Nasutoceratops: Prehistoric Beast of the Week

Today we take a look at a really cool looking plant-eating ceratopsia called Nasutoceratops titusi.

Nasutoceratops titusi life reconstruction by Christopher DiPiazza.

Nasutoceratops measured about fifteen feet long from beak to tail when it was alive.  It lived in what is now Utah, USA, during the late Cretaceous period, between 75 and 76 million years ago.  Nasutoceratops translates to "Big Nosed Horned Face" because of its extremely thick snout.

Nasutoceratops was an early member of the centrosaurine branch of the ceratopsian family of dinosaurs.  Centrosaurines are characterized by having short, very tall snouts.  Nasutoceratops has perhaps the most extreme case of this feature, which is how it got its genus name.  This huge nasal cavity may have served a number of purposes, from sound amplification, to a structure for maintaining moisture.  The big nose may have also been for visual display within the species.

There have been a lot of interesting ceratopsians over the last several years, many of which have very unique horn and frill structures.  That being said, I personally think Nasutoceratops is the coolest out of this bunch.  It doesn't really have much on its nose, but its brow horns were a different story.  They grew outwards to the sides of the animal's face then curved inwards towards the middle, very similar to the horns of some modern bulls.  These horns are also interesting because Nasutoceratops' later relatives from the centrosaurine group, like Centrosaurus, Styracosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, or Sinoceratops, possessed very short brow horns, or no brow horns at all, but typically had large horns or bony structures on their snouts and even their frills.  Nasutoceratops implies that long brow horns may have been an ancestral trait to the large ceratopsians, but the centrosaurine branch turned them in for more elaborate nose structures as time went on.

Nasutoceratops' frill was relatively small and circular shaped, with prominent scallop-shaped horny structures growing out of the edges.

Nasutuceratops skull

Not only bones are known from Nasutoceratops.  This dinosaur is one of the few that we actually have skin casts from!  A small patch of skin, thought to be from the arm, shows mosaic-like scales, similar to those we can see on modern crocodilians.  We have a small record of skin impressions from a few other kinds of ceratopsians, including Triceratops, Chasmosaurus, and Centrosaurus, but those are all from different parts of the body, mostly the back and hip area.

Nasutoceratops skin cast.   Note the different sized scales.  Photo used with permission courtesy of Brian Switek.

Nasutoceratops is an interesting and important dinosaur because Ceratopsids in the centrosaurine group (thick-snouted ones also including Diabloceratops, Styracosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus) are rare in the Southern United States.  Many of them are actually found farther north in Canada.  Nasutoceratops provides us with more clues (and questions) about ceratopsid evolution and geographical distribution.


References

Sampson, S. D.; Lund, E. K.; Loewen, M. A.; Farke, A. A.; Clayton, K. E. (2013). "A remarkable short-snouted horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian) of southern Laramidia". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280 (1766): 20131186. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.1186

Microraptor: Beast of the Week

This week we shall check out a tiny dinosaur that has taught us more than we ever could imagine we'd learn about any fossil animal.  Enter Microraptor gui!

Microraptor was a small, feathered, meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now China, during the early Cretaceous, 120 million years ago.  Adults ranged in size between 2.5 and 3 feet long from snout to tail.  The genus name, Microraptor, translates to "Small Hunter/Thief".

Microraptor was a tiny member of the dromaeosaurid family of dinosaurs, and therefore was related to creatures like Deinonychus and Velociraptor.  Like it's larger cousins, Microraptor had and long thin tail for balance, three long claws on each hand and of course, the signature retractable "killer claw" on the second toe of each foot.  Microraptor had large eye sockets, indicating it had good vision, and a mouth armed with pointed teeth, some of which were serrated.

Watercolor life reconstruction of Microraptor gui  hunting a scorpionfly by Christopher DiPiazza.

