WTH is Smok wawelski?!

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Smok wawelesi was the top predator of the Late Triassic in Poland. It lived alongside dinosaurs, and large land dwelling crocs called psuedosuchians. And it was probably one of these. But it's bones are weird, they show things that no psuedosuchian or dinosaur has, and also some things that only one of those group has. So what it the current science on what the hell Smok even was?

[@StrawberryCelebi]

My eyes read Smok wawelski but my brain said Mike Wazowski

[@kamilpoter4022]

As a Polish geology/biology student (0:14 is exactly the place where I walk though every day!) I am so delighted that the news about Smok is spreading worldwide thanks to you. . A few years ago a paleontology museum in Lisowice, where Smok was found was so much underrated that in order to enter it I had to call the owner of the building to unlock the basement floor, where the museum is located :(.

[@jedrek1521]

Thanks for the awesome info. As a kid growing up in Poland Ive heard the tale many times, so cool to see it "come to life". There's a fire breathing smok statue outside of Wawel. Apparently now the fire is activated via sms.

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

To be more accurate, the name is pronounced more like "smoke vaveleski" The W's in Polish are pronounced like V's in English. And the O would be pronounced more like the O in Oak, than the O in Hot.

[@kamilpoter4022]

As a Polish person I can add that to be more precise 'O' in 'smok' is pronounced almost the same as in oak, but more quickly: /smɔɡ vavɛlski/ is like /oʊk/ (oak), but without "ʊ".

[@crimesartbalaur]

Gotta love how letter w will not sound like w but there is still a w sound, represented instead by a fucking L with weird arm stumps :,)

[@RaptorChatter]

Good to know! I always forget to double check the names. Will try and do that next time!

[@crimesartbalaur]

Also, Lisowicia should be pronounced more like "Leesoh-veech-iya"?

[@theilluminati682]

Another polish person here, I think a more butcher-proof explaination of the pronounciation would be 'smuk vavelskee', just the 'u' could be mixed with an 'o' and (idk how well I'm explaining this) instead of the sound being more drawn out like usual in the english language, be really short.

[@alioramus1637]

Maybe the most interesting Archosaur from Poland. Swedish scientists where i live were also involved in the study that described Smok coprolites and it's bone crushing abilities.

[@nemo_is_real]

As a pole who's planning to study palaeontology I am THRILLED to see a video covering Smok wawelski. I hope to learn more about it & other polish prehistoric animals when I get to college :D

[@AA-zb2wo]

The place where where they found it is actually folded right know and it's not changing any soon. Anyway I'm happy that you're talking about Smok and Lisowicia, me and my friend are going to visit Lisowice, a place where they found both of them soon

[@GenghisDon1970]

My mind went where you eventually did...Smok may well be the end a whole different archosaur line. Ankles will probably settle things for most, someday, but maybe they won't (or should not). Time will tell

[@mikesnyder1788]

Excellent presentation! This amazing critter Smok really puts the Polish city of Lisowice on the map! I have known about the synapsid Lisowicia for some time now. Question: How closely related are the Smok and the Teleocrater? Probably not related but I just thought I would ask. Thanks in advance!

[@RaptorChatter]

It might be close and it might not. It seems like Teleocrater is one of the early avemetatarsalians closer to dinosaurs. So until we get Smok more defined it's hard to know for sure.

[@mikesnyder1788]

@@RaptorChatter Thanks for the reply! This is such interesting information and so we will just wait to see how many more fossils are discovered and how closely related these two amazing Triassic critters are to one another. Again, great presentation!

[@JohnnyBravo2550]

SMOK WALAWESSI I CANT

[@aldenconsolver3428]

That is one very special animal, thanks for showing it off - My guess is that sometime in the future the Polish Geology Society will find a few more fossils and we will all be saying that's perfectly obvious , for the records and for after new finding occurs - I had no idea what it was

[@conner13.c16]

Noah to the dinosaurs and pseudosuchians: what the hell is this?? (Referring to Smok)

[@mitchellskene8176]

Sounds like Smok is a Dinosauromorph, probably from a linage that was close to the split. That said, it could also be from a another linage of Archosaurs that we didn't know about previously.

