cracking open hard food items.
Thought to be an omnivore, eating plants, bugs, reptiles, mammals, and eggs. But the main thing about this one is size: 11 feet long, 5 feet tall at the hips, and 660lbs, making it the 3rd largest Oviraptorid ever." George explained. They took notes.
"There are also pathologies on it, which are a healed broken rib and and one toe was arthritic, most likely from a tendon being ripped away from the bone. Ow."
He explained, mimicking the pain it must have felt, by rubbing his ribs and curling his toes. They take notes,
"Do we know what caused it?" Rias asked.
"There are two theories: one is that it was caused by another of its own kind or from a predator. Learning the cause of an injury or bite mark is often speculation, unless they are from very specific specimens." He guessed. Raynare looks,
"Which do you think it is?"
"The latter since the scenario in my head is that two individuals were fighting, not sure why could be food, territory, or mate, and this one received a damaged rib from a claw mark and a torn tendon from a kick or foot stepped on." He assumed. She wrote it down.
"Another theory I have is based on the color of its eggs. A related animal from the same time period in China was found to have a nest of blue eggs.
Since they are related, we can assume it and dromaeosaurs also had blue eggs." He speculated. Rias drew an image of a nest of long elongated blue eggs, as a personal note.
"The nodosaur named Denversaurus, is named after Denver, Colorado. No surprise there.
However, it was once thought to be the same animal as Edmontonia as both look relatively the same, but now most scientists accept it as its own species."
George started. They wrote this information down.
"Being a Nodosaur, it lacked the club of the Ankylosaurs but it made up for that with spiky armor on its shoulders and tail, as well as a shield like plate over its hips and being 6 meters long and 3 tons in weight made most predators think twice about attacking it.
Additionally, because the mouth is narrower, it was a selective feeder, being picky about what it ate." George explained.
"How picky?" Rias wondered.
"Combined with the narrow mouth and weak teeth, we can assume it could only process very soft plant material like fruits and soft tender leaves rather than say pine needles." George explained. Rias nods and wrote it down.
"The ornithopod, Thescelosaurus, or Wonderful Lizard due to how beautifully preserved some specimens are,
was about 13 feet long 660lbs, and made up 8% of the entire Dinosaur fauna, meaning it was a rather uncommon herbivore in the habitat." George started. They wrote this down.
"Despite having relatives like Orodromeus, a fleet-footed ornithopod, Thescelosaurus was not. This is due to have the leg bones.
For example, if your femur is shorter than your shin, it means you are a fast runner but if it's the opposite way, you are a slow runner, like Thescelosaurus."
George explained the leg anatomy. Raynare raised her hand,
"If it has legs like that, then how could it escape predators?" She asked.
"The answer lies in the environment they were living in. Since they are often next to ancient streams and waterways,
it is assumed they could escape into the water to avoid predators." George said. She nods and wrote it down in her notebook.
"However, there was one specimen that sparked a lot of interest in this dinosaur.
In 2000, a specimen was found, nicknamed Willo, that was thought to have the heart fossilized."
He showed them two images: one of the actual skeleton and one of the "heart" They took a closer look.
"Doesn't really look like a heart, even if it is 66 million years old." Rias said.
"It's not. A cat-scan of it in 2011 revealed it to be a compressed material of non-organic material: quartz and gypsum as examples."
He corrected. "However if it did have a heart, it would be four-chambered, just like a bird's." He added.
"Got it."
"Lastly, we do have skin impressions from a few specimens and was once thought to have small scutes of armor present but we know believe it to have feathers covering the majority of the body, based on related small-bodied ornithopods.
These feathers are like fluffy down you see on a baby chick and were used to keep the animal warm." He explained about the body covering. They took their notes.
"Ok next 4 or 7, depending on how one would perceive them to be." He said. They were curious.
He displayed the next 4 and/or7.
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