Episode 264 is all about Unenlagia, the Deinonychus-sized raptor from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina.

We also interview Jenni Brammall, special projects coordinator at the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge, NSW. She manages the opalized fossil collections at AOC and is helping to organize construction of the massive new Australian Opal Centre building. Check out our video of the AOC or checkout their Facebook page.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

The new theropod, Lajasvenator, was tiny for a carcharodontosaurid source

Hannah the ceratopsian is a Sytracosaurus albertensis source

Dinosaur footprints have been found in the former Qing Dynasty imperial summer resort source

The Jurassic World YouTube Channel has a new motion comic series source

The dinosaur of the day: Unenlagia

Dromaeosaurid theropod that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now South America

Only leg length is known, so not clear how long Unenlagia was. Estimates are anywhere from 6.6 ft (2 m) to 11 ft (3.5 m) long and weighing 165 lb (75 kg)

Probably had an elongated head, based on relatives Buitreraptor and Austroraptor

Pelvic region was similar to Archaeopteryx

Originally thought the shoulder girdle was adapted for flapping, and that this showed flight started with flapping (still debating today) (flat scapula on top of the ribcage, so shoulder joint could point more laterally), but in 2002 Kenneth Carpenter found that the scapula was probably on the side of the ribcage

Philip Senter suggested theropods like Unenlagia couldn’t lift their forelimbs above their back

Not everyone agrees, and some scientists think if the scapula was in the lateral position the coracoid bone would jut into the ribcage, which wouldn’t make sense

Two species: Unenlagia comahuensis (type) and Unenlagia paynemili

Described by Fernando Novas and Pablo Puerta in 1997

Genus name means “half bird” (in language of the indigenous Mapuche people)

Species name refers to Comahue, the region where it was found

Holotype includes a partial skeleton, no skull, but had vertebrae, sacrum, ribs, chevrons, scapula, humerus, partial pelvis, femur, tibia

Second skeleton found in 2002, named and described in 2004 as Unenlagia paynemili

Second species described by Jorge Calvo and others in 2004

Found a holotype and several paratypes

Species name is in honor of Maximino Paynemil, chief of the Paynemil community

Unenlagia paynemili is more gracile than Unenlagia comahuensis

Makovicky and others in 2005 found Neuquenraptor argentinus to be a junior synonym of Unenlagia comahuensis

First theropod found in Argentina considered to be a dromaeosaurid

Novas and Puerta considered Unenlagia to be a link between birds and maniraptoran theropods

Fun Fact: The two largest known carnivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic are Torvosaurus & Saurophaganax

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