A predatory dinosaur from Brazil and its surprising anatomy

[Oxytropidoceras]

A predatory dinosaur from Brazil and its surprising anatomy

by Universität Greifswald, PhysOrg, May 16, 2023

 

[Paleontology • 2023] A Reappraisal of the Cranial and

Mandibular Osteology of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri

(Dinosauria: Theropoda) Novataxa. May 11, 2023

 

The paywalled paper is:

 

Schade, M., Rauhut, O.W., Foth, C., Moleman, O. and Evers, 

S.W., 2022. A reappraisal of the cranial and mandibular

osteology of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri (Dinosauria:

Theropoda). Palaeontologia Electronica, 26(2), pp.1-116.

 

Yours,

 

Paul H.

[Troodon]

BTW one of the authors of the paywalled paper is Olof @LordTrilobite Nice work.

[JohnJ]

Congratulations, Olof! 

[piranha]

The paper is not paywalled as Palaeontologia Electronica is an open access journal.

 

This message is posted on the PE home page:

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Jolly good show, Olof. 

[Praefectus]

 

@LordTrilobite 

Really, you’re bending the knee to the cancel mob? After how they treated you, I’m surprised your even talking to these people. If this was one of my papers, I would have pulled it from Palaeontologia Electronica, sent it somewhere else, and told the twitter babies to get lost.

 

 

 

[LordTrilobite]

I do what I do to make the world a better place. This is a good initiative, and I'm happy to be a part of it.


https://twitter.com/PStewens/status/1684881402079465474
https://twitter.com/alinemghilardi/status/1684892787479568384
https://twitter.com/PaleoCisneros/status/1684899057041395713
https://linktr.ee/irritator.repatriation

Of the Irritator redescription authors, both me and Serjoscha Evers have put our names to this. Hopefully this can be a constructive step towards the eventual repatriation of Irritator. In the linktree you'll be able to find the open letter and a form to sign and offer your support to this initiative. Both academics as well as those outside of the academic world are welcome to sign. So be sure to sign it if you think the repatriation of Irritator is important.

[Praefectus]

I fail to see how sending Irritator to Brazil is constructive. The country is continually cutting science funding and mismanaging fossil resources. Important fossil sites like Ubirajara's Crato Formation are destroyed by industrial mining on a grand scale but local "paleontologists" (read: activists) only ever take notice after the hard works is done and the specimen is excavated, prepared, and published. 

 

It's a shame the petition doesn't make any reference to repealing Brazil's backwards natural heritage laws. Imagine how many fossils could be saved from erosion, industry, and museum mismanagement if amateurs, commercial dealers, and foreign researchers were encouraged to collaborate in Brazilian paleontology instead of turned away. They'd certainly pick up the slack left behind by local researchers. Maybe even find a second Irritator skeleton. 

 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

The thing is, though, that hard as it may be, it's not our call to make, as it's not our natural heritage. We can demonstrate worldwide angry outcry over mismanagement (as we do concerning destruction of the rainforest and mistreatment of indigenous cultures). However, sovereignty means we have limited impact and means to act. A sad reality for a lot of archaeological specimens and localities as well...