Here we see a barbouronopsid (possibly Ursosmilus) chasing after a juvenile Dromaeosuchus in hopes of a quick afternoon snack. Like the semi-aquatic dicynodonts before them, the barbouronopsids and sprint-o-crocs are part of a much larger group of alternate Permian beasties. More will be revealed in May, but I thought you'd all get a kick out of this...
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11 comments:
That is COOL.
Kick received!
Cool, so are barbouronopsids derived gorgonopsids, or are they ictidosaurs that evolved into a gorgon-like form?
Dromaeosuchus is an archosaur, I'm assuming? But my question is, do pariasaurs hang around, at least for a while?
Anyway, I can't wait to see the project in May!
To interject since Zach and I are collaborating on this (oy, sleep I miss thee oh lady o the night!).
Barbouronopsids are derived gorgons. The gorgons don't go extinct until the end of the alternate Permian: now marked in the alternate timeline as being 200 mya. In this alternate timeline they have diversified quite a bit.
The dromaeosuchus is an archosaur. They're around and members of the ecology but nothing like they were in the Triassic. dromaeosuchines/ids are fleet footed herbivores. heh.
The Pareiasaurs also survive up until the end of the alternate Permian. They have their own surprising diversity.
FWIW, the Pareiasaurs and gorgonopsids seem to have coevolved and been in something of an arms race. When the pareiasaurs went extinct the largest gorgons were toast. Or so goes the impression I've had.
We'll move inland for later renderings. I'm excited what dysthanatodontia will be like! Zach's been an imaginative collaborator (and very patient). Oh, can you guess what dysthanatodontia is?
It's lookin' pretty sweet!
So, Will, basically they die out at the end-Triassic event, like the rauisuchians and other big crurotarsians. Do the gorgons leave any descendants, or do they all get axed at the end of the Permo-Triassic?
What would have been the end Triassic bookends our alternate Permian. The gorgons and the pareiasaurs go completely extinct. We'll probably savage a number of the other anapsids as well and then follow the pattern seen by the LTE/TJE: 50% of everything with a slight emphasis on the larger bodied critters.
The therocephalians, dicynodonts, cynodonts, mammalians, and other therapsids remain on top of the megafauna pile in the alternate time line Jurassic (or whatever we call it). The archosaurs make a significant, but much lesser addition to the megafauna though: they do get exclusive air time though for a while. (ha!)
The therapsids in the very convoluted and derived forms reign supreme until the rock falls out of the sky splatting the Yucatan.
The 'Paleocene' is rather...different than our timeline though. ;) That's getting WAAAAAAAAAY ahead of ourselves though.
I don't often comment, but I do have a question as to why your synapsids are all digitigrade. AFAIK, all Synapsids outside of Theria were plantigrade. The erect posture isn't really a problem, all eucynodonts reverted to a heavy sprawling posture until the advent of Theria.
Well, I'm not touching the damn dicynodonts anymore, plantigrade or not. The gorgon will have plantigrade hindfeet but digigrade forefeet. The semi-aquatic dicynodonts will have parasagittal hindlimbs but sprawling forelimbs.
"Oh, can you guess what dysthanatodontia is?"
I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say a dicynodont trying very hard to be a hadrosaur.
"The 'Paleocene' is rather...different than our timeline though. ;) That's getting WAAAAAAAAAY ahead of ourselves though."
Let me guess, archosaurs take over from the synapsids and anapsids? I think I actually saw someone try that though. Basically the "Age of Dinosaurs" just gets pushed back to the Cenozoic, rather than the Mesozoic. Although technically they wouldn't be dinosaurs.
That leads to a good point, do the archosaurs diverge into crurotarsians and ornithodirans in this timeline? Because Dromaeosuchus looks a little like a mash-up between the two groups.
Anyway, I wonder what is going to take the place of all those "little" groups that we have today and take for granted. I assume that snakes, turtles, mammals, birds, heck, even crocodilians, frogs, salamanders, and rays won't be around. Wonder what will take their place. Maybe proconlophids take the place of snakes or something. And what happens with the angiosperms and grass, do they still come about?
"they do get exclusive air time though for a while. (ha!)"
Archosaurs become the only volant groups, huh? That'll be interesting. Out of curiosity, why do the synapsids never go volant?
"We'll probably savage a number of the other anapsids as well and then follow the pattern seen by the LTE/TJE: 50% of everything with a slight emphasis on the larger bodied critters."
I'm also guessing that archosaurs become slightly more abundant following the T-J? If the T-J is caused by vulcanism, then one would expect the archosaurs, with their advanced breathing systems, to do a little better than synapsids (I'm not advocating a Wardian scenario, but you do have to admit that archosaurs seem a bit better adapted to poor air conditions than synapsids and anapsids).
I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say a dicynodont trying very hard to be a hadrosaur.Erm. no. dys-thanato-dont.
Let me guess, archosaurs take over from the synapsids and anapsids? I think I actually saw someone try that though. Basically the "Age of Dinosaurs" just gets pushed back to the Cenozoic, rather than the Mesozoic. Although technically they wouldn't be dinosaurs.Oh no. Not THAT simple! Things get more convoluted than that!
I said Allozoic, not Mesozoic!
That leads to a good point, do the archosaurs diverge into crurotarsians and ornithodirans in this timeline? Because Dromaeosuchus looks a little like a mash-up between the two groups.There are different groups that arise ATL. There are some that are crurotarsian-esque. There are some that are ornithodiran-esque. There are other branches as well. None map perfectly onto what we have. We've had a divergence of no PTE and tens of millions of years of evolution under something other than the Triassic we all know.
Archosaurs become the only volant groups, huh? That'll be interesting. Out of curiosity, why do the synapsids never go volant?They will, but not yet. Not yet.
No time to explain the TJ equivalent extinction. still caused by the CAMP though. There are more archosaurs after, but in different ways.
Okay, then I guess it would be something with really wicked teeth or something. But you never said Allozoic, you said Mesozoic. Anyway, thanks for answering my questions. I can't wait to see more on the project.
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