Anything Psittacosaurus

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Nothing really new but just more photos.

http://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/the-filamented-psittacosaurus/

Awesome Wings, I did have any pictures quite that clear or easy to study of the dinosaur before.Some of those are quite spectacular. I am not going to be surprised if someone guesses how to interpret the dinosaur's coloration yet from this fossil, as well.

Hone's interpretation of these filament is also interesting "...Sprouting up off the base of the tail and extending most of the way along its (incomplete) length... certainly appear to have stopped appearing well short of the end of the tail, so their full extent does appear to have been preserved.

The interesting thing for me about the specimen is the clear preservation of the scales in many places, while also preserving the filaments and so forth.This was obviously quite an odd looking animal when alive. What has always fascinated me most about the dinosaur is the somewhat assumed idea that it was originally found in the Xixia Basin. If this theory is correct it narrows the dinosaur down to one of three possible psittacosaurus species, although exact determination seems arguable because most of the potential diagnostics for the species require a side or top view of the skull, which was preserved in aspect infavorable for tenous identification. Still, given the potential species involved, this is quite likely the same species of Psittacosaurus I own. Or more clearly stated I have a one in three chance of owning the same type animal.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

A few things to add here.....first an updated picture of the Psittacosaurus display. Notice his hands...neutral as suggested.



I also wanted to show off a complete vert I was able to acquire, that has the processes and spines intact. The piece is about 85 percent original with some restoration to the processes .



The second image gives a sense of scale, along side Martin's redition of the Safari Leptoceratops.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

And the display takes form....from the large scene utilizing Aaron Doyle's Psittacosaurus models, to the row of Carnegie psittacosaurus repaints. Also included if you look closely are a repaint of the Collecta model, as well as Yinlong by Manuel MB creations. The back row is taken by various Psittacosaurus models...funrise, collecta, Dinowaurs,even the safari Toob version. Towering over it all is Nim, my Psittacosaurus, with properly posed hands. Still to be added are two more Carnegie versions being finished by Bob Morales and Martin for the display

[Megalosaurus]

And the display takes form[...]

Hi.
Its a beautiful display. I really like your Doyle's Psittacosaurus group. The only one i dislike a bit is the  Geoworld "demonic"  psittacosaurus.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

And the display takes form[...]

Hi.
Its a beautiful display. I really like your Doyle's Psittacosaurus group. The only one i dislike a bit is the  Geoworld "demonic"  psittacosaurus.

Thanks very much...and yes I agree the Geo-World's model poses a serious Psitt-uation........(runs)

[Georassic]

Awesome exhibit, my friend.

[Megalosaurus]

Hi Amargasaurus.
Since you love Psittacosaurus so much, may be you can answer me a question...
What animals (extint and extant) did a Psittacosaurus family meet in its life?
I know for sure these 2:



But I'd like to know more about its lifes.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Hi Amargasaurus.
Since you love Psittacosaurus so much, may be you can answer me a question...
What animals (extint and extant) did a Psittacosaurus family meet in its life?
I know for sure these 2:



But I'd like to know more about its lifes.

The fascinating thing about Psittacosaurus is that it had a temporal range, that extended from roughly 125 million years ago until 100 million years ago, and a physical range that shows it was a common species from as far noth as Siberia to as far south as Thailand. The dinosaur was known to have lived in most of modern day China and much Mongolia as well. Given the vast time and distance the psittacosaurus lived it had to have had many others to share its stage with. There are supposed to be somewhere between 9 and 11 species of psittacosaurus from this time and place alone. The main key is nailing down the time and place...once you can do so, the what becomes much easier.

[tyrantqueen]

Mr Amargasaurus cazaui, can I ask about your psittacosaurus, "Nim"? I was watching television the other night, and there was a John Wayne film called "The Green Berets" that came on. One of the characters (played by George Takei) was called Captain Nim. Did you get the idea for the name from that film?

Just curious

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Actually that is a very good question TQ. The inspiration for Nim and his name was somewhat more complicated. When I was working on acquiring and during the initial process I was also viewing a television series I had bought as a set. It had lasted only a single season, and was called "Surface"  The main plot of the series was that a secret group had mastered cloning to the degree of recreating a species of Pliosaur. They grew to massive sizes, over a hundred feet long. Interwoven into the tapestry of the story is a young boy who finds an egg in the ocean. He brings it home, and it hatches in his living room fish tank. It is of course an infant version of the massive pliosaurs. He and his friend name the little guy Nimrod, or Nim for short. Throughout the series they become close friends and he battles to keep his pet. I somewhat identified with his struggle as a few times during the process of getting My "Nim" I felt just as embattled and against odds.
  I knew when I got the dinosaur he would be serving several purposes. He was the topic of an article I had published...and is displayed each year in a show where we bring in 5,000 schoolkids throughout the day to view the various displays including Nim. Nim was also used to approach the local museum and demonstrate the issues with how their own Psittacosaurus was improperly mounted. I documented that story in the museum of world treasures thread some time back. Nim also serves as my focal piece on Facebook about dinosaurs. His page is very popular and claims the likes of Julius Cstonyi, Martin Garratt, Paul Serreno, Forest Rogers, Steven Demarco and Dan Larosso as friends.
  His actual name due to his home land is Genghis Nim, and he accepts anyone who asks him. Many of the members here have  found and joined his page. I know Takama has, as well as Gryphoceratops, and a few others. Georassic is a close friend of Nim's.
  His name is actually a double entendre, playing off the character Nim from Surface, but he is also a syno NIM of my own personality. It was much later that I myself happend to watch the movie Green Berets and noticed the character Colonel Nim. I believe there is also a Disney movie Called Nim's Island or something similar.



