Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #sauropods
Most recents (5)
Welcome to the 5th and final of my #PrehistoricPlanet threads in which I talk about the science and background to what we showed in this new @AppleTVPlus @bbcstudios production. This time we look at EP 5: FORESTS… #dinosaurs #Cretaceous 
I was lead scientific consultant on #PrehistoricPlanet and was extensively involved in our many decisions, all of which were science-led or scientifically informed. I was, of course, merely one among many in a HUGE team that involved hundreds of very talented people!
Ep 5 focuses on the #dinosaurs and #pterosaurs that lived in forests during the Maastrichtian (the final part of the Late #Cretaceous). The Maastrichtian world was heavily forested, with temperate, subtropical & tropical woodland covering around 78% of the land surface…
Ok, here we go on a thread relating to the science and decisions behind ep 3 (FRESHWATER) of #PrehistoricPlanet , our new @AppleTVPlus @bbcstudios series devoted to Late #Cretaceous life. Here we go... #dinosaurs #pterosaurs #plesiosaurs #frogs
Freshwater kicks off in north-east Asia (a location consistent with the geology, climate and animals we show) with a spectacular waterfall connected to canyons. Juvenile #pterosaurs - they're young #azhdarchids - have gathered here to roost... #PrehistoricPlanet
We know essentially nothing of the roosting or resting habits of #azhdarchids but see it as likely that they would have gathered in numbers (fossil evidence does show that they were social) in places that predators couldn't easily get to. Hat-tip to discussion with @MarkWitton ..
Join me in this thread as I talk about the science and decisions behind what we show in ep 2 - DESERTS - of the new @AppleTVPlus @bbcstudios series #PrehistoricPlanet . Deserts aired on Tuesday, but better late than never. Here we go...
Deserts kicks off in western South America on an arid plain where a mass gathering of the giant #titanosaur #Dreadnoughtus have gathered to display and compete for mates. Dreadnoughtus, from Argentina, was named in 2014 by @kenlacovara [shown in photo!] and colleagues...
The idea that sauropods might have gathered and competed is based on behaviour seen in modern birds, mammals and other animals. Remember that events like this MUST have happened in the past, as they do today...
Just out of the oven, our latest #research: a review about the scientific utility of #sauropod skeletal mounts through the years. If you can't access it, DM me.
link.springer.com/article/10.100… #thread I'll try to summarize it in a quick #thread Here we go! 1/n
link.springer.com/article/10.100… #thread I'll try to summarize it in a quick #thread Here we go! 1/n
As @Bhmllr will tell you much better than I could (in his highly recommended blog), skeletal mounts have been a slightly divisive subject among scientists ever since the first mounts were erected: do they hold scientific value? The answer, is not a simple yes or no 2/n
The first skeletal mounts of which we have historical record, such as Bru's Megatherium (still mounted @MNCNcomunica in Madrid) or Peale's Mastodon, were assembled with different purposes: scientific research and show business. Both, however, tried their best at accuracy 3/n
Our paper "Ontogenetic similarities between giraffe and sauropod neck osteological mobility"compares the range of motion and neutral pose of the necks of juveniles and adults of extant #giraffes and Spinophorosaurus (Middle #Jurassic #Niger).
THREAD 1/15
journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
THREAD 1/15
journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…
@frco_ortega @PD_Mocho @PLOSONE @mupe_elche @SrParamo @biouned @UNED 2/15 The goal was to test whether there exist ontogenetic-related differences in the range of motion (ROM) and posture of #sauropods. Given there have been many doubts casted on virtual ROM analyses, extant giraffes were used as comparison.
@frco_ortega @PD_Mocho @PLOSONE @mupe_elche @SrParamo @biouned @UNED 3/15 Assembling the virtual skeleton of a newborn giraffe allowed us to reject the hypothesis that articulating bare bones in osteologically neutral pose (ONP) could not predict the amount of intervertebral tissue separating adjacent vertebrae. (Image from @MikeTaylor & Wedel 13)
