Histology and History

Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus alike have long histories in the literature. The most modern scientific inquiries into Apatosaurus have looked at ontogeny through histology, amongst other avenues of research including CT scanning. Specimens of Apatosaurus are, thankfully, continually discovered throughout the Morrison Formations faces in the American Southwest and allow for these sorts of opportunities as well as the description of these new specimens. Sometimes the descriptions of specimens is limited to specific portions of Apatosaurus, which makes sense given that it is such a large animal and that the remains are sometimes fragmentary; as is the case with any fossil remains as we all know. One fragment, just for an example, that has been described independently is a portion of lower jaw and the palate of a Diplodocus and a comparison of this to the skull of Apatosaurus; the paper is older, but it is a quality description and comparison of sauropod skulls. If we want to go back to the first description, though, and we do because we enjoy reading historical accounts, we have to go back to Marsh's 1877 publication in the American Journal of Science that first mentioned Apatosaurus and subsequent descriptions of Apatosaurus like that found in 1879's Principal characters of American Jurassic dinosaurs. Part II (Brontosaurus is also mentioned in the 1879 publications).

Gertie, and Other Appearances

Apatosaurus first showed up on film, as Brontosaurus, as Gertie, the lovable cartoon dinosaur of the silent film era.

Winsor McCray's 1914 cartoon was not to be the only popular appearance of either Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus. Slightly updated versions of the long-necked cartoon made their way into The Land Before Time decades later; though the argument for another sauropod "fathering" this reconstruction can certainly be made. Between those two cartoons there was Disney's Fantasia as well.

This version was an in-between reconstruction with the swamp dwelling behemoths still living in the water. There was not as much emphasis on Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus as there was in Gertie or The Land Before Time. Regardless, The Rite of Spring classes up that dinosaur duel tremendously. Modern interpretations of Apatosaurus are most accurately portrayed in When Dinosaurs Roamed America

and Walking with Dinosaurs in tandem; however, in the latter, it is only shown in two scenes during the Ballad of Big Al special episode.

Loving Brontosaurus

Apatosaurus, once our loving friend Brontosaurus as well, is now and has always been a favorite of children everywhere. This is born out in the sheer number of children's books devoted to one or the other as well as the number of sites online that post child friendly reading levels of facts. We have our main fact pages like the New Zealand based science encyclopedia Science Kids, Kids Dig Dinos, and even KidsDinos. There is also a really weird song from 1978 that should entertain people if nothing else. More relevant, only because it is a lot more recently done, is the I'm A Dinosaur video for Apatosaurus. The dinosaur is a lot less factual and just kind of weird compared to past episodes though.

Spanning A Chasm

O.C. Marsh

The 1896 diagram of Apatosaurus excelsus drawn out by Othniel Marsh depicts an animal with a very smooth body curvature from the head to the tail. The skeleton, according to Marsh, was not very rigid, making the tail and neck droop and leading to the assumption that the neck and tail were not heavily muscled; meaning that they were lacking the proper amount of muscle to hold them parallel to the ground. The neck, though parallel in this image, was assumed to possess an ability to snorkel, being held at a nearly perpendicular angle to the ground. Since that description of the neck was published it has been discovered that the bones of the neck, in order to sit at the perpendicular angle, were positioned incorrectly or broken. The much more parallel orientation is much closer to an actual articulation and "comfortable" posture for these dinosaurs. Additionally, the tail has been changed in posture as well, but that cannot be seen in this image.

©Scott Hartman

The tail, as stated before, has been changed and here captured by Scott Hartman exactly as described. This specimen of Apatosaurus ajax has an upward kink at the base of the tail. The tail then extends horizontally posterior rather than deflecting downward until it drags on the ground. The tail musculature, and rigidity through tendons and ligaments, allowed for the tail to be used as a counterbalance to the neck and also as a weapon system in a pinch. The kink at the base creates a more stabilized area for muscle attachment above the pelvic girdle without fusion of vertebral neural spines in this area; this is not expressly noted in any paper I have read, but the arrangement suggests a non-fused but larger attachment surface when looking at it in profile.

Too Long To Hold My Tail Up

©Charles Knight

The old view of sauropods, due to their girth and sheer size, was that of a swamp and marsh dwelling creature supporting its weight through buoyancy in the waters. Dragging its tail and sometimes snorkeling in the deep Jurassic waters, Apatosaurus was thought to be a slowly moving gentle giant capable only of outlasting predators by hiding in the murky depths. Charles Knight, and others, captured this wonderfully in their illustrations of sauropods like this Apatosaurus printed under the name of Brontosaurus. Three species of Apatosaurus are presently recognized as valid (Apatosaurus excelsus Marsh, 1879; Apatosaurus louisae Holland, 1915; and Apatosaurus parvus Peterson and Gilmore, 1902). The average size of these monstrously large animals was around 75ft (23m) and estimates range between 16 and 35 tonnes in mass, making the original hypotheses of buoyancy for weight support much more logical; though obviously we know more now about the anatomical engineering marvel of sauropod vertebral columns and limbs.