The original Nim !!!

[tyrantqueen]

Interesting backstory. Lots of happy coincidences, then

[Georassic]

Nim also serves as my focal piece on Facebook about dinosaurs. His page is very popular and claims the likes of Julius Cstonyi, Martin Garratt, Paul Serreno, Forest Rogers, Steven Demarco and Dan Larosso as friends.
  His actual name due to his home land is Genghis Nim, and he accepts anyone who asks him. Many of the members here have  found and joined his page. I know Takama has, as well as Gryphoceratops, and a few others. Georassic is a close friend of Nim's.

Proud to be on the A-List! 

[Iguanocolossus]

Always liked this little guy, with a basic ornithiscian body but with a beak, cheekbones that would make Katharine Hepburn jealous, and now with a spiny little tail. Wish they made more figures of it. Lived in some really interesting middle Cretaceous fauna, too.

[tyrantqueen]

I don't know if you have already seen this or you would be interested, but I came across an image in one of the Japanese expo catalogues that I own (thanks for the idea, wings) and I thought you might like to see it. I think it was a specimen of Psittacosaurus neimongoliensis. Sorry about the bad quality, I had to crush the spine of the book to get it to scan, and even then it wouldn't fit all the way in.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I don't know if you have already seen this or you would be interested, but I came across an image in one of the Japanese expo catalogues that I own (thanks for the idea, wings) and I thought you might like to see it. I think it was a specimen of Psittacosaurus neimongoliensis. Sorry about the bad quality, I had to crush the spine of the book to get it to scan, and even then it wouldn't fit all the way in.

Did not have that picture , good call !! I hope you did not damage your catalog too badly, but I do appreciate it.

[Ultimatedinoking]

Psittacosaurus' quills should bee limited to its tail and hips, not covered with them as if it were a mammal.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Psittacosaurus' quills should bee limited to its tail and hips, not covered with them as if it were a mammal.

I am not so sure I accept that argument. The fossil that displays quills only preserved the tail quills, but we cannot say for sure if the entire animal may or may not have been covered. There may have been some preservational bias that favored the tail over the rest of the dinosaur. Another argument that lends some support to the debate is the fossil evidence for Tianyulong , which was indeed entirely covered. I would suggest if anything the current evidence implies the dinosaur had more than just tail quills.

[Ultimatedinoking]

Psittacosaurus' quills should bee limited to its tail and hips, not covered with them as if it were a mammal.

I am not so sure I accept that argument. The fossil that displays quills only preserved the tail quills, but we cannot say for sure if the entire animal may or may not have been covered. There may have been some preservational bias that favored the tail over the rest of the dinosaur. Another argument that lends some support to the debate is the fossil evidence for Tianyulong , which was indeed entirely covered. I would suggest if anything the current evidence implies the dinosaur had more than just tail quills.

But now people are covering triceratops with non existent quills, and it's possible that psittacosaurus lost most of its covering, only keeping a few tufts. Like humans.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Psittacosaurus' quills should bee limited to its tail and hips, not covered with them as if it were a mammal.

I am not so sure I accept that argument. The fossil that displays quills only preserved the tail quills, but we cannot say for sure if the entire animal may or may not have been covered. There may have been some preservational bias that favored the tail over the rest of the dinosaur. Another argument that lends some support to the debate is the fossil evidence for Tianyulong , which was indeed entirely covered. I would suggest if anything the current evidence implies the dinosaur had more than just tail quills.

But now people are covering triceratops with non existent quills, and it's possible that psittacosaurus lost most of its covering, only keeping a few tufts. Like humans.

The evidence for Triceratops is at best speculative and mostly based on the skin impressions of Triceratops Lane, which are suggetive of quills but provide no solid evidence at this point. So yes, it is a bit early to start giving all Triceratops quills....It is also quite possible that Psittacosaurus had less quills, or no quills at all for that matter. We have a single specimen that displays quills....which could be an analomy, or limited to the one genus. We just do not have enough evidence to say anything either way.

[SpittersForEver]

Nice skeleton I which I had one!