In our 177th episode, we got to chat with Ethan Pettus author of Primitive War, a sci-fi novel about the Vietnam War and dinosaurs that was published in early 2017.

Episode 177 is also about Hoplitosaurus, an ankylosaurian named after the spear-toting Greeks famous for their phalanx formation.

Thank you! Thank you to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on iTunes at:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:

The dinosaur of the day: Hoplitosaurus

See Hoplitosaurus in a promotional image of the Holoscape interface at the Innovation Center in Jurassic World (may be in the Gallimimus Valley and Cretaceous Cruise)

Polacanthinae (type of ankylosaur) that lived in the Cretaceous in what is now South Dakota, US (Lakota Formation)

Name means “Hoplite lizard”

Partial skeleton found in 1898 by Nelson Horatio Darton (found ribs, caudal vertebrae, right femur and some armor, including tall spines)

Described in 1901 by Frederic Augusta Lucas as a new species of Stegosaurus, Stegosaurus marshi, but in 1902 considered to be its own genus, Hoplitosaurus

Charles W. Gilmore described all known material in 1914

Type species is Hoplitosaurus marshi

Species name in honor of Othniel Charles Marsh, who named Stegosaurus

Genus name refers to heavily armored soldiers, called hoplites, in ancient Greek city-state armies

Not much is known about it. Some scientists wanted to synonymize it with Polacanthus in the late 1980s-early 1990s, and William Blows and Javier Pereda-Suberbiola named Polacanthus marshii, but that was rejected. Kenneth Carpenter and Jim Kirkland found that the similarities between the Hoplitosaurus and Polacanthus were actually similarities found in other ankylosaurus, or were similarities based on damage to the bones

Polacanthus and Hoplitosaurus had similar armor, though Hoplitosaurus did not have the sacral shield of armor (over the hips) that Polacanthus had

Had osteoderms along its back, and may have also had spikes on its shoulders and sides

Used armor as defense

About 4 ft (1.2 m) tall at the hips

Herbivorous, probably ate vegetation low on the ground (could not rear up)

Fun Fact:

The Morrison Formation is named for a small town in Colorado named Morrison (estimated 435 people)

The formation includes Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Saurophaganax, Ceratosaurus, Ornitholestes, and about 40 more Meaning about 1 dinosaur species named for every 9 people in Morrison

Not all were found in Morrison, the formation covers parts of 13 states, but Apatosaurus, Diplodocus & Stegosaurs were all originally found in the city of Morrison

The city is just a few miles southwest of Denver and has its own dinosaur museum

This episode was brought to you by:

TRX Dinosaurs, which makes beautiful and realistic dinosaur sculptures, puppets, and exhibits. You can see some amazing examples and works in progress on Instagram @trxdinosaurs.

Enter to win a TRX Dinosaurs-made 1:1 scale Velociraptor sculpture. It’s open to anyone in the US or Canada (except Quebec) ages 18 and older to win. Complete rules are at https://iknowdino.com/velociraptor-sculpture-sweepstakes-official-rules

This week’s link to enter is http://bit.ly/Giveaway177

And by the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which is located in southern Alberta, Canada. Right now they are hosting their free-to-attend Winter speaker series (also on YouTube). More information can be found at tyrrellmuseum.com.