• Reptiles digest just as well as the rest

    Graphical Abstract from Wehrle and German 2023.

    Digestive efficiency is one of those reptile misconceptions that makes the rounds every now and again. It’s not as pervasive as the “lack of aerobic capacity” or “inability to maintain body temperature” arguments, but there is still a general view in many scientific circles (*cough* paleontology *cough*) that reptiles are less efficient at digesting food than similar sized mammals and birds. Much of this boils down to the old endothermocentric fallacy that the high costs associated with obligate endothermy should somehow translate to greater benefits everywhere else (Greenberg 1980).

    Well that, and the fact that reptile chewing is very different from mammalian chewing.

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  • Prehistoric Planet vs. Jurassic World. Different Receptions to Fictional Dinosaurs

    In the past few weeks we have seen the introduction of two major additions to dinosaur media. Both come from well-established franchises, but only one of these is getting lambasted by the online paleo community. Why is that?

    More specifically, why has Jurassic World: Dominion received a mix of resignation and revulsion whereas Prehistoric Planet has garnered near universal praise.

    I mean, they both portray fictional dinosaurs?

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  • Review: The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles

    The following is a quick review for the new book by J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, and Gordon M. Burghardt. The book came out last year and I feel like it received relatively little fanfare in the paleo and herpetological circles (though I did come across one review from the British Herpetological Society, as well as this podcast interview with Sean Doody).

    The TL;DR version of this post is as follows: The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles is a landmark piece of literature that should become a foundational reference for any future study looking at reptile behaviour. The authors firmly describes where we currently are in reptile social behaviour studies, and just how much further we can still go. It’s a must read for any budding herpetologist, and a highly recommended read for herpetoculturalists / reptile fans. The best part of the book is its extensive bibliography, which offers a strong launching point for anyone interested in studying reptile behaviour. If you study any aspect of reptiles as organisms, then this book deserves a spot on your shelf.

    So, go out and get it.

    For more specifics about the book, feel free to read on from here.

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  • Archives of the Dinosaur Mailing List (DML)

    Here lies the DML. Long live the DML

    [Editors note: See update on the archive below]

    In the field of vertebrate paleontology and associated paleophilia, the Dinosaur Mailing List (DML) was an invaluable source of information and networking opportunities. For many—including myself—the DML was a formative experience.

    Started back in late 1993/1994 at the University of Pennsylvania, the list initially ran internally with individuals on the list exchanging e-mails back and forth. Then, a few months later, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History agreed to host an archive of these e-mails, creating the now venerable Dinosaur Mailing List Archive. In its heyday, the DML would readily see an influx of more than 100 e-mails a day, covering everything from pack-hunting in theropods to the latest buzz on yet to be published fossils.

    Sadly, over the years and with the rise of social media, the list has fallen into disarray with fewer practicing paleontologists (and people in general) using it. As of this writing the DML sees a handful (1–5) e-mails a day with almost all of them being links to recently released papers and associated news articles (courtesy of the ever diligent Ben Creisler). While the present version of the list is but a shell of its former self it is the immense history of the archive that matters. 27 years of correspondence from various paleontologists throwing around ideas and challenging hypotheses. More than just offering a fascinating glimpse into the past, the DML archive has proven influential enough to even get cited in publication (e.g., Witton and Habib 2010).

    Unfortunately, earlier this year the Dinosaur Mailing List suddenly disappeared from its former location (dml.cmnh.org). Their host, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, could no longer afford to maintain the archive on the site, forcing it to shut down. DML owner and listserv moderator, Mickey Rowe, attempted to find another host but to no avail. Thus, in late summer 2021 the DML archive officially disappeared from the internet.

    Thankfully, through diligent efforts from Nick Gardner and others, a copy of the archive, prior to shutdown, was obtained from Rowe and distributed freely to anyone willing to host the archives. The hope is that with enough redundant backups out there the archive should never disappear again.

    So, I’m doing my part. The DML Archives from April 1994 to May 2021 can now be accessed on the Reptipage.

    The new archive link can be accessed here: https://reptilis.net/DML/dinosaur.html

    You will also find a menu link at the top of the blog.

    We are still waiting to see where the new archive of the DML will land (for now, no e-mails are being archived). Hopefully, the DML will continue to find a home somewhere. If not, and this is the end of an era, this mirror will be one of the many headstones for this once illustrious interaction of amateurs and professionals.