[@victory8928]

Agree the more dinosaur traits could just be the result of convergent evolution with large theropod dinosaurs.

[@wspanialypies]

Yes, it's pronounced VaVelski with heavy Vs :) And I love that you did an episode about our very important legend, one of my favorites from childhood, except I felt sorry for the dragon :,)

[@RaptorChatter]

Yeah, that seems like a rough way for the dragon to go. But glad you liked the video!

[@ishclayton8667]

I love that we’re still discovering new animals that gives us a deeper understanding about their world. So cool.

[@WHACK_space_rock]

Much thanks for keeping intros and outros brief w/ just the vanity card...well done...!

[@zombiedad]

Thanks Raptor Chatter. ❤. Another fascinating fossil mystery and a really interesting animal. Smok!❤

[@josephlongbone4255]

Smok may be cool, but don't let him distract you from the fact that the Polish name for beaver is Bóbr, which is the quaintest name for anything ever.

[@kamion53]

the dragon called Smok? nice name, sounding a bit familiar....... oh.... sht.... Smaug.

[@paleoph6168]

It do be Smok

[@Blue..]

Isn't Smok Wawelski that the green dude from monsters Inc?

[@crc.agoodguy]

I do understand that this man's interest is in dinosaurs. His knowledge is precious. I hope that he adds his knowledge of how muscles, cartilage and bones will be added to the understanding of how humans evolved.

[@hubertop1247]

My city 🦖🤙

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Must find the ankle!

[@greyideasthetheliopurodon4640]

To be fair tho, the lack of a post front is a dinosaur synapnomorphy

[@tonyevans9999]

gosh.... is it a missing link of some sort?

[@gadielgonzalez2755]

Ok hear me out. I feel like we're dealing with a platypus situation here where the animal looks like it has features of several different animals but is actually its own thing in a whole family, like how platypus are mammals they're just in their own little family of mammals, the monotremes.

[@thomasnaas2813]

I thought it was the name of a polish ice hockey star.

[@LolUGotBusted]

I am pretty sure 'smok wawelski' is some kind of code for smoking weed.

[@ilonalaurakokoszka9639]

Polska górą!!!!

[@allozaurxd6911]

Pozdro z Polski🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱

[@tonyevans9999]

I am thinking an archosaur with convergent features relating to environmental pressures

[@titanomachy2217]

Both pseudosuchians and dinosaurs are archosaurs. Archosaurs are all diapsid reptiles more closely related to birds and crocodilians than to lepidosaurs like lizards.

[@ivamccann5112]

The fox of dinosaurs and crocodilian

[@Stellectis2014]

QUESTION if you don't mind. Is it possible that theropod dinosaurs and pseudosuchians exhibited distinct morphologies in the articulation between the posterior skull and the first cervical vertebra? For instance, pseudosuchians might have had a more obtuse ‘angle of attack,’ allowing for a greater upward gaze compared to theropods. Hypothetically, which of these groups could angle their necks downward and then elevate them by approximately 90 degrees to align their skulls parallel to the ground? It seems unlikely that both groups would develop identical behaviors and, consequently, analogous skeletal structures. Consider how birds exhibit head-tossing as part of their courtship rituals, which suggests a correlation between behavior and flexibility in their necks. It’s a leap of imagination, but the capacity for certain behaviors likely influences an organism’s anatomical design. It appears improbable for both groups to exhibit precisely the same behaviors for any given reason.

[@RaptorChatter]

It could be. That would be a great project for someone to investigate.

[@oleandreasjensen5263]

The evulution always find a way for its sucsesses. - SMOK is a proof of that. - Remember the Triassic was a long period of time, and all in all we have few fossils from this time. - Try to imagine how many lifeforms hat lived through tis long period of time.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

You know, I always wondered...Evolution is kind of a generational thing, although extinction events do accelerate it. But we've gotta find some transitional fossils that just aren't easily placed or defined. It'll be interesting to see how this and maybe other discoveries progress in time.