Microraptor's real claim to fame is the fact that its feathers were preserved during the fossilization process, giving us a much clearer vision of what it looked like when alive.  Microraptor would have been as covered in feathers as most modern birds, and even had proportionally very long primary feathers growing out of its arms and hands, forming wings.  More amazing, Microraptor also had long wing feathers on its legs and feet!  There were actually other kinds of dinosaurs that evolved to have primary feathers on their lower limbs we now know of, like Anchiornis or Changyuraptor, but Microraptor was the first of these to be discovered and described back in 2003.

So why the extra set of wings?  At first it was proposed that Microraptor would have lived in trees and glided from branch to branch with its legs outstretched behind it, like a modern flying squirrel, using the leg wings to form a kite-like shape as it did so.  It was later determined that despite the fact that the fossilized skeleton had the legs in this position, that it was crushed flat in a position not true life during the decomposition and fossilization process.  Other known dromaeosaurs and living birds can't position their legs that way without breaking them, and Microraptor likely was the same.  Instead, it is possible Microraptor's leg feathers could have provided extra lift when jumping or taking off.  Many paleontologists now think that Microraptor may have been capable of actual powered flight, and not just gliding.  It had a fused sternum, like most modern flying birds have, and its wing feathers were extremely long to the point where they, combined with its leg wings, almost certainly could have provided Microraptor the ability to get and stay off the ground if it needed to.  It's arm sockets, however, prevented Microraptor from lifting its arms above its shoulders, unlike modern flying birds can to perform a strong upstroke when flapping.  This doesn't mean that Microraptor still couldn't fly, it just means it wasn't as adept a flier as a lot of modern flying birds.  It would have been common to see Microraptor flying short distances, possibly from tree to tree, or from the ground to a tree to roost, but probably not soaring up in the sky like an eagle.

There are many specimens of Microraptor on the fossil record and several of them actually preserved food that had been ingested shortly before the Microraptor died.  Because of this wealth of fossil information, we know that Microraptor was a meat-eater, but wasn't picky or specialized in going after one kind of prey.  Among the known last meals include lizards, mammals, birds (yes, there were true modern-style birds back then) and even fish.

Cast of the skeleton and feathers of Microraptor gui on display at the American Museum of Natural History for their Dinosaurs Among Us seasonal exhibit.

For a long time, we always assumed that no matter how many fossils we found, we'd never know what colors prehistoric animals were.  Not the case with Microraptor!  Microraptor's feathers preserved so well, that when viewed under a microscope, organelles called melanosomes were found to still be present.  Melanosomes are responsible for determining what color waves reflect back when light hits the feather.  Whichever waves are reflected is the color we see.  Even though the color, itself, was not visible anymore, by comparing the shape of the fossilized Microraptor melanosomes to melanosomes of modern bird feathers, paleontologists were able to deduct what colors Microraptor would have had when it was alive.  As it turns out, Microraptor feathers were iridescent blackish bluish, like those of modern crows, grackles, and starlings!  Since the iridescence of feathers like these can only be noticed in the sunlight, this also supports the idea that Microraptor would have been active during the day and not at night, otherwise there wouldn't have been a reason for it to have evolved such reflective colors.  This being said, keep in mind these melanosomes were only observed in one specimen of Microraptor.  This doesn't mean that all Microraptors were this color throughout their whole lives.  It is entirely possible that only adults, or one sex was this color.  Or maybe Microraptor molted feathers, becoming a different colors depending on the season.  There is still room for imagination!

Modern Boat-Tailed Grackles have feathers that may have been similar to those of Microraptor.  Notice the shiny blue-black coloration.

That is all for this week!  As always feel free to comment below!

References

Chatterjee, S.; Templin, R.J. (2007). "Biplane wing planform and flight performance of the feathered dinosaur Microraptor gui"(PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (5): 1576–1580.

Jingmai O'Connor; Zhonghe Zhou & Xing Xu (2011). "Additional specimen of Microraptor provides unique evidence of dinosaurs preying on birds". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (49): 19662–19665. 

