[x]

Buy This Print close

Art Print
Canvas
Photo

Browse More Like This

Download Image
JPG, 2362×1306 more ▶

More from *Gogosardina

View Gallery · View Prints

Featured in Groups:

#Animals-of-Color

#JPDH-Universe
We blur science and sci-fiction.

#Prehistory-Alive
Bringing prehistory back to life

Details

Submitted: May 7, 2012
Image Size: 814 KB
Resolution: 2362×1306

Link

Thumb

Statistics

Comments: 40
Favourites: 110 [who?]
Views: 2,411 (0 today)
Downloads: 118 (0 today)

Camera Data

Make:Minolta Co., Ltd.
Model:DiMAGE 7
Shutter Speed:1/180 second
Aperture:F/6.7
Focal Length:49 mm
ISO Speed:100
Date Taken:Jan 31, 2007, 2:11:08 PM
Software:Adobe Photoshop CS4 Windows

Shop For This Camera

[x]

Aussie ceratosaurby *Gogosardina

Traditional Art / Mixed Media / Animals & Plants

2012, acrylics, digital & photography

ca. 125,000,000 years ago, Early Cretaceous (early Aptian), San Remo, (87 km southeast of Melbourne), Victoria, Australia.

Under the 24-hour sunlight of the south polar summer, a 2.5 metre long ceratosaurian theropod hisses at a potential threat as she slinks back to her lair after a hunting foray. Grasped in her foreclaws is a dromaeosaurid chick.

This is a largely hypothetical reconstruction, based on an isolated astragalocalcaneum (NMV P221202) from the Early Cretaceous Wonthaggi Formation at San Remo, Victoria. Although only 6 cm wide, this fragment provides sufficient anatomical data to provide the first unambiguous evidence for an Australian ceratosaur.

In addition to the astragalocalcaneum, I've also incorporated a few other bits and pieces of fragmentary Victorian theropod - including some Masiakasaurus-like teeth from Flat Rocks. The end result is a sort of generalised "proto-Masiakasaur". The presence of dromaeosaurs in EK Victoria is based on isolated teeth.

REFERENCE
Fitzgerald EM, Carrano MT, Holland T, Wagstaff BE, Pickering D, Rich TH, Vickers-Rich P. (2012) First ceratosaurian dinosaur from Australia. Naturwissenschaften. 2012 May 3. [Epub ahead of print]

copyright 2012, Brian Choo

~~love 0 0~~

joy 1 1

wow 1 1

~~mad 0 0~~

~~sad 0 0~~

~~fear 0 0~~

~~neutral 0 0~~

*2195Razielim Nov 1, 2012 Hobbyist Photographer

~ksdinoboy95 May 26, 2012

this is beautifull work!I write paleo/sci-fi so I see all kinds and this is outstanding work!please contact me?

*Gogosardina May 29, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Thanks - with so few Australian theropods, they need all the publicity they can get!

~Paleodon May 7, 2012

Excuse me, but one isolated bone does not provide sufficient anatomical data for an Australian ceratosaur - or any dinosaur for that matter. There's been many examples of dinosaurs classified by a few or only one bone, only to turn out wrong or to remain nomen dubium. There's been a lot of such claims from single bones found in Australia, especially by the Richs. While their claims are not impossible, a simpler explanation is convergant evolution. Some dinosaur group (or groups) native to Gondwana gave rise to dinos adapted to lifestyles similar to the more familiar Laurasian ones. Why not? Australia is famous for the same thing with marsupials. Why not with dinosaurs in a pretty much isolated Australia, even back then? Until a more complete skeleton is found, I'm sticking with that idea, instead of trashing current ideas of dinosaur emigration.

~Pristichampsus May 10, 2012 Professional General Artist

Primitive ceratosaurs, dromeosaurs, ceratopsians, "hypsilophodontids", ornithomimids, oviraptorosaurs, all were present when Laurasia was still connected to Gondwana in the early-mid jurassic, hence they must have gone for the ride when the 2 superconitinents separated. That is obviously why they are present in Australia, because they got there early, and only changed marginally by the early cretaceous.

*Gogosardina May 8, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Errr, your data is in error.

Firstly, although the Riches are tacked on as last authors, primary research and writing for the manuscript was conducted by Matt Carrano (curator of dinosaurs at the Smithsonian Institution and theropod expert) and Erich Fitzgerald. The Riches oversaw the field collecting and preparation, but had nothing to do with the taxonomic determination of this specimen.

Secondly, it is widely recognised that astragali *are* diagnostic in different groups of theropods. The only theropods that have an intimately fused astragalocalcaneum are ceratosaurians and paravians. But, no paravian has a tall plate-like ascending astragalar process - but all ceratosaurs do. When I first saw the specimen I was struck by its similarity to that Masiakasaurus and Xenotarsosaurus.

Thirdly, how is identifying a specimen as a ceratosaur indicative of "familiar Laurasian" chauvanism? Cretaceous Gondwana is FULL of ceratosaurians (in South America, India, Africa and Madgascar) so we'd expect them in Australia, while there are hardly any ceratosaurs in Laurasia (just a few European abelisaurs). The paper alludes to similarities between the Victorian specimen and Elaphrosaurus plus Deltadromeus, both African (ie. Gondwanan) ceratosaurs.

Fourthly - since when was Mesozoic Australia isolated? It simply a lump of eastern Antarctica that did not acheive full separation until the Eocene - thus the Australian biota did not start "going its own way" until after the Cretaceous.

~jennovazombie May 7, 2012 Professional Artisan Crafter

I really like the flow of this one! The background is so pretty, it's almost like the ceratosaur is bringing the prey to high tea or something.

*Gogosardina May 8, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Yeah, shes going to a "bring-your-own-dromaeosaur chick" party.

~Pristichampsus May 10, 2012 Professional General Artist

"I'm here for the potluck" As LOLcats once said.

~jennovazombie May 8, 2012 Professional Artisan Crafter

Sounds like great fun!
"I caught this dromaeosaur chick myself, you know. That's why I didn't have time to get cleaned up for our tea!"

More from *Gogosardina

Featured in Groups:

Details

Statistics

Camera Data

Aussie ceratosaurby *Gogosardina

The Journal Portal

Polls

What is your preferred drawing software?

deviantART [dee·vee·un'nt·ART]

Keep in Touch!

Deviousness

Add Media

Style