TLS05E02 Psittacosaurus

Terrible Lizards

It’s time to give some love to some dinosaurs that don’t get enough and pretty much top of that list needs to be Psittacosaurus. This (mostly) little dinosaur is one of the earlier ceratopsains but lacking the size, horns and frills of their more notable cousins, it’s sadly all too easy to see why they get ignored. But that’s a shame because as well as having some neat little features of their own (like giant cheek spikes), these animals are among the most common of any dinosaur. We have hundreds and hundreds of specimens in museums and in addition to innumerable skeletons, there are also a couple of superbly preserved ones with skin and other features intact so they are well worth some attention. Later in the episode we are joined by Sabrina and Garret from the ‘I Know Dino’ podcast (who are obviously our arch rivals) who have a question for Dave about some obscure South America theropods. And if you want more on that front, check out their recent episodes as guess who they have had on as guests recently?

Links:

A link to the I Know Dino website and podcast: https://iknowdino.com

Lots of close-up photos of the brilliantly preserved specimen with skin and filaments: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/the-filamented-psittacosaurus/

Some photos of the rather more common Psittacosaurus in museums, innumerable skeletons, many of which are composites of several individuals: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/the-rise-and-rise-of-psittacosaurus/

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