Episode 203 is all about Cedarosaurus, a Brachiosaurid (high browser) that has been found with over 100 gastroliths.

We also interview Philip Millar, the Associate Creative Director at Creature Technology. The people who made the Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular, Jurassic World: The Exhibition, and many other amazing puppets.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

A new mamenchisaurid sauropod, Anhuilong diboensis, was found in China about 200 miles southwest of Shanghai source

A juvenile Diplodocus skull was found with a mixture of teeth similar to those in adult Diploducus and Camarasaurus indicating they probably ate more diverse food than the adults source

A new early dinosaur/bird named Yangavis confucii, had a toothless beak, and relatively large claws on its wings compared to its closest relatives source

An emerging field called bio-inspired robotics aims to mimic nature to make robots, including those that can traverse rough terrain source

Models of dinosaur movement could help us build better robots and architecture source

At least 15 new dinosaur eggs from the cretaceous have been found in Zhejiang China source

Schools in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, can request to visit a dinosaur dig site where they can dig for fossils and learn about the history of the area source

Saurian recently updated their Triceratops to include four life stages and their T. rex to a featherless form source

One mom dressed her whole family (including 4 kids ages 4-10) in inflatable T. rex costumes to take a photo announcing she’s expecting her fifth child source

The dinosaur of the day: Cedarosaurus

Brachiosaurid sauropod that lived in the Cretaceous in what is now Utah, US

Described in 1999 by V. Tidwell, K. Carpenter, and W. Brooks

Name means “Cedar lizard”

Named after the Cedar Mountain Formation, where it was found

Type species is Cedarosaurus weiskopfae

Species name in honor of Carol Weiskopf “for her hard work in the field and lab”

Fossils found from at least three individuals

Similar to the brachiosaurid Eucamerotus (from southern England) and Brachiosaurus (from Morrison Formation)

Related to Venenosaurus, but was more gracile, especially the forelimbs

Herbivorous, and medium-sized for a brachiosaurid

Cedarosaurus was probably a tall browser (like other brachiosaurids), which would allow it to live among other herbivorous dinosaurs

Many gastroliths found

Frank Sanders, Kim Manley, and Kenneth Carpenter did a study in 2001 of 115 gastroliths from Cedarosaurus (found near the skeleton, with signs that they were in its body while it still had soft tissue)

The gastroliths weighed 15 lb (7 kg) total. Most where spherical, though some were large and had irregular shapes (would have been hard to swallow). Means Cedarosaurus either liked these for some reason or didn’t really care about shape

Gastroliths either helped grind or crush plant matter

Fun Fact:

The shape of theropod (like T. rex) feet may have helped to camouflage the vibrations of their walking. Crouching would have also helped them sneak up on their prey by further reducing vibrations.

Sponsors:

This episode is brought to you in part by TRX Dinosaurs, which makes beautiful and realistic dinosaur sculptures, puppets, and animatronics. You can see some amazing examples and works in progress on Instagram @trxdinosaurs