Thursday, December 21, 2017

Dino Bios: Megalneusaurus.

Megalneusaurus:
Time: 164-145 million years ago, Oxfordian-Tithonian of the late Jurassic period.
Place: North America.
Length: 47-52 feet (14.4-15.8 meters).
Skull Length: 272.4-300 cm.
Diet: Carnivore.

This is my favorite pliosaur, but it isn't that well known. So let's talk about it!

Description:
The pliosauroidea were large marine reptiles that were the top predators of their time. Megalneusaurus was one of the largest pliosaurs to have lived. The holotype, UW 4602, and UANL-FCT-R2, the "Monster of Aramberri" specimen, were 52 feet (15.8 meters) long and had skulls that were 300 cm long. Another specimen from Alaska was 47 feet (14.4 meters) long, with a skull that was 272.4 cm long. These large skulls, along with their large bodies, gave large pliosaurs the ability to hunt a variety of prey (Foffa et al., 2014, "Conclusions").

 UANL-FCT-R2 ("Monster of Aramberri) Skull (Vengeance from the Deep, "Pliosaur Size"):
Prey:
Megalneusaurus hunted the ichthyosaurs Ophthalmosaurus and Baptanodon, and the plesiosaurs Pantosaurus and Tatenectes.

 Megalneusaurus Hunting Ophthalmosaurus:
Links:
Original Papers:
Science (1895):
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/2/40/449.1
Knight (1898) (pg. 379):
https://books.google.com/books?id=9FY7AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380&dq=megalneusaurus+centrum+width&source=bl&ots=I0pjh9Mzig&sig=ACfU3U3BIE5eFVswQm7hKyhPl12Ik4AALw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia8c-ouaTiAhXo1FkKHSNQDNsQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=megalneusaurus%20centrum%20width&f=false
Size:
https://psdinosaurs.blogspot.com/2019/05/size-calculations-for-pliosaurs.html
Time:
International Chronostratigraphic Chart (2019 Version):
http://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2019-05.jpg
Link 2:
http://stratigraphy.org/index.php/ics-chart-timescale
Time:
Wahl et al., (2007) ("Abstract"):
https://www.academia.edu/2903720/Rediscovery_of_Wilbur_Knights_Megalneusaurus_rex_site_New_material_from_an_old_pit 
Weems and Blodgett (1996) (Pg. 173-174):
https://books.google.com/books?id=kFdRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=megalneusaurus+humerus&source=bl&ots=2lz_AfTT0e&sig=ACfU3U2SF9blC3VoHyw5BkewmJSKlBjv-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwih6Jfg0vHjAhVsm-AKHQkZBPIQ6AEwBXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=megalneusaurus%20humerus&f=false 
Wilson et al., (2015) ("Abstract"):
https://mrdata.usgs.gov/sim3340/show-sim3340.php?seq=B142&src=UG004_514 
Tropaff et al., (2005) ("Abstract"):
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-abstract/117/5-6/570/2164/sedimentology-and-provenance-of-the-upper-jurassic?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Hugh McClean (1979) ("Introduction"):
Ralph W. Imlay (1981) (Pg. 24-28):
International Chronostratigraphic Chart (2020):
International Commission of Stratigraphy Website:
Locations:
Wyoming:
Wahl et al., (2007):
https://www.academia.edu/2903720/Rediscovery_of_Wilbur_Knights_Megalneusaurus_rex_site_New_material_from_an_old_pit
Wahl et al., (2010):
https://www.academia.edu/2903646/New_material_from_the_type_specimen_of_Megalneusaurus_rex_Reptilia_Sauropterygia_from_the_Jurassic_Sundance_Formation_Wyoming
Alaska:
Weems and Blodgett (1996):
1st Link (pg. 169):
https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/129372?Reference=85097
2nd Link:
https://images.app.goo.gl/YWQcwxWxVgfmqtwE7
3nd Link:
https://data.doi.gov/dataset/the-pliosaurid-megalneusaurus-a-newly-recognized-occurrence-in-the-upper-jurassic-naknek-f
Mexico:
Buchy et al., (2003):
Buchy (2007) (pg. 36-40):
Bite Force:
Foffa et al., (2014) ("Conclusions"):

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.12200

Prey:
Wahl et al., (2007) (pg. 94):
O'Keefe et al., (2009):
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20627139?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Pliosauroidea:
Weems and Blodgett (1996) (pg. 170):
Pliosaur Physical Description:
"A New Species of Pliosaur Was Found on Volga." National Geographic. 2016:
Skull Picture:
Vengeance from the Deep. "Pliosaur Size":
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