50 Dinosaur Tales: And 108 More Discoveries From The Golden Age Of Dinos

An

Book

By Sabrina Ricci

With Garret Kruger

Dedicated to all our podcast listeners, and all fellow dinosaur enthusiasts

For Dinosaur Enthusiasts

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50 Dinosaur Tales: An I Know Dino Book

This book is a blend of fiction and fact.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means without permission.

Copyright © 2019 Sabrina Ricci and Garret Kruger

Published by I Know Dino, LLC

Cover Image by P. Trusler [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

eISBN 978-1-62200-028-9

For Dinosaur Enthusiasts

Are you really into dinosaurs? Sign up to the I Know Dino mailing list for news, updates, and special offers on all upcoming dinosaur books.

Contents

Introduction

Africa

Ledumahadi mafube

Sefapanosaurus zastronensis

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

More Dinosaurs From Africa

Afromimus tenerensis

Chenanisaurus barbaricus

Eucnemesaurus entaxonis

Mansourasaurus shahinae

Meroktenos thabanensis

Pulanesaura eocollum

Shingopana songwensis

Antarctica

Morrosaurus antarcticus

Asia

Bayannurosaurus perfectus

Caihong juji

Changyuraptor yangi

Corythoraptor jacobsi

Datonglong tianzhenensis

Deinocheirus mirificus

Fukuivenator paradoxus

Halszkaraptor escuilliei

Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus

Qianzhousaurus sinensis

Qiupanykus zhangi

Serikornis sungei

Tongtianlong limosus

Yi qi

Zhenyuanlong suni

More Dinosaurs From Asia

Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis

Almas ukhaa

Anhuilong diboensis

Anomalipes zhaoi

Avimimus nemegtensis

Bannykus wulatensis

Beibeilong sinensis

Beipiaognathus jii

Choyrodon barsboldi

Crichtonpelta benxiensis

Daliansaurus liaoningensis

Hualianceratops wucaiwanensis

Huanansaurus ganzhouensis

Ischioceratops zhuchengensis

Jianianhualong tengi

Jinguofortis perplexus

Jinyunpelta sinensis

Koshisaurus katsuyama

Laiyangosaurus youngi

Lepidocheirosaurus natatilis

Liaoningotitan sinensis

Liaoningvenator curriei

Lingwulong shenqi

Microenantiornis vulgaris

Mosaiceratops azumai

Nebulasaurus taito

Qijianglong guokr

Shuangbaisaurus anlongbaoensis

Sibirotitan astrosacralis

Sirindhorna khoratensis

Tarchia teresae

Tengrisaurus starkovi

Timurlengia euotica

Xingxiulong chengi

Xiyunykus pengi

Yangavis confucii

Yizhousaurus sunae

Zhongjianosaurus yangi

Zhuchengtitan zangjiazhuangensis

Zuoyunlong huangi

Australia

Diluvicursor pickeringi

Kunbarrasaurus ieversi

Weewarrasaurus pobeni

More Dinosaurs From Australia

Savannasaurus elliottorum

Europe

Dracoraptor hanigani

Morelladon beltrani

Ostromia crassipes

Torvosaurus gurneyi

More Dinosaurs From Europe

Adynomosaurus arcanus

Burianosaurus augustai

Europatitan eastwoodi

Haestasaurus becklesii

Horshamosaurus rudgwickensis

Iguanodon galvensis

Lohuecotitan pandafilandi

Magnamanus soriaensis

Matheronodon provincialis

Saltriovenator zanellai

Soriatitan golmayensis

Volgatitan simbirskiensis

Vouivria damparisensis

Wiehenvenator albati

North America

Anzu wyliei

Aquilops americanus

Arkansaurus fridayi

Borealopelta markmitchelli

Dakotaraptor steini

Daspletosaurus horneri

Dynamoterror dynastes

Galeamopus pabsti

Nanuqsaurus hoglundi

Probrachylophosaurus bergi

Rativates evadens

Regaliceratops peterhewsi

Spiclypeus shipporum

Tototlmimus packardensis

Yehuecauhceratops mudei

Zuul crurivastator

More Dinosaurs From North America

Acantholipan gonazalezi

Agujaceratops mavericus

Akainacephalus johnsoni

Albertavenator curriei

