"It is - still - the best zoological blog out there, period"
READ ME: I'M NEW! With six years of phd work on theropod dinosaurs behind him, Darren Naish mostly spends long, happy hours in the library, hunched over his laptop. But he gets out sometimes, and picks up litter and pursues exotic lizards across the British countryside, aiming all the while to publish his technical work on obscure Cretaceous dinosaurs. He also messes around with pterosaurs, swimming giraffes, British big cats and stuff like that. He has given up on the stupid idea of being a dedicated academic and ekes out a living as a technical consultant, editor and author. He can be contacted intermittently at eotyrannus (at) gmail dot com. For more biographical info go here.
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Category: picture of the day
Posted on: July 5, 2008 5:33 PM, by Darren Naish
Here's a fossil I described recently. Does anyone want to have a go at identifying it? Don't worry, I know what it is (or, at least, I and my colleagues think I do), but why not go ahead and have fun. Note the scale bar...
Here's a close-up of part of it...
Coming next: SEA MONSTER WEEK!
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Comments
A eumaniraptor eating a snake?
Posted by: Mike Keesey | July 5, 2008 6:04 PM
based purely on what I assume is a head and long neck (assuming thare all neck vertebrae) on the right and those claws I'll go with a pterosaur (not with that skull) or a bird/bird-like dinosaur. A bit vague I know, but Im not a VERTEBRATE Palaeontologist! lol
Posted by: Neil | July 5, 2008 6:07 PM
Theaboves meant to read "I'll go with a pterosaur (but I'm not sure with that skull)"
Posted by: Neil | July 5, 2008 6:09 PM
is it a baby gorgonopsian? maybe an embryo?
Posted by: Tygo Raxx, III | July 5, 2008 6:18 PM
Sumus Fossilorious Tetrapodius Thingosaurus
ooooh sea monsters! (not loch-lake-muck monsters, mind you)
Posted by: DDeden | July 5, 2008 6:26 PM
By the size it is either a VERY small adult or more likely a juvenile/baby.....from the claws it could well be a maniraptoran - possibly troodontid or archaeoptergyd?
Posted by: Dave Howlett | July 5, 2008 8:32 PM
That close-up of the hand is interesting, and certainly looks like a maniraptoran theropod, and, if I'm not mistaken, those jaws seem edentulous. Those wouldn't be integument impressions along that arm, would they? Has this description appeared in print yet?
I'll say this: it's teeny.
Posted by: Adam Pritchard | July 5, 2008 8:41 PM
Rhinogradentian.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | July 5, 2008 8:48 PM
Teeny is right.
Broadish skull, strong powerful grasping feet with some curvy claws. Probably spent some time in trees. No obvious ossified sternum, although it could be there in the jumble of torso bits.
Where's the hi-res pic?
My guess is a young predatory bird of some sort, like an owl or hawk.
Posted by: AnJaCo | July 5, 2008 9:44 PM
Clearly the edentulous instar of the Lesser Bandy-Legged Hellasaur.
Either that, or an oviraptorosaur of some kind. That neck looks Khaan-ish.
Posted by: Dr Vector | July 5, 2008 9:45 PM
Hmmm...so I feel like a dink...those are some graspy-looking feet. The curvy claws actually look something like those on Epidendrosaurus, but I think I'll definitely change my guess to a raptorial bird. It's tough to tell what's going on with the jumble of elements at the bottom.
Posted by: Adam Pritchard | July 5, 2008 10:29 PM
Something about the articulation says small bird caught by large bird, who sat on a branch picking out the good bits and dropping the other pieces in a pile. I've seen similar messes underneath an eagle tree.
Posted by: Jenny Islander | July 5, 2008 10:42 PM
Look at that limb--one of the toes opposes the others. At least, that's what it looks like! It's very tiny, so I'm going to go with "baby animal." The claws are too big to be an epidendrosaur (also, I think it's a foot). The opposable toe says "bird," but I don't think the two belong together. That limb is WAY too big for that head and vertebral series.
Posted by: Zach Miller | July 5, 2008 11:50 PM
Is a 'zentimeter' approximately equal to a centimetre?
Stewart
Posted by: Stewart Macdonald | July 6, 2008 12:59 AM
"Is a 'zentimeter' approximately equal to a centimetre?"
More or less, Stewart, but only when you are in a relaxed and meditative state of mind.
Posted by: Diego | July 6, 2008 1:32 AM
It's a ropen that died with an albino squirrel in its claws!
Okay, I have no idea what that is, but... drepanosaur?
Posted by: Hai~Ren | July 6, 2008 2:34 AM
Vertebrae! I see vertebrae!
Posted by: Nathan Myers | July 6, 2008 3:33 AM
Its a very fine matrix, so I thought `Chinese birdie`
The small size, delicate bones and claws seem to hold that out, or at least a dino bird.
It looks rather rotted and fragmentray though, pooh!
Posted by: Tengu | July 6, 2008 3:46 AM
There are what appear to by hypapophyses in the mid-to-anterior cervical vertebrae, which given the construction of the skull and it's size, the size of the pes, and the general morphology make me think it's a Paleogene or possibly Neogene avian.