Long Postings

Want a long post, you have to wait a little longer in your day; that and I honestly did not realize what time it was because I have been out and when in avoiding my computer because I am having trouble focusing on writing. On with the show!

My toy Dilophosaurus never had the ability to spit 20 feet as the ones in the Jurassic Park game are noted to achieve but it did, and still does (yes I have Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus and Velociraptor Series 1 figures from 1993; and I may still have Alan Grant too, but he is not as cool), manage a few feet when it is given a good hearty squeeze; Velociraptor bites when you squeeze the hindlimbs medially for those out of the know. That Dilophosaurus does not have a frill and, honestly, I am a bit sad that it does not have the associated frill given that that would be very accurate for the story and far more entertaining to play with. Dilophosaurus has far more popular culture credit than Jurassic Park, though.

One of the more popular areas that Dilophosaurus has marched into is the video game world. Rather than only making a mark in Jurassic Park games Dilophosaurus makes appearances in games like Primal Carnage. It has also been modded into other games like Zoo Tycoon, but I think Primal Carnage may be the non-Jurassic Park height of dinosaur video games; where else can you hunt dinosaurs with and against other people, or hunt people as dinosaurs, online after all? Dilophosaurus has also been modded into a lot of Minecraft and Spore videos.

"Analog" versions of Dilophosaurus in popular culture include many different skeletal reconstructions and displays, some of which we have seen during this week. The variation in these representations of Dilophosaurus are fantastic and actually fun to compare to one another. The Museum of Paleontology at Berkley has gone far enough to put together an audio guided tour of their analog/digital combined Dilophosaurus exhibit that is a lot of fun to listen to (Sam Welles made a few good points about the frill and skeletal anatomy that would have supported the frill). Despite stepping on some feet with the present known facts, there are a lot of supporting characters that back up a lot of the reconstructions out there; some sculptors and paleontologists putting them together highlight specifics more than other characters obviously. There are reasons for that, but we cannot, and do not have the time, to delve into every reconstruction and determine why certain characteristics were highlighted over others.

Merry Christmas Post

My intentions for today were to write a very short post with my old Dilophosaurus drawing in a bit of a festive getup, but I still cannot find that drawing. For those not celebrating Christmas, today is a normal day and we respect that here. Since it is a fairly major holiday for a wide bit of the audience, I will still keep it short. I want everyone to know there is still a rather festive Dilophosaurus available on the internet from illustrator Frank-Joseph Frelier. Instead, have a basal Christmas Ornithopod! We will have a nice long post tomorrow to make up for today.

Chinese Dilophosaurus?

There are papers about Dilophosaurus that are of interest today; providing you do not have family events for Christmas Eve planned. There are some great papers on a supposed Chinese Dilophosaurus, Dilophosaurus sinensis, that describe the species and the discovery of the remains. There are two different papers from 1993 describing these remains. As of this writing, however, only Dilophosaurus wetherilli is recognized as a valid species. Robert Gay, last noted to be teaching in a public school in Arizona, has written two interesting papers that he hosts on his own web page related to Dilophosaurus; one is on sexual dimorphism in Dilophosaurus (abstract available in two places) and the other on a new specimen from the Kayenta Formation. There are, of course, also book excerpts that mention the world renown Dilophosaurus like Kenneth Carpenter's The Carnivorous Dinosaurs. I think one of my favorite short papers for the day, however, is from Andrew Milner and James Kirkland and explores the possibility that many dinosaurs, including Dilophosaurus, from St. George Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (a site in Utah) might be fish eating in part at least. Dilophosaurus jaws do, recall, slightly foreshadow the piscivorous Spinosaurid jaw morphology; and may have had a diet that integrated fish in addition to terrestrial prey.

Jurassic Dilophosaurus

Jurassic Park, home to many dinosaurs of the Cretaceous, was also home to Dilophosaurus. Remember the parts of this wonderful scene that were added by Crichton, retained by Spielberg, and have no known basis from the fossil record and enjoy the scene regardless. Probably my favorite of all the Jurassic Park scenes floating around the internet (also, listen closely near the beginning for the funny and overused slide whistle):

Now, for comparison, view these much more fossil based reconstructions of Dilophosaurus from When Dinosaurs Roamed America and note the differences between the two clips (there will be a Christmas Eve test):

He Means His Jurassic

A good day for letting your children read or watch a video. There are not any dedicated books that are singularly exceptional about Dilophosaurus, in fact, the majority that are about this dinosaur alone are from the 1980's or 1990's and their covers appear extremely out of date. There are some fairly good online fact pages like KidsDigDinos and Enchanted Learning; though these are not usually our favored pages. Enchanted Learning has a somewhat acceptable coloring page, but the one below is quite a bit better; it is quite cartoony however. I had drawn one at some point that I think would be good for coloring, but every time I find it I am happy I found it then I promptly forget to scan it and forget where it is.

