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Qilong — Noasaurid Speculation 2: Noasaurus leali
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Published: 2012-01-30 06:34:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 2847; Favourites: 55; Downloads: 68
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Description
Here lies Noasaurus leali, skull of a South American noasaurid (and possible senior synonym of Velocisaurus unicus, from the same time and formation). The skull of PVL 4061 includes ONLY a maxilla and a quadrate, and in this is relatively limited in what it can tell us. Much of the skull of Masiakasaurus knopfleri, a relative, is known, and it suggests that we may compare the possible cranial anatomy of Noasaurus lealiand Masiakasaurus knopfleri directly. This suggests a down-turned snout, which I will explain soon. More: [link]Related content
Comments: 11
But not as terrier-ish as the head of Atrociraptor marshalli!
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PVL 4061's remains can give nothing but speculation. I didn't think the maxillaries looked all that much alike. Well except for the fact that Masiakasaurus' maxillaries also have 12 alveoli. I suppose that's a good enough similarity, no? It's a cute dinosaur.
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I already note the degree of speculation is high. This is art, not pure scientific extrapolation. I will explain more at the point when I present the skull of Masiakasaurus knopfleri, and why I made objects look the way they are here.
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Oooh I can't wait to see that.
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I'm taking my time on this one, as there are a few things I need to say about how this reconstruction came to be. Oddly enough, doing a more detailed skull of a relative was a stepping stone to this.
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Masiakasaurus knopfleri, of course.
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wow this is getting weird! Unfortunately, some books published here in Arg. still depicts Noasaurus as a classic dromaeosaur.
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Hopefully more will be forthcoming, as I work on my reasoning for this (I'm writing something for my blog).
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