With big feet. I will pass of the romantic impression of a fossil jacana for now, given the curvature of the claws. The hallux (I am assuming the smaller opposing digit is a hallux due to its position and size, as well as appearing to compose only two phalanges) looks to be almost 1/3 the other digit, which appears to be a pd4.
The term "zentimeter" is German, which makes me think of the Messel beds.
Posted by: Jaime A. Headden | July 6, 2008 4:06 AM
There is no reason to suppose its Mesozoic, and the anatomy seems to show a crown-group avian. The neck need not be so long either since the wings and ribs appear to be missing and the strong kink is the cervico-dorsal transistion. Given the broad short skull I'll tentatively go with a caprimulgiform (nightjar)of some sort but I know next to nothing of these derived dinosaurs.
Posted by: Adam | July 6, 2008 4:20 AM
It's a bird with the ability to perch. The thing with the claws is a foot.
It's from Germany, judging from the ruler.
It's not from Messel. The rock at Messel is dark brown.
If it's Solnhofen or the like, Nature Publishing Company will sue your ass, and then the rest of you, for leaking the picture during the embargo.
The sediment at Frauenweiler, where Eurotrochilus comes from, is dark grey...
Posted by: David Marjanović | July 6, 2008 5:18 AM
Hai~Ren claims this to be a Ropen. He is very much mistaken, because this animal is clearly dead, and ropens are very much ALIVE.
This animal is the Seething Swan of Satan!
Posted by: John Conway | July 6, 2008 6:47 AM
It's a plane it's a superman, NO it's a bird!
And that's as far as my identificationcan go.
Posted by: Ville Sinkkonen | July 6, 2008 7:15 AM
Is it one of those Palaeogene coraciiforms with raptorial feet?
Posted by: Brian | July 6, 2008 8:20 AM
Basilisk, of course.
Snake forebody, foot of a bird. And everything around turned into stone.
Posted by: Jerzy | July 6, 2008 8:30 AM
It could be some sort of Lacertidae ??
Posted by: Domenico | July 6, 2008 10:11 AM
The verts look dinosaurian, but wow, what a neck.
A sea-serpent?
Posted by: Tim Morris | July 6, 2008 12:34 PM
An interesting and teasing puzzle. The short answer is 'I don't know', but I can't leave it at that, so...
I thought of a young/small enantiornithine or the like from China. Possibly Liaoxiornis (if that genus is valid) because of the small size. But it looks to me like it belongs in neoaves rather than one of the archaic bird groups.
So I think this is a 'modern' bird, probably from a paleogene laggerstatten. Since the text on the scale is in German, I'll guess one of the Eocene german sites, Messel being the obvious choice. David Marjanović's comment about the colour of Messel rocks being dark brown may well be generally true (indeed most of those I can find pictures of are a fairly dark) but there are exceptions - and a brief search turned up several examples of Messel fossils where the matrix is coloured similarly to the one in Darren's picture.
The picture reminds me of something I have seen in one of Gerald Mayr's papers, but a search of those available to me couldn't locate it or anything close. I was particularly thinking of some of the extinct paleogene coraciiform and Cypselomorph groups, and looked at pictures of several fossils of these and none looked right.
Since Darren states this is a fossil he has "described recently" - I assume he has bloged about this one already (unless he meant descibed officially in a journal).
Taking this evidence altogether (German Eocene + Darren has blogged on them + heavy claws, proportionately thicker than for a raptor + skull neither too deep nor with a long beak) the best fit I can come up with is an ameghinornithid, but to be honest if that scale in the picture is accurate the fossil seems way too small - I thought ameghinornithids were 40-50cm long, I doubt this bird would be half that even after a good intensive stretching session on the rack.
Now if this were a maths exam i'd probably get a couple of marks for my workings even if the answer is way out. :)
"SEA MONSTER WEEK" - is that cryptozoology or more ichthysaurs - please let it be both.
Posted by: Mark Lees | July 6, 2008 1:49 PM
Strigogyps? or something of that ilk? I believe you've hinted about undescribed European pseudo-phorusrhacids in the past...
Posted by: neil | July 6, 2008 2:55 PM
Clearly it is yet another test of faith from our Lord.
Posted by: Gavin | July 9, 2008 4:01 PM
Wow! A new species of centaur!
From the left: the robust hind- and fore-legs are obvious (though contorted and incomplete); the major ribcage (subthorax) and horizontal portion of the backbone are not well-seen, but are likely embedded deeper in the matrix awaiting preparation. Or possibly in the counterpart slab?
But we see clearly here the most striking feature, the novel serpentine superthorax, gracile (reduced?) forelimbs, long neck, and dolicocephalic head (at upper right) complete with spiny horns (antennae? -a fairy centaur? -an Andorian alien centaur?). And - is that a curved bow and a spear preserved with it, one to each side? What a find!
An unusual and noteworthy high point to your career thus far, Darren. Your reputation and fortune are secure!
Have you named it yet? I wait with bated breath...
Of course, as a centaur, it's a hexapod.. not a tetrapod at all.. and thus, off-topic.
Posted by: Graham King | July 11, 2008 6:10 PM
Oh.. I "just noticed the scale bar.. "Zentimeter"?
I'll just assume that translates as 'Atlantean cubit'.
Posted by: Graham King | July 11, 2008 6:15 PM