Li, Q.; Gao, K.-Q.; Meng, Q.; Clarke, J.A.; Shawkey, M.D.; D'Alba, L.; Pei, R.; Ellision, M.; Norell, M.A.; Vinther, J. (2012). "Reconstruction of Microraptor and the Evolution of Iridescent Plumage". Science. 335 (6073): 
1215–1219. 

 Lida Xing; et al. (2013). "Piscivory in the feathered dinosaur Microraptor". Evolution. 67: 2441–2445.

Senter, P (2006). "Scapular orientation in theropods and basal birds, and the origin of flapping flight". Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 51: 305–313.

Xu, X., Zhou, Z., Wang, X., Kuang, X., Zhang, F. and Du, X. (2003). "Four-winged dinosaurs from China." Nature, 421(6921): 335-340, 23 Jan 2003.

Harpymimus: Beast of the Week

This week we will be checking out a bird-like dinosaur that was named after a fearsome mythical creature.  Let's check out Harpymimus okladnikovi!

Harpymimus was a theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia, during the early Cretaceous period, between 107 and 100 million years ago.  It measured a little over six feet long from snout to tail and would have almost certainly been covered in feathers when alive.  The genus name, Harpymimus, translates to "harpy mimic" in reference to the harpy, a monster from Greek mythology with the head of a human and body of a bird.  I'm not sure why this dinosaur, in particular was named after a harpy other than the fact that it was bird-like, which isn't really a unique feature among dinosaurs.

Harpymimus life reconstruction in watercolors by Christopher DiPiazza.

Harpymimus was a very early member of the group of theropod dinosaurs, called the ornithomimosaurs.  These dinosaurs are known for having had long legs, long, slender necks, and relatively small heads with beaks.  The late Cretaceous-living Gallimimus and Struthiomimus are more famous members of this group, and Deinocheirus was a very large member.  Since Harpymimus lived so much earlier than most of the other known ornithomimosaurs, it also showcases a number of features in its anatomy that would change as its descendants became more specialized.  This is a great example about how studying fossils allows you to see how the evolution of many kinds of organisms changed over millions of years, which also tells us a lot about organisms that are still alive with us today!

Harpymimus skeleton on display at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences)

Harpymimus had relatively large eye sockets, suggesting it could see well, and had a long, slightly down-turned snout.  It had teeth on the very tip of its lower jaw.  Teeth in general are considered an ancestral trait for this kind of dinosaur, since all the late Cretaceous ornithomimosaurs were completely toothless.  Harpymimus teeth were tiny and cylinder-shaped.  They would have been hardly noticeable unless you were to look directly into Harpymimus' mouth up close.  What these teeth were exactly for is a mystery.  Many hypothesize that Harpymimus could have been an omnivore, eating plant material as well as hunting for small prey, like invertebrates or other kinds of small animals it could snap up.

Harpyimimus had long arms tipped with three fingers on each hand, but the first digit was significantly shorter than the other two.  This is typical for most kinds of three-fingered theropods, but would eventually change in later-living ornithomimosaurs, which had three fingers of equal lengths on each hand.

Harpymimus had long, powerful legs, which would have enabled it to have run quickly.  While later ornihomimosaurs only had three toes on each foot, Harpymimus possessed a fourth (but digit 1) tiny toe, called a hallux, which was on the inside of each foot.  This is also a trait common to most theropods, but evolved out as ornithomimids became more specialized later in the Cretaceous.

That is all for this week!  As always please comment below or on our facebook page!

References

Barsbold, R. and Perle, A. (1984). [On first new find of a primitive orithomimosaur from the Cretaceous of the MPR]. Paleontologicheskii zhurnal, 2: 121-123

Kobayashi, Y. and Barsbold, R. (2005). "Anatomy of Harpymimus okladnikovi Barsbold and Perle 1984 (Dinosauria; Theropoda) of Mongolia." In Carpenter, K. (ed.) The Carnivorous Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press: 97-126