Alcovasaurus longispinus

Anodontosaurus inceptus

Apatoraptor pennatus

Boreonykus certekorum

Crittendenceratops krzyzanowskii

Dryosaurus elderae

Eotrachodon orientalis

Foraminacephale brevis

Galeamopus hayi

Gastonia lorriemcwhinneyae

Gryposaurus alsatei

Invictarx zephyri

Latenivenatrix mcmasterae

Lepidus praecisio

Maraapunisaurus fragillimus

Machairoceratops cronusi

Mierasaurus bobyoungi

Platypelta coombsi

Saurornitholestes sullivani

Scolosaurus thronus

Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis

South America

Chilesaurus diegosuarezi

Dreadnoughtus schrani

Gualicho shinyae

Isaberrysaura mollensis

Lavocatisaurus agrioensis

Murusraptor barrosaensis

Notocolossus gonzalezparejasi

Sarmientosaurus musacchioi

Tratayenia rosalesi

More Dinosaurs From South America

Aoniraptor libertatem

Austroposeidon magnificus

Baalsaurus mansillai

Bagualosaurus agudoensis

Bonapartesaurus rionegrensis

Buriolestes schultzi

Choconsaurus baileywillisi

Ingentia prima

Lucianovenator bonoi

Macrocollum itaquii

Padillasaurus leivaensis

Pandoravenator fernandezorum

Patagotitan mayorum

Pilmatueia faundezi

Powellvenator podocitus

Taurovenator violantei

Thanos simonattoi

Triunfosaurus leonardii

Viavenator exxoni

About the Author

Introduction

T hank you so much for purchasing this book. We’re all dinosaur enthusiasts here, and it’s amazing to live in the golden age of dinosaurs, where paleontologists are continuously learning about new dinosaurs and new facts about already known species. Between 2014 and 2018, more than 150 dinosaurs were named!

Garret and I have been doing the I Know Dino podcast for over four years now, and every day we’re inspired by our wonderful, enthusiastic audience. We love learning about dinosaurs, and we love sharing our knowledge with you. That’s why we decided to create one big dinosaur book, covering the discoveries from the last few years. To do that, we’ve combined our stories from the Top 10 Dinosaur series, and added new stories and facts from dinosaurs discovered in 2018.

Because we’re including so many dinosaurs, we thought it’d be fun to sort them by the continent where they were found. In some cases, this was tricky. A few of the dinosaurs found in Russia were from Europe, while others were from Asia. The dinosaurs in this book are organized into two groups: those that we wrote short stories about and those that have lists of facts, all arranged alphabetically.

As we mentioned in our Top 10 Dinosaur series, we may never know exactly how dinosaurs lived and behaved. But we still have fun imagining scenes of dinosaurs eating, fighting, and playing. This book is a mix of imagination and research, combining fictitious scenes of 50 of the dinosaurs that made recent headlines with a list of facts about each one to help paint a broader picture. And, if you are interested in staying up to date on new discoveries or learning more about the dinosaurs in this book, check out the I Know Dino podcast.

Please enjoy.

—Sabrina

Africa

Ledumahadi mafube: A giant thunderclap at dawn

Ledumahadi mafube, courtesy of Nobu Tamara via Wikimedia Commons

I t’s good to be alive. Ledumahadi mafube looks at her surroundings. There is enough vegetation everywhere, so she can always eat her fill. She’s one of the largest animals around. No real threats for her to worry about.

Ledumahadi is a sauropodomorph about 14 years old and an adult in her species. She is about 13 ft (4 m) tall at her hip and weighs around 26,000 lb (12 tonnes). Her toenail alone is bigger than many of the animals that live in the area.