Feathers or No Feathers

Geological Museum of the Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw

As has been mentioned in the not so distant past, the origin of feathering has not yet been pinpointed. Assuming that the feather origin occurred very early in the history of the Dinosauria we can begin to see models, and illustrations, of even the earliest theropods with feathering. A feathered Dilophosaurus is actually quite appealing, to toss out an opinion. As opposed to some newer models and illustrations of feathered dinosaurs (opinions coming here) this Dilophosaurus reconstruction looks very appropriate as a feathered dinosaur. The feathers of this model, thankfully, are not ostentatious; their "drab" nature and subdued coloration in this reconstruction are quite fitting for a theropod that would want to blend in with its surroundings while hunting.

Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, TN.

The non-feathered version of Dilophosaurus that is still somewhat popular is usually a drab color as well. The tiger striping of black and brown is a common color scheme for theropods of the past and the present though. Ignoring that, there are a few other issues with this particular model that can be found in other tight skinned and non-feathered theropods. The most characteristic mark in the reconstructions with tightly pulled reptilian skins on the skull is the formation of the notched junction of the premaxilla-maxilla. In comparison with the other reconstruction, the eye is portrayed as much smaller as well. Additionally, the crests of this reconstruction are larger and more brightly colored. The crest is also divided by ridges and depressions not apparent in the previous reconstruction. The taut skin of the more reptilian reconstruction is a bit of a call back to an older age; it is a bit of a vintage reconstruction to say the least.

Double the Crests

©Heather Kyoht Luterman

Meaning "Two Crested Lizard" Dilophosaurus was discovered in 1954 in Arizona's Kayenta Formation. One species is recognized, Dilophosaurus wetherilli, and it is a highly recognizable species. The most characteristic identifiers of Dilophosaurus are in the skull. Two crests run along the roof of the skull from the nares to the temporal fenestrae. The premaxilla and maxilla abutment is also characteristic of Dilophosaurus and many basal theropods in general. The "kink" where the two meet is also found in later Spinosaurids as well as some crocodiles and represents a weakened connection between the two jaw elements. Despite the popular image of a dinosaur with a transparent hood, like that seen in Jurassic Park, there is no evidence that indicates such a hood existed. There is also no evidence for the venomous nature of the silver screen Dilophosaurus; Michael Crichton took complete ownership of the invention of the two ideas. Dilophosaurus was, however, a rather interesting basal theropod, and a fairly hefty one at 23 feet (7 meters) and up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms).

Popular Because It's Popular

Admittedly, almost no one would have heard of Leaellynasaura if not for its role in Walking with Dinosaurs. Since that time any bland appearing ornithopod has been in danger of being labeled Leaellynasaura. Somehow, despite all of this attention, our small dinosaur does not appear across genres very often. Its depiction in books is limited to a few books about Australia and polar dinosaurs with very few exceptions; notably Lita Judge's How Big Were Dinosaurs? shows Leaellynasaura playing with penguins in a well written children's context. A modified model appears in Zoo Tycoon clearly based on illustrations by Matt Martyniuk.

What Large Eyes

The eyes of Leaellynasaura are thought to have been quite enormous, given the size of the orbits of the skull. Proportionately the orbits, and therefore the eyes, are quite a bit larger than most other dinosaurs that have been described to this point in time. The point of large eyes is, probably without needing to be said, to see better in lower light conditions. Polar winters, having longer periods of darkness, would have required animals to possess many specialized adaptations like enlarged eyes in order to successfully survive in the darkness. Without adaptations like these the ornithopods like Leaellynasaura, such as Muttaburrrasaurus, would have had to migrate away from the Antarctic Circle. More sensitive eyes, in addition to unknown adaptations of the softer anatomy that have not been preserved, allowed Leaellynasaura to take advantage of the nearly vacant polar stretch of Australia during the winter season. Predators were mainly represented at this time by smaller forest dwelling theropods like the generically named "Dwarf Allosaur"; which to this point is highly speculative and without solid evidence. It is logical, however, that some predatory dinosaur would have been able to withstand the winter conditions with similar adaptations to Leaellynasaura.

