Suskityrannus vs Maip
Factfiles:
Suskityrannus hazelae
Artwork by Andrey Atuchin, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Hazel Wolfe’s Coyote Tyrant
Time: 92 million years ago (Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous)
Location: Moreno Hill Formation, Zuni Basin, New Mexico
When you follow the progress of paleontology long enough, you start to see things that were previously left undescribed actually get names and the respect they deserve - whether its the “putative screamer” Anachronornis or the “Zuni Coelurosaur” Suskityrannus, you’re sure to get a nice moment and a sense of satisfaction from it. Suskityrannus has been well known for a while due to it being featured in both When Dinosaurs Roamed America as well as Planet Dinosaur. Thought at various times to be a basal Coelurosaur or Tyrannosauroid, its official description placed it somewhat derived within Tyrannosaurs, showcasing the evolution of the Tyrannosaur group as it transitioned from the smaller more speedy forms (like Suskityrannus) to the giant murder birds we know and love later in the Cretaceous. In fact, Suskityrannus lived in an ecosystem that highlighted its changing world, with many early representatives of the later iconic North American Cretaceous ecosystems showing up in early forms in Moreno Hill. Suskityrannus was about one meter tall and three meters long, and already had many adaptations known from later tyrannosaurs. In the forested coastal ecosystem at Moreno Hill, Suskityrannus would have been neighbors with Zuniceratops, Nothronychus, Jeyawati, ankylosaurs, fish, and turtles.
Maip macrothorax
Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Long-chested Shadow of Death
Time: 72 to 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous)
Location: Chorrillo Formation, Patagonia, Argentina
Megaraptors, a group not even really understood a few decades ago, just keep having more and more interesting members added to this group - Maip, a recent addition known from many bones of the trunk and tail, help fill out more of this picture with remains not known from other Megaraptors, and als having the most complete Megaraptor skeleton known. Maip was also interesting in having a very long, thick torso, leading to its specific name. It probably reached 9 to 10 meters in length in life, making it the largest Megaraptor known (literally reaching carcharodontosaurid size), and it may indicate that megaraptors rose to high-level predator status as other top predators went extinct in the region. It had a respiratory system similar to modern birds, with unidirectional air flow, much like other Saurischian dinosaurs. Living in southernmost South America, Maip would have had to deal with a variety of harsh climates, and may have been covered in feathers in order to keep warm. In addition to mosasaurs, snakes, turtles, mammals, fish, and frogs, Maip lived with other dinosaurs such as Nullotitan, Kookne, Yatenavis, and Isasicursor.
