231: PNSO Meraxes (Mungo 2023) Review (Plus: tiny dinosaur arms!)

Last PNSO, we reviewed the version 2.0 Giganotosaurus. In that video, I briefly mentioned that the new iteration used elements of the newly discovered carcharodontosaurid Meraxes. Well, who should PNSO immediately follow that release with, than Meraxes itself! Named after the dragon of Game of Thrones fame, this is a carcharodontosaurid that is unusual for preserving two often fragmentary areas in carcharodontosaurids: the head, and the forelimbs. And having enough of these two makes for a good representation, as well as help tremendously in filling in the other carcharodontosaurids for the future. But the most important thing for many fans will be nothing to do with the dinosaur itself, but the COLOUR! And a real BEAUTY it is. Gone is the age-old traditional simple stripe on earth colours that seems to stamp almost all of PNSO’s past offerings. A nice blend of blue and gray, with stripes blended in some naturalistically, this is likely to be a fan favourite! 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 Canale, Juan I.; Apesteguía, Sebastián; Gallina, Pablo A.; Mitchell, Jonathan; Smith, Nathan D.; Cullen, Thomas M.; Shinya, Akiko; Haluza, Alejandro; Gianechini, Federico A.; Makovicky, Peter J. (July 2022). “New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction“. Current Biology. 32 (14): 3195–. doi: PMID 35803271. S2CID 250343124 Burch, Sarah H (August 2017). “Myology of the forelimb of Majungasaurus crenatissimus (Theropoda, Abelisauridae) and the morphological consequences of extreme limb reduction“. J. Anat., 231: 515-531. #PNSO #DinosDragons #Meraxes #Meraxesgigasi #carcharodontosaurus #carcharodontosauridae #theropods #dinosaur #dinosaurs #dinosaurtoys #dinosaurmodels #prehistoric