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This came across my desk today, and I thought I'd share it. The gist is, a new ceratopsian was found in North America. The dinosaur has some interesting implications for dinosaur migration between North America and Asia, as well as having the obvious implications for phylogeny.
Two things struck me about this find.
First, it seems that there's a long, complex history of exchange between North America and Asia. No real surprise there, but it makes me wonder how early that started. I know horses, for example, originated in the New World and migrated into Asia; I wonder if there were any hiatuses in the Cretaceous/Cenozoic.
Second, this critter is remarkably heterodontid. There are two distinct types of teeth in its head. Not terribly unusual for dinosaurs--Sue herself, one of the most famous dinosaurs in existence, is a heterodont--but it raises the question of why. Particularly since this creature is a subadult (basically, a teenager). New teeth were erupting at or around the time of death (possibly, anyway), which raises the possibility of ecological shifts during the organism's lifetime. Or it could be something else. Definitely an interesting question.
On a more sociological note, it's neat to see them already addressing the implications of the recent ceratopsian overhaul in this paper. Ontogeny is something of a problem in paleontology, and it's nice to see folks taking that more seriously.
On a personal note, I would love to see more post-craneal anatomy. The reconstructions are best-guesses at this point; while there's nothing wildly unusual about this critter, I'm extremely hesitant to trust the drawings of anything but the skull in this paper. They make for pretty pictures, but are not without risk.
This came across my desk today, and I thought I'd share it. The gist is, a new ceratopsian was found in North America. The dinosaur has some interesting implications for dinosaur migration between North America and Asia, as well as having the obvious implications for phylogeny.
Two things struck me about this find.
First, it seems that there's a long, complex history of exchange between North America and Asia. No real surprise there, but it makes me wonder how early that started. I know horses, for example, originated in the New World and migrated into Asia; I wonder if there were any hiatuses in the Cretaceous/Cenozoic.
Second, this critter is remarkably heterodontid. There are two distinct types of teeth in its head. Not terribly unusual for dinosaurs--Sue herself, one of the most famous dinosaurs in existence, is a heterodont--but it raises the question of why. Particularly since this creature is a subadult (basically, a teenager). New teeth were erupting at or around the time of death (possibly, anyway), which raises the possibility of ecological shifts during the organism's lifetime. Or it could be something else. Definitely an interesting question.
On a more sociological note, it's neat to see them already addressing the implications of the recent ceratopsian overhaul in this paper. Ontogeny is something of a problem in paleontology, and it's nice to see folks taking that more seriously.
On a personal note, I would love to see more post-craneal anatomy. The reconstructions are best-guesses at this point; while there's nothing wildly unusual about this critter, I'm extremely hesitant to trust the drawings of anything but the skull in this paper. They make for pretty pictures, but are not without risk.
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