Anatomy and Popularity

Some may have noticed that in the past few weeks I have missed days of writing now and again. These missed days are intended and do not in any way attest to a lack of interest in subject matter or the continued existence of this work. They do reflect the amount of time available to me to write on some days but more likely than not, they are related to the amount of information in existence online or in my personal print library available on any given species of fossil animal. Melanorosaurus, for example, is an animal with fewer links, videos, and mentions in the literature than an animal like Tyrannosaurus and some days the information to be presented is less than is optimal for a stand alone entry.

©Scott Hartman

Melanorosaurus has gained some popularity in recent years. Many illustrations, commemorative stamps, and a number of videos (including one in Spanish) have been designed, created, and released that feature Melanorosaurus. The low number of fossils that have been recovered have not hindered entire skeletal recreations either; this is the case for the majority of fossil species of course as many animals are reconstructed and illustrated with hypothesized skeletal elements inferred from related or at least similar species. Hypothesized skeletal reconstructions are more informative when they include a representation of the known fossil materials, such as that shown here.