January 2023- Paleontology in Review

[@gattycroc8073]

James Cameron said that the oceans need more exploring, but I think the real think that we need to explore is the fossil record. I heard from a documentary that out of all the creatures that lived on this planet 99% are extinct so who knows what could be out there.

[@tjarkschweizer]

A lot of those are microbes and insects.

[@gattycroc8073]

@@Aiel-Necromancer I know right.

[@RaptorChatter]

David Hone has a joke proposal of "give all science funding to paleontologists". All other stuff will still basically be there, physics aren't going to change. But missing a year might mean some fossils won't exist anymore, so we should give funding to paleontologists to go out and find everything.

[@lh1822]

I've noticed your presentation style has developed and it's a lot smoother now. :)

[@RaptorChatter]

Yeah, at some point in the last year it just kinda clicked, and I'm not sure why.

[@delskioffskinov]

I've been subscribed for a while and havn't told you how much I enjoy your content! so i'll say it now 'I really enjoy your channel and content lol'!!!

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks!

[@bgbthabun627]

@@RaptorChatter can i second these sentiments? i dont write very often, but i do enjoy pretty much each video.

[@danballard7405]

So that pterosaur is bailing teeth, kinda like a flamingo. I wonder if it ate small shrimp or shrimp like creatures similar to a flamingo.

[@mareikedaubert1139]

If I am not mistaken, C3 and CAM photosynthesis evolved in the Cenozoic. These are also plants adapted to drought, so I would not generally expect them in the environment analyzed by Cullen et al. I think C3 is rather mentioned because it is probably the only type of plant growing there. Having said that: I really enjoyed the video, keep it up.

[@JamesBartholomeusz]

i wait for your updates every month, nice balance of entertaining nerdiness and academic rigour.

[@fen740]

With earlier records of wider ranges, potential earlier dispersal and all, it gets me thinking about how the shared plant genera of E. Asia and N.America might have a light shone on them. I wonder when palynological records have various genera marked either present or absent and what ecological relationships they may have had with the theropods and their prey across both continents. Love the monthly review series!

[@RaptorChatter]

That would be a great thing to test. Sounds like a great project for a graduate student somewhere.

[@hatsudopia5085]

You make some of the most re-watchable content on you tube. Added this to the rotation.

[@stefif3118]

Some really cool discoveries to start the year with!

[@zombiedad]

Good stuff Raptor Chatter. Thanks.

[@ThicThreads]

That Baleen Dino looks so cool! What a discovery

[@vincentx2850]

Balaenognathus' jaw really remind me of a shoveler, a genus of filter feeding duck that skims the water surface for floating aquatic plants and plankton by swinging its head side to side. While spoonbill has a similar bill, it is a fish predator, and that bill is more of of tong.

[@jacobdalland1390]

Your discussion of Megaraptor arms got me thinking: were there any bipedal dinosaurs that had arms as long as their legs, like us humans have?

[@pef1960]

Cratonavis looks like an Enantiornithine to me from the pygostyle. They often have a weird mixture of traits.

[@t-r-e-x452]

10:27 *Inconceivable!*

[@Tuishimi]

That pterosaur's mouth looks like a shovel. Probably scooping mud and filtering out the yummies inside of it.

[@artificercreator]

Nice!

[@alioramus1637]

Worth noting is that the fingers of the megaraptoran Australovenator was capable of hyperextension

[@RaptorChatter]

Yep, their hands were great at movement. Something not as present in other theropod groups.

[@victory8928]

they were probably grab masters would make Dilo proud

[@KellyClowers]

I'm confused, why couldn't that swampy region just have been full of c3 plants? It's the most common, and it wasn't arid and I presume not tropical, so less reason for cam or c4 right?

[@patreekotime4578]

I think the idea was that they expected to see more variety in the isotopes than just C3 because of the variety of species they tested. Like maybe there is a preservation bias at work here skewing the results.

[@RaptorChatter]

This is it. Unless everything was eating all the exact same things then there is a bias present. With some of the smaller species tested you'd still expect some level of change, but was was found wasn't significant enough to suggest it came from the environment, but rather it was a preservational bias which mimicked the isotope signature of C3 plants. And based on the modern analogue environment there probably wasn't just a simple C3 isotope ratio throughout the environment. So it's the combination of what they tested in the fossils, plus the modern comparison which suggests that the C3 ratios aren't the original ratios.

[@tonyevans9999]

"bare bones"...... I lolled

[@dernamenlose1441]

The discord link isnt working but i want to join

[@RaptorChatter]

Thanks for letting us know! I just updated it: discord.gg/tgwU4kVa74

[@misterB2231]

سبحان الخالق المصور.