Written Leaellynasaura

The accessibility of some papers is better than others. The accessibility of free results for Leaellynasaura is one of those conundrums that ends in disappointment; not that there are not papers out there, it is just that they are nearly all well about the $30 mark. Scientific American, thankfully, bucks this trend a little by making an issue with references to Leaellynasaura and other Antarctic dinosaurs available for only $8. The Journal of African Earth Sciences is another place where we can find the importance of Leaellynasaura in writing. This time the article was pertaining to the significance of Gondwanan polar dinosaurs in the history of dinosaurs as a group. Taylor and Francis, probably not surprisingly today, takes the prize for most expensive articles (they are cheaper in some journals so please do not assume I hate Taylor and Francis). Coming to us at $44, the article reexamines the holotype of Leaellynasaura and addresses doubts and worries concerning the relationship of the skull and body skeleton of the holotype. As with any potentially volatile situation, I would not like to make assumptions on the outcome of any article I have not been able to read in full, but considering that Leaellynasaura is still considered a usable name it is fairly safe to assume that the doubts were confidently negated by the article.

The Dinosaur of the Week Walks

This is one of those days that the movie gets to do the talking for us. Enjoy this episode, if you have not previously, of Walking with Dinosaurs:

Parts 2 and 3 can be found from this part.

Snow Covered Forest for Kids

Leaellynasaura is one of those types of smaller dinosaurs that people, for lack of a better term, consider adorable. Not much needs to be said in addition to showing the links for the day honestly, considering that Walking with Dinosaurs has done a rather good job of describing Leaellynasaura. KidsDinos has a nicely shortened and concise web site for Leaellynasaura. Enchanted Learning has a good site with a fairly nice illustration, thankfully. There are few times we get to mention Enchanted Learning having a quality illustration to color, so I enjoy getting to say that today. There is also the below coloring page that depicts a very angry looking Leaellynasaura.

Furred Polar Brrrrs

Leaellynasaura was a polar dinosaur. The area in which Leaellynasaura lived was well below the Antarctic Circle meaning that during part of the year, at least, the Antarctic winter caused that area of Australia to be darker and colder for a longer portion of the day. To combat this the long tailed and large orbited Leaellynasaura could have certainly been feathered, or at least covered in a fine downy coating of adaptive filoplumes. Though, to my knowledge, no evidence of these filoplumes has been recovered with the remains of Leaellynasaura. Ornithopods with this kind of covering, and we may find the evidence for it, then push the origin of filoplumes into a rather odd direction marking it as either independently evolved in multiple lineages (Theropods, Marginocephalians, and then Ornithopods at least) or being derived from a much more ancient common ancestor than previously assumed. Regardless, a furry Leaellynasaura running through the snow covered darkened forests of Antarctic Australia foraging for what little food is available are pretty fantastical and intriguing. It is quite unique as well, of course; thinking of dinosaurs as snow dwelling dinosaurs. The majority of images of Leaellynasaura portray a scaled ornithopod and a feathered, or down, covered version is quite fantastic.

Next Oldest Post

Nobu Tamura

Continuing in the revamped original 8 posts this week is Leaellynasaura. Another Australian dinosaur from south of the Antarctic Circle (look back to Atlascopcosaurus), Leaellynasaura amicagraphica was named after the daughter of Tom Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich (Leaellyn Rich); our intrepid Australian dinosaur discoverers of countless specimens. The specific epithet references the Friends of the Museum of Victoria and National Geographic, which have helped finance  Australian paleontology for years. Two nearly complete skeletons and two fragmentary skulls as well as multiple other fragmented skeletons have been recovered. The tails and orbits of Leaellynasaura are defining characteristics of the small ornithopods and represent highly adaptive evolutionary characters of the skeleton suited for the polar ecosystem in which they lived. Small forest dwelling polar ornithopods are the topic of the week here, be prepared!

What Has Not Been Mentioned

This week has been fraught with popular culture references already; it almost seems like too much to devote an entire post to popular culture. However, I have barely scratched the surface of how many times Deinonychus has appeared somewhere on television or in the movies. Accepting that the dromaeosaurids of Jurassic Park are meant to be based on Crichton's description of Deinonychus (as Velociraptor) we can say that Deinonychus has appeared in at least 4 feature films; it is very safe to say that the 4th installment will have some of these fellows floating about. There are also appearances in numerous documentaries, television shows, cartoons (including Dinosaur King and Dinosaur Train), and even video games (both Zoo Tycoon and Spore models have been made). It has also appeared in many books, as many different toys, sometimes as a plush animal, as models, statues... really there is too much to link today, so I have not created links for all of these categories. Deinonychus is a very prominent dinosaur in the dinosaur figure arena. Most of the plush dinosaurs have been fairly inaccurate; this is what I would love to see as a plush version:

©John Conway