She’s large and stout, especially her front legs, so Ledumahadi walks on all fours. However, she likes to stand in a peculiar manner by flexing her limbs instead of using her legs like columns. This gives her a sort of crouching position, which looks a little awkward but is perfectly comfortable.

Ledumahadi walks. It’s a hot day. The land is very flat, so she can see far into the distance. Something glimmers. Ledumahadi sees water, which reminds her that she is thirsty. She takes quick steps and soon finds herself standing on the shore.

There is not much water, and Ledumahadi can see the rocks at the bottom, but she doesn’t mind. She plants her feet firmly in the ground and bends her legs, lowering herself to the cool liquid. She laps it up greedily. Once she has her fill, she looks for her next activity.

Not too far away is a tall conifer. Most of the leaves have been stripped away by other animals, except for the top of the tree. Fortunately, Ledumahadi is immense, so she knows that she can easily reach the top for a tasty snack.

Ledumahadi makes her way to the tree. Standing at the base is a small Heterodontosaurus tucki. It’s only about 5 ft (1.5 m) long, and most of the length is in its tail. Heterodontosaurus gives Ledumahadi a curious look.

Ledumahadi doesn’t pay the little dinosaur much attention and stands up on two legs. She leans on the trunk of the tree with her two forelimbs and stretches her long neck. She opens her mouth and bites a mouthful of leaves. As she chews, she looks down.

Heterodontosaurus is staring at her, watching her eat. It looks hopeful, waiting for some of the leaves to fall to the ground.

No such luck.

Ledumahadi is hungry and efficient. She keeps her mouth closed as she eats, so she does not lose any of her food. Heterodontosaurus keeps looking at her, expectant. It opens and closes its mouth, to signal hunger.

Ledumahadi finishes chewing. She sees a large branch full of leaves, but it’s nearly out of her reach. Ledumahadi grabs the few leaves within her range and pulls them back. She clips the leaves with her teeth, and the branch swings back into place.

The movement startles a small lizard in the tree. Ledumahadi watches it run from her branch, down the trunk, and onto the ground.

Heterodontosaurus lunges and picks up the lizard in its mouth almost as soon as it’s on the ground. Then the pint-sized animal darts away so fast that Ledumahadi doesn’t see where it goes.

No matter. Ledumahadi moves her head back to the top of the tree and continues to eat.

Facts about Ledumahadi mafube

Ledumahadi mafube was a sauropodomorph that lived in the Early Jurassic in what is now South Africa.

Ledumahadi was quadrupedal but had flexed limbs instead of columnar arms and legs (like its later sauropod relatives).

Ledumahadi weighed 12 tonnes and is one of the earliest known giant sauropodomorphs.

The genus name Ledumahadi means a giant thunderclap in Sesotho.

The species name mafube means dawn in Sesotho.

Find out more in the I Know Dino podcast, episode 201, Dracorex.

Resources

A Giant Dinosaur from the Earliest Jurassic of South Africa and the Transition to Quadrupedality in Early Sauropodomorphs on Current Biology

Ledumahadi mafube—South Africa’s new jurassic giant on Phys.org

Sefapanosaurus zastronensis: Cross lizard

A thin layer of fog covers the area around Sefapanosaurus zastronensis , making the hard dirt under his feet cold. Sefapanosaurus shivers, takes a few gentle steps on all fours, and then rises up onto two legs. He uses his long tail to help balance.

The sun is just rising, and Sefapanosaurus’ stomach is growling. He stretches his long neck and scours the area for food. Lucky for him, it’s not far.

A few feet in front of him is vegetation, and Sefapanosaurus reaches out and grabs at it with his hands. On both his thumbs are claws, which he flexes as he shoves plants into his mouth. He is medium sized and, if he needs to, he can use his claws to defend himself.

After devouring a few bites, he glances at the stones below him, looking for the smoothest ones. A ray of sunshine slices through the fog, glimmering against a particularly round stone.