    Major Update: The University of Southern California has picked up the mantle and started archiving new messages from the DML. 

    https://mymaillists.usc.edu/sympa/info/dinosaur-l

    However, one must be a member of the Dinosaur Mailing List to access the archive. 

    Thanks to Mary Kirkaldy and Ben Creisler for the following information on how to properly get access to the new DML archive (see instructions below).

    To join the DML, you will first need to send a message to sympa@mymaillists.usc.edu from the address that you want to use to subscribe to the list.

    In the subject line, put: subscribe dinosaur-l First Name Last Name.

    Change “First Name Last Name” to your name or the name you want to use.

    Subscription is free.

    The next step is to access information about your subscription to the dinosaur mailing list. Go to: https://mymaillists.usc.edu/sympa

    The first time you visit the site, click on: “First login?” at the upper left of the page.

    Enter your e-mail address and click the “Request first password” button. The site will e-mail you a message with a link.

    Clicking that link will take you back to the site with a page asking you to enter a password twice.

    Once you are logged in, any lists you are subscribed to will appear in a pane on the left. Click on “dinosaur-l” to access your subscription options.

    You can also type “dinosaur” in the Search List on the left. It should bring up the DML main page. From there, click on Archive on the left. It should open and allow you to choose a month.

    If you would like to learn about your subscription options and how to change them, click the “help” tab near the top right. If you are set to digest mode, note that it is in MIME format for the digests. There is an option for plain text if you don’t like the MIME format. The list is configured to send out a reminder once every two months.

    This isn’t as easily accessed as it was in the past, but it’s a heck of a lot better than no archiving at all.

    ~Jura


  • Were pterosaurs naked after all?

    Dueling interpretations of the pterosaur, Coloborhynchus clavirostris. Image by Megan Jacobs

    Although 2020 was an all around shit show for the world, there were a few interesting bits of paleontology. Perhaps none more interesting than this potential overhaul to pterosaur reconstructions. Now, I haven’t really written anything about pterosaurs on my site yet (aside from some basic rundowns of news stories), so this marks an interesting way of christening the occasion. Pterosaurs are a fascinating group of critters that showcase yet another example of how animals can get airborne. They are also enigmatic in their origin and evolution.

    One thing that we seemed to be confident about for a long time now is that pterosaurs had fuzz. It wasn’t fur in the mammal sense, and it sure as hell wasn’t feathers (more on that in a minute), but instead a third (or fifth, when counting arthropods and some plants) form of insulative covering. At least, that’s what I thought we knew up until about last year.

    It may just turn out that this seemingly rock-solid interpretation of pterosaur outer coverings has been wrong all along.

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  • Dinosaur eggshells prove that dinosaurs weren’t molluscs.

    Chicken egg lit up using the candling method. Image from backyarchickens.com

    This week saw the release of a new paper that has implications for dinosaur metabolism.

    Dawson, R.R., Field, D.J., Hull, P.M., Zelenitsky, D.K., Therrien, F., Affek, H.P. 2020. Eggshell Geochemistry Reveals Ancestral Metabolic Thermoregulation in Dinosauria. Sci. Adv. 6:eaax9361. (Open Access)

    The paper makes some pretty hefty claims regarding dinosaur metabolism, and as such, has received a fair share of media coverage touting this as the latest evidence for “warm-blooded” (i.e., automatic endothermic) dinosaurs.

    Every time there is a major headline like that, I feel obliged to go back to the source to see what the media has likely overblown. In this case, media claims don’t seem that far off what was written in the actual paper, which is not necessarily good. Some of these claims do extend beyond the reach of the available evidence (e.g., there actually is no comparison with other contemporaneous reptiles of the region, weakening any arguments for metabolic thermoregulation).

    It’s been an age since I’ve done one of these paper breakdowns, but I think this one warrants a more thorough analysis, especially given the implications of the interpretations.

    Continue reading  Post ID 14905


  • Over 11,000 and counting

    Current species count as of publication. Fish remain the undefeated champions of vertebrate diversity. There are just way more niches in the ocean.

    Above data come from the Reptile Database, FishBase, AmphibiaWeb, eBird, and MammalDiversity.org.

