Drawing of an aquatic Psittacosaurus by Zach Miller (used with permission).I'm back with part 2 of my little series on aquatic dinosaurs. If you haven't read my first post, here it is. Now, let's continue.
In 1972, a specimen of Compsognathus was found with what appeared to be flippers. Named Compsognathus corallestris, it was believed to have been an aquatic member of this genus. At least one contemporary book I saw included this idea, showing two types of Compy (yes, I used that word), a terrestrial one with regular hands, and an aquatic one with flippers. However, the "flippers" have since proven to be merely an artifact of preservation. A good post at The World We Don't Live In covers this in more detail. Also in the vein of aquatic compsognathids, John Ruben (yes, that John Ruben) and his colleagues apparently suggested that Sinosauropteryx was aquatic at the 1997 SVP meeting. The abstract doesn't mention aquatic habits, but this suggestion was mentioned on Luis Rey's website. However, this was pretty clearly another attempt to discredit the dinosaur-bird connection.
More recently, a number of interesting suggestions of some dinosaurs having aquatic habits have arisen. One notable example is Bob Bakkers proposal that Ceratosaurus had aquatic habits. He based this on the distribution of shed teeth of this genus, which, at least in the Como Bluff area, were found primarily in aquatic environments, as well as the muscular build of its tail. It was even suggested that Majungasaurus was amphibious or aquatic, though Darren Naish has a post disputing this idea.
Earlier this year, a study came out arguing that, based on the isotopes of the bones, spinosaurids were semi-aquatic animals. This is not surprising, given what these animals are thought to have been eating, which was fish, and lots of it! Also, as Tracy Ford once pointed out in his Prehistoric Times column, these dinosaurs would probably have to eat large fish to sustain them, which tend to live in deep water.
Ceratopsians have experienced several aquatic suggestions this year. First off, Tracy Ford and Larry Martin have suggested in New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs that Psittacosaurus had a semi-aquatic lifestyle. They note that this is not the first time this genus was proposed to be aquatic, and list a number of papers. For more info on this idea, here's Zach Miller's thoughts and Tracy's response (also, thanks to Zach for letting me use his drawing). Another paper in that volume describing a skeleton long attributed to Anchiceratops suggests that the animal might have had a hippo-like lifestyle. Finally, the recent paper describing Koreaceratops proposes that the animal may have been aquatic as well, based on the build of the tail.. Brian Switek gives his thoughts on the latter proposition here. In addition, Ford, discussing his Psittacosaurus idea in his Prehistoric Times column, has listed several more papers proposing aquatic ceratopsians over the years.
That concludes my little series on aquatic dinosaurs. I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, if there is anything I missed, please let me know! Until next time, people.
More recently, a number of interesting suggestions of some dinosaurs having aquatic habits have arisen. One notable example is Bob Bakkers proposal that Ceratosaurus had aquatic habits. He based this on the distribution of shed teeth of this genus, which, at least in the Como Bluff area, were found primarily in aquatic environments, as well as the muscular build of its tail. It was even suggested that Majungasaurus was amphibious or aquatic, though Darren Naish has a post disputing this idea.
Earlier this year, a study came out arguing that, based on the isotopes of the bones, spinosaurids were semi-aquatic animals. This is not surprising, given what these animals are thought to have been eating, which was fish, and lots of it! Also, as Tracy Ford once pointed out in his Prehistoric Times column, these dinosaurs would probably have to eat large fish to sustain them, which tend to live in deep water.
Ceratopsians have experienced several aquatic suggestions this year. First off, Tracy Ford and Larry Martin have suggested in New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs that Psittacosaurus had a semi-aquatic lifestyle. They note that this is not the first time this genus was proposed to be aquatic, and list a number of papers. For more info on this idea, here's Zach Miller's thoughts and Tracy's response (also, thanks to Zach for letting me use his drawing). Another paper in that volume describing a skeleton long attributed to Anchiceratops suggests that the animal might have had a hippo-like lifestyle. Finally, the recent paper describing Koreaceratops proposes that the animal may have been aquatic as well, based on the build of the tail.. Brian Switek gives his thoughts on the latter proposition here. In addition, Ford, discussing his Psittacosaurus idea in his Prehistoric Times column, has listed several more papers proposing aquatic ceratopsians over the years.
That concludes my little series on aquatic dinosaurs. I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, if there is anything I missed, please let me know! Until next time, people.
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ReplyDeleteIt looks like you got them all. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
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