[@sauraplay2095]

Nice video!👍

[@adamgallyot9063]

Pseudodinosaurosuchian

[@lexibyday9504]

I really think smok is a third group seperate to psudosuchians and arcosaurs that could totally be called draconians (if the name isn't taken) because smok was a dragon like super predator that only would have gotten more unstopable as it evolved. The problem with being a super predator is you end up sending yourself extinct by being too eficient at killing your own food source, much like humans are doing today. So, in short, the reason we don't have dragons is because the first of them was already too powerful.

[@t-r-e-x452]

One person suggested that Smok was a natural hybrid.

[@katsumi2]

I think there is a letter missing in the title.

[@AstronautLemur]

Ah, my country!

[@ZomBeeNature]

How can it have no ankles?

[@RaptorChatter]

The fossil was partially eroded, so the fossil is missing the ankle bones. In life it would have had them, we just don't know what they would look like

[@angelamccollister]

Everytime you said Smok, I heard Spock. 🖖

[@enderman_666]

wawalessy

[@erictalaveramartinez4160]

Sounds like barnacles and Darwin all over again.

[@LauraBabinska0]

POLSKAAAAAAAA

[@BartJBols]

Can it be both at the same time?

[@AndrewTBP]

No.

[@Crakinator]

I think it looks more like a dinosaur. Probably close relative of Herrerasaurus.

[@Nordisk11]

It's an archosaur, but it's neither a dinosaur nor a crocodilian

[@oqsy]

is smok

[@wingedhussar1453]

Wow no wonder the poles though it wad a dragon .that dinosaur us basicly a dragon

[@kilianortmann9979]

The pseudo-est of suchians.

[@thedoruk6324]

Convergent Evolution anyone ?

[@JohnAvillaHerpetocultural]

This has to be a separate lineage like turtles. How could it be either a dinosaur or crocodiliform?

[@RaptorChatter]

Whatever it was, it was super convergent on at least one of the groups. I wouldn't be totally shocked to find out it wasn't super close to either, but we really need some more complete remains for that.

[@JohnAvillaHerpetocultural]

@@RaptorChatter it’s the weird mix of croc and Dino traits. It makes me think it had to have diverged from of a line basal to both.

[@brianedwards7142]

An escaped research animal from the alien research post that engineered the dinosaurs. 😉

[@robotaholic]

Make up your mind crazy pseudonymasaurus

[@theilluminati682]

A more correct way, the most accurate way I could come up with to pronounce the name would be smuk vavelskee. As a polish person I cringe every time you try to say it (lol not your fault) so I tried to come up with the best way to type out the pronounciation for an english-speaking person. I think although this pronounciation looks weird, is near impossible to butcher. You can always just make google translate say it for you.

[@kinderblutsaufenderreptiloide]

I was in Poland in 2011 on a paleontological field trip. That was nice!

[@theilluminati682]

@@kinderblutsaufenderreptiloide I recommend visiting Malbork Castle one day if you get a chance. Beautiful place, well preserved, tons of cool history to learn from there.

[@kinderblutsaufenderreptiloide]

@@theilluminati682 Thank you! I hope I can do that once.

[@RaptorChatter]

I always forget to double check the pronunciation, sorry! After seeing how poorly I did here I'm going to try and be a bit more aware of doing that.

[@Denneth_D.]

W is pronounced like V (polish spelling is interesting)

[@LauraBabinska0]

it's pronounced more like vavelsky in polish v is w, and w is ł

[@seadragon4425]

(This is a joke) Maybe smok was the result of a crocodile and a dinosaur hooking up lol XD

[@IMADINOSAURNOTABIRD]

Kid smok: "Mommy, how did we come to exist?" Mom: "When a dinosaur and crocodile love each other very much..."

[@gordonsmith5589]

Stop saying I mean so much. Say what you mean......

[@Beastlango]

Maybe it’s a third line that never came to be

[@RaptorChatter]

It could be we really don't know. It will certainly be interesting whenever there's more of it found.

[@maavet2351]

I love eating dinosaurs

[@RaptorChatter]

They taste great battered & fried