    The latest edition of Peter Uetz’s Reptile Database has just been released, adding 80 new species to the group, pushing Reptilia over 11,000 species strong. Along with this comes the phenomenal realization that Reptilia may actually be the most speciose group of tetrapods alive today.

    As Uetz wrote on his update:

    According to eBird, there are 10,721 bird species worldwide although these numbers vary depending on the source (see global bird checklists available from Avibase). Based on that, there are now more reptile species than bird species.

    That is pretty huge. As I mentioned some five years ago, Reptilia has traditionally been viewed as being more speciose than mammals, but still way below birds. These new results suggests that reptile species are at least on par with those of birds, if not beyond them. Interestingly, this time around much of that increase in species was due to new discoveries, rather than the elevation of subspecies. There are still so many new species to discover in this group.

    According to Uetz:

    However, birds still have way more subspecies than reptiles, namely 17,991 subspecies of birds while reptiles have only 2,310 subspecies (or 3,304 if you include nominate subspecies). In general, ornithologists seem to like subspecies more than herpetologists, so there appear to be cultural preferences at play.

    This is definitely a change of pace from previous decades where lumping and a reluctance to nominate new species, kept reptilian species counts way down. It appears that many of the lumpers from previous eras, have since been replaced in herpetology, or they moved over to ornithology. Which is not to say that there’s still not a problem with lumping in herpetology.

    An exact breakdown of species by higher taxonomic level is currently unavailable, but a comparison to the data from July 2018, with data from my last entry on this is still plenty telling:

    • Amphisbaenia = 196 (+8)
    • Lacertilia = 6512 (+525)
    • Serpentes = 3709 (+213)
    • Chelonia = 351 (+10)
    • Crocodylia = 24 (-1)
    • Sphenodontia = 1 (+0)

    Without a doubt, Squamata is the reason for this huge increase in year-by-year numbers. This is not that surprising given that Squamata has always been viewed as the most speciose group of reptiles. The small size of many squamates makes them easy to overlook, whereas the large size of most turtles and all crocodylians, makes them relatively easy to find (that said, expect Crocodylia to surge up by at least three species in the near future). Even within Squamata, lizard species outpace snakes nearly two-fold in both total described species and new species discovered. Again, the larger size of snakes relative to lizards is likely responsible for this. Smaller animals just tend to get more overlooked.

    I suspect that as the years go on, we will continue to see Reptilia grow in species number at an accelerated pace compared to mammals and birds. This group has been overlooked for so long, that much of these results are happening because people have finally bothered to start looking. The big question now is when will this accelerated pace start slowing down?

    12,000?

    15,000?

    Only time will tell.

    ~Jura


  • 21 years of The Reptipage

    July marks the 21st anniversary of my website, and that’s…pretty cool. As the old joke goes, my site is now old enough to drink. Well, old enough to drink in the U.S.A., where we have stupidly high drinking laws (thanks, M.A.D.D.).

    This post is going to be different from my usual style. I’m not a huge fan of celebrating arbitrary milestones, but given the magnitude of this one I figured it’s worth mentioning. Besides, it’s been kind of revealing seeing how my site has evolved over two decades.

    The whole thing started way back in 1998 as a response to the general lack of reptile information on the web, and over the years it has grown into what it is today. I’m skipping ahead of myself, though. First, we need to go back a little further.

    Continue reading  Post ID 14905


  • Site maintenance update

    This should be what people see when they go to make a comment now. If this changes please let me know.

    This is a short status update for the site. When I switched up the theme for the site back in 2014, I did so with the intent of making it more interaction friendly. That included threaded comments and the ability to subscribe to those comments. A couple of days ago I noticed that both the post subscription and comment subscription options had stopped working (the latter had completely disappeared). I dove into the backend to see what was causing the trouble and I think I’ve been able to fix it. Now when you go to a comment or reply there should be a box at the bottom that lets you choose to subscribe to the comment thread and be notified via e-mail if you would like to get updates.

    The other thing I noticed is that I was getting a lot of e-mail bounces for confirmation e-mails on subscriptions. I changed the e-mail for the site to a more Reptipage-specific e-mail, so that should no longer happen anymore.

