Bones of the Earth

A typical Theropod dinosaur fits a rather uniform description. They mostly had large skulls, relatively small forelimbs, and were the apex predators in most of the niches that they filled. However, like most trends in the natural world, there were exceptions. Perhaps the most extraordinary of these exceptions were the herbivorous Therizinosaurs, and more specifically the infamous Therizinosaurus cheloniformis . Therizinosaurus has etched its way into popular culture of late, being one of the star dinosaurs in the latest installment of the Jurassic World franchise, and getting its own segment in the well-received Prehistoric Planet  docuseries. It has quickly become one of the most iconic dinosaurs in mainstream media, however, it is easy to forget that it has actually been known about for quite some time, as the first specimen was named in 1954. Discovered by a team of Soviet geologists in one of the most important dinosaur fossil sites in the world, the Late Cretaceous Nemegt For...

The Mesozoic era is best known for being the time that the dinosaurs dominated the earth. It began 252 million years ago after the Permian extinction had killed 95% of all life on earth. The early Triassic era was therefore a time on earth that allowed many groups of animals to diversify and experiment, as there were niches to be filled that were not previously available. The most famous example of this is the beginning of the Dinosauria clade, which would become one of the most successful groups of animals to ever walk the earth. Away from Archosaurs, other reptile groups were also rapidly evolving, trying and ultimately failing to be the most successful group of animals on earth during the Mesozoic. One great example of this is one of the first known vertebrates to evolve wing membranes, the Sharovipteryx mirabilis . Only one known specimen has been found of this curious reptile, however, this highlights just how much we can find out given how limited the fossil record can be. The 22...