An Argentinian paleontologist, Oscar Alcober, claims an omnivorous dinosaur whose fossils he and an associate turned up three years ago constitutes a “missing link between carnivorous dinosaurs and giant four-footed herbivores.”
Not pictured: anyone who ever ate his veggies
I was frankly unaware that any link between carnosaurs and the big plant-eaters had been reported missing, but then I’m not a paleontologist. Just a lifelong dinosaur buff. Mr. Alcober seems pretty worked up over it, in any event.
Mainly the news provides an excuse to link to articles on Giganotosaurus carolinii, the largest known land carnivore (depending, I suppose, on whether or not Spinosaurus only ate fish) – that’s him above, sans skin. And also Argentinosaurus Huinculensis, the largest known land herbivore, and probably the longest known anything from the animal kingdom. Both of them were found in Argentina too, as the article informs us.
Except Amphicoelias seems to’ve been bigger than Argentinosaurus. Maybe. As does Bruhathkayosaurus. Which I didn’t either make up.
Oh, well. Not much seems to’ve really been cleared up here, does it? Plus I defy you to look away for five seconds and then spell Amphicoelias or Bruhathkayosaurus without peeking.
Then again perhaps we should cut paleontologists some slack. Reconstructing long-extinct animals is no easy task. You try being dead 100 million years, see how much people get right about you. The media have trouble keeping straight what happened earlier today.
(And if you suspect all this is all a cheap attempt on my part to prime the pump for my upcoming High Fantasy with teeth, The Dinosaur Lords – thanks for reassuring me that my readers are people of unusual wit and discernation.)
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