    NOTE: If you do hit subscribe but still don’t see any confirmation e-mail come through (it should be near instantaneous), check your spam folder. I’ve found that there are quite a few e-mail providers that are autoblocking these confirmation e-mails. If that’s the case, just whitelist the e-mail sent from the site and that should fix the problem.


  • The return of the scaly T. rex to modern paleo-art

    Tyrannosaurus rex walking towards camera. Art by John Sibbick.

    [NOTE: Post has been updated to include a section on scale size]

    This has certainly been an interesting year. Two papers dropped in the past three months that have put the brakes on a recent trend in paleo-art. That trend? Why the feather-coated T. rex of course.

    First, in March, we saw the release of a paper detailing a new species of Daspletosaurus and its relationship to D. torosus.

    Carr, T.D., Varricchio, D.J., Sedlmayr, J.C., Roberts, E.M., Moore, J.R. 2017. New Tyrannosaur with Evidence for Anagenesis and Crocodile-Like Facial Sensory System. Scientific Reports. 7(44942):1–11.

    In this paper, Carr et al. argue for the designation of a new Daspletosaurus species, D. horneri. The authors argue, based on skull shape and chronostratigraphic position, that D. horneri was the direct ancestor to D. torosus. I thought that the authors put forth a compelling argument for this anagenic event and backed up their position well. Interestingly, this part of the paper should have been the most controversial. As anyone who has read anything from Horner and Scanella over the past eight years can attest, arguing for a direct ancestor-descendant relationship for dinosaurs is difficult to do and even harder to win over others in the field. So it is somewhat surprising to see a case for anagenesis in Daspletosaurus taken so well by the palontological community. All the more so given that it involves a tyrannosaur, the poster children for “cool guy” dinosaurs.

    Instead, the most controversial part of the paper wound up being their soft-tissue reconstruction of the face for D. horneri. The author responsible for the soft-tissue reconstruction was Jayc Sedlmayr of Louisiana State University. Sedlmayr did his doctorate on osteological correlates for vasculature in extant archosaurs (birds & crocs). He is the seminal alumnus of the WitmerLab and thus is well within his wheelhouse for this type of soft-tissue reconstruction. Sedlmayr borrowed heavily from the work of another WitmerLab alumnus, Tobin Hieronymus, whose PhD work involved osteological correlates for integument on the skulls of animals. Although the skin is often well away from the underlying bones on most of the body, there are exceptions when it comes to the skull. There, areas that are not heavily muscled, tend to show intimate connections between the skin and the underlying bone. Hieronymus used these connections to determine how different integumentary appendages (scales, hair, feathers) affect the underlying bone (Hieronymus & Witmer 2007; Hieronymus et al. 2009). The authors found that the surface texture along the skull of D. horneri was “hummocky”. That is, it was covered in lots of closely packed ridges. According to Hieronymus & Witmer (2007), this texture correlates to scales as the overlying integumentary appendage. Thus, according to the authors, D. horneri had a scaly face (this is grossly oversimplified as the authors were able to piece together a variety of different integument variants along the skull, but you get the idea).

    Scaly tyrannosaur cannonball one had been shot.

    Then two weeks ago, we saw the release of another paper on tyrannosaur integument. However, unlike the previous paper, this one was specifically dedicated to integumentary types in tyrannosaurids.

    Bell, P.R., Campione, N.E., Persons, W.S., Currie, P.J., Larson, P.L., Tanke, D.H., Bakker, R.T. 2017. Tyrannosauroid Integument Reveals Conflicting Patterns of Gigantism and Feather Evolution. Biology Letters. 13:20170092

    In this paper, the authors set out to survey all known instances of “skin” impressions for tyrannosaurids. Their list of taxa included Albertosaurus, Tarbosaurus, Daspletosaurus, and Gorgosaurus. Their results pretty definitively indicated that scales were the predominant integumentary appendage on tyrannosaurids. The authors then went on to speculate why that would be if earlier tyrannosauroids had filamentous integument. They performed an ancestral character state reconstruction based on Parsimony and Bayesian-based trees from Brussatte and Carr 2016. Their results found that filaments came out strongly as the ancestral character for tyrannosauroids, but by no later than Tyrannosauridae proper, a reversion to scales had taken effect. The authors attributed this to body size evolution. Namely, larger tyrannosauroids reverted to scales over protofeathers.

    Cannonball number 2 had just been shot.

    Continue reading  Post ID 14905