Lisowicia, a new giant dicynodont

[suspsy]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Synapsida/status/1065681761198317568?s=19

Yep. That's an elephant-sized dicynodont, people.

Damn. 

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

I just saw that on facebook and didn't believe it. Thank you for linking to a sized up skeletal, that is one impressive animal.

[DinoToyForum]

Wow!

(I embedded the image in the first post).

[Minmiminime]

That is incredible! I bet CollectA make one of those The Triassic is a deeply underrated time period

[Faelrin]

Woah. I never thought we'd ever see one of those get that big. What an amazing discovery.

[SBell]

I first saw that on Twitter. It's amazing!

[Libraraptor]

I saw it on Twitter this morning.  I was more than just surprised!  What a great discovery!

[ceratopsian]

I half expected it to be some sort of joke when I saw it on Facebook, until I dug around. I want a model of it!

[Newt]

I was alerted to this on NPR, whose brief mention claimed there was an "elephant-sized mammal" from the Mesozoic. My first thought was that it was pretty late for April Fool's Day pranks. It wasn't until later I discovered this behemoth was actually a dicynodont. Still awesome, but less shocking than if it had been a mammal.

Also, what's up with those clavicles? That doesn't seem right.

[DinoToyForum]

I was alerted to this on NPR, whose brief mention claimed there was an "elephant-sized mammal" from the Mesozoic. My first thought was that it was pretty late for April Fool's Day pranks. It wasn't until later I discovered this behemoth was actually a dicynodont. Still awesome, but less shocking than if it had been a mammal.

Also, what's up with those clavicles? That doesn't seem right.

I was curious about this as well but have been unable to find a satisfactory answer. The figure caption in the paper makes it clear that the element in question is missing. So it must be inferred from the preserved elements. While the paper itself does not describe the material, the supplementary material does, and is available for free here: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/suppl/2018/11/19/science.aal4853.DC1/aal4853-Sulej-SM.pdf

Having read the descriptions of preserved girdle elements, however, I still can't make sense of the unusual clavicle (if that's what it is). They don't even mention the clavicle, let alone justify their unusual inferred interpretation of it. Maybe I'm just really unfamiliar with dicynodonts and this is normal unremarkable anatomy for them?

[ItsTwentyBelow]

This is a most fascinating discovery that forever changes the way we think about dicynodonts!

I want to see a rendering of a group of these animals.

Surely one of our favorite toy manufacturers will release this beast in the next few years! I know, I'm bad, but I think it would be really fun to see a "Mega Dual Attack" Lisowicia released for the Jurassic World line. Maybe it could fit in the price range of the new Amargasaurus?

[DinoToyCollector]

Okay ... that's something new.

Finds like this prove how little we actually know about our beloved monsters. That always makes me curious about what else will be discovered.

Thanks for sharing.

[Papi-Anon]

Never thought they made dicynodonts that big! Does this mean Cotylorhynchus has been dethroned from the title of largest stem-mammal?

[Newt]

I was curious about this as well but have been unable to find a satisfactory answer. The figure caption in the paper makes it clear that the element in question is missing. So it must be inferred from the preserved elements. While the paper itself does not describe the material, the supplementary material does, and is available for free here: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/suppl/2018/11/19/science.aal4853.DC1/aal4853-Sulej-SM.pdf

Having read the descriptions of preserved girdle elements, however, I still can't make sense of the unusual clavicle (if that's what it is). They don't even mention the clavicle, let alone justify their unusual inferred interpretation of it. Maybe I'm just really unfamiliar with dicynodonts and this is normal unremarkable anatomy for them?

Thanks for the comment and link! I have a copy of the old Placerias monograph; I'll have to look through it when I get home. I don't remember anything like this, though. They're either bizarre clavicles or an even more bizarre hyoid, or something entirely novel. Or a mistake.

[Shonisaurus]

I hope that this megaherbivore is done by a company like Safari or Collecta and at an acceptable size. In this case as it deserves. He has appeared in all the newspapers of the world. I attest to that.

Not only were there impressive sauropods as herbivores in the Triassic age, but there was that dicydodon the size of an elephant. With each new discovery every day our perception of the prehistoric world changes.

[SpartanSquat]

I surprise nobody posted about this discovery. An elephant size diictodon
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/giant-time-dinosaurs-ancient-mammal-cousin-looked-cross-between-rhino-and-turtle
Interesting months ago I made a speculative therapsid like this creature. Jetoar and I we talked about the possibility that one day a creature like this could be real.

[Gwangi]

Someone did, but you would be forgiven for not noticing it.
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=7444.0;topicseen

[DinoToyForum]

Topics merged, and I retained the more descriptive title (edited for accuracy).

[SpartanSquat]

Sorry my mistake