Eager, Sefapanosaurus scoops up the rock and swallows it whole. Then he picks up another. And another. These gastroliths will help him to digest his breakfast. Sefapanosaurus has weak teeth, so he relies on the stones to grind up his food.

Satisfied, Sefapanosaurus returns his attention to the vegetation and picks off the choicest, most tender leaves he can find. Now that he has some food in his belly, he can afford to be picky.

He continues to enjoy his meal. When he is full, he moves to a warmer spot. By now the sun is making its way through even more of the fog. Sefapanosaurus heads towards a less damp spot, near a tree, and gets comfortable.

One of his favorite pastimes is to nap, especially after eating. He takes a quick look around to make sure no predators are nearby. Enough brush surrounds him that he should be able to hear anyone who approaches him.

Feeling safe, he closes his eyes. But he doesn’t fall asleep right away. Smaller, harmless animals are starting to wake up, and Sefapanosaurus can hear them. He enjoys the sounds they make—faint squeaks and grunts, as they scamper around him in search of their own breakfast.

Sefapanosaurus senses that he is being watched. He lazily opens one eye on his small skull and sees a small, furry animal staring at him. Sefapanosaurus snorts, and the animal scurries away.

Sefapanosaurus closes his eye again, relaxed. He continues to listen to the sounds around him.

Then he senses he is being watched again. This time he opens both eyes. The furry animal is back, but this time with a friend.

Annoyed, Sefapanosaurus lifts his head. Both animals squeak and duck for cover under some nearby brush.

Sefapanosaurus lowers his head and closes his eyes again. He starts to fall asleep, but then he feels a flicker on one of his legs. Startled, he jumps up and flashes his thumb claws, ready for a fight.

He sees a blur of two tails—the same furry animals from before. Sefapanosaurus shakes his head to wake himself up, knowing he won’t be able to take his nap here.

He shuffles along, keeping an eye out for a quieter place to sleep.

Facts about Sefapanosaurus zastronensis

Sefapanosaurus zastronensis was a sauropodomorph that lived in the Late Triassic in what is now South Africa.

Sefapanosaurus was discovered in the late 1930s, in the Elliot Formation in South Africa. The partial skeletons of four individuals were housed at Wits University and at first thought to be the fossils of Aardonyx. Closer studies in 2015 showed the bones were of a new dinosaur genus.

One interesting feature of Sefapanosaurus is the cross-shaped talus bone in its ankle.

The genus name Sefapanosaurus means cross lizard.

The species name zastronensis is in honor of Zastron, the town near the Elliot Formation where Sefapanosaurus was found.

Find out more in the I Know Dino podcast, episode 32, Fukuiraptor.

Resources

A new basal sauropodiform from South Africa and the phylogenetic relationships of basal sauropodomorphs on the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Sefapanosaurus: New Dinosaur Found in South Africa on Sci-News

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus: Spiny lizard

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, courtesy of ДиБгд via Wikimedia Commons

T he water is murky. Sand and grit stir it up, making it difficult for the giant predator with the 6-foot-tall sail on his back to see. He lowers his mouth into the water, his high nostrils allowing him to breathe easily while the pits on his snout feel for pressure and sense for fish swimming nearby.

Nothing moves, or at least nothing worth attempting to catch. The large theropod—Spinosaurus aegyptiacus—wades into the water. Tired from balancing his long head and neck with his short back legs, Spinosaurus relaxes as he submerges like a crocodile, flexing his flat, webbed feet in the water.

The river is shallow, but Spinosaurus paddles quietly, looking for easy prey. An unsuspecting sawfish passes by. It is 25 feet long with jagged teeth.

Spinosaurus knows the sawfish will be hard to catch, but the thought of a big meal is enticing. He opens his mouth and tries to rake in the fish with his teeth. Needle-like teeth line the sides of his upper jaw, with more teeth behind them and interlocking teeth at the end of his snout. Spinosaurus tries to bite down with his powerful jaw, but his teeth are not serrated, so he cannot just rip apart the sawfish.

The teeth land in the wrong place, near the sawfish’s narrow