Episode 256 is all about Coloradisaurus, a Triassic sauropodomorph known from a nearly complete skull that was found in Argentina.

We also interview Taissa Rodrigues, from the Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo in Brazil. She presented a poster at SVP about teaching evolution using paleoart. She also led a session on women in paleontology and had a student present a poster on a pterosaur. Follow her on twitter @paleotaissa

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

Presentations from the first day of SVP all of the abstracts can be read here: source New dating shows Lythronax argestes is older than previously thought, no longer coinciding with a global sea-level drop There are tons of new sauropod fossil fields in southwest Queensland, Australia, near Eromanga Probable ornithopod, ceratopsid, deinonychosaur, and tyrannosaur tracks were found on a 200ft cliff in Alaska In Alberta, Tyrants Aisle has over 120 tracks likely belonging to Edmontosaurus, a troodontid, Tyrannosaurus, and another theropod CT scans of track slabs shows how dinosaur feet moved through soft sediments Laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) is being used to gather evidence of the first aerodynamically significant wings A new track site shows a couple sauropods walking together when a larger sauropod skids to avoid squashing a smaller individual New sauropod finds in Hateg island Transylvania, Romania may be a fourth genus, but isn’t complete enough to get a new name Dinosaurs and crocodiles have hard eggshells that evolved independently A new titanosaur was found in NW Kenya Low melanosome (color pigment producer) diversity may be linked to low metabolism Compacted coarse cancellous bone (CCCB) that is common in burrowing animals was found in the hind limbs of a new Oryctodromeus relative Exceptional fossils don’t necessarily translate to good cellular and molecular preservation New opalized femur fragments from an ornithopod in lightening ridge show that young were born in the area Melanosomes are not enough to determine color. Structure, chemistry, and diet also have a big impact Calcium isotopes from Morocco and Niger support Spinosaurus as a fish-eater More neornithischian finds from south of Melbourne may end with one or two synonymized taxa in the near future New research shows ovarian follicles in an enantiornithine A sauropod footprint was found in a new sauropod bone, adding to the idea of trampling sauropods A dinosaur stampede like trackway was found near Quilpie, QLD, Australia Coprolites can preserve some soft tissue features and other information about temperatures and habitats The name Kamuysaurus is meant to mean that it is the god of Japanese dinosaurs based on its incredibly complete skeleton Deep learning can process CT scans and save time on analyzing images Equisetum, or horse tails, were probably the most nutritious food for young and adult sauropods Birds use their necks in a variety of ways, but they tend to have a lot of traits in common



The dinosaur of the day: Coloradisaurus

Massospondylid sauropodomorph that lived in the Late Triassic in what is now La Rioja Province, Argentina (Los Colorados Formation)

Basal sauropodomorph

Considered to be medium-sized

Gracile

Type species is Coloradisaurus brevis

Genus name means “Colorado’s lizard”, and it was named after the Los Colorados Formation, where it was found

Originally Jose Bonaparte named it Coloradia in 1978, but it was already assigned to a moth

Named in 1983 by David Lambert

Holotype includes a nearly complete skull

A second specimen was described in 2012 by Cecilia Apaldetti and others (postcranial material, including parts of the vertebral column, pectoral girdle, incomplete forelimb, pelvis, hindlimb)

The second specimen was larger than the holotype, and was probably a juvenile

Skull has some similarities to plateosaurid skulls, so Coloradisaurus is considered to be a massospondylid that through convergent evolution has some plateosaurid characteristics

Also has some similar characteristics to Lufengosaurus, a massospondylid from China (Early Jurassic); we cover Lufengosaurus is episode 159

Other dinosaurs that lived in the same time and place include Riojasaurus, Lessemsaurus, and Zupaysaurus

Fun Fact: Wintonotitan, a sauropod from the Winton Formation in Australia, is not a titanosaur.

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This episode is brought to you in part by Columbia University Press. Get 30% off The Story of Dinosaurs in 25 Discoveries: Amazing Fossils and the People Who Found Them by Donald Prothero by using promo code DINO30 at cup.columbia.edu