Revisiting Meraxes, this time with DGS
A kind reader suggested
I take another look at the large theropod, Meraxes (Figs 1–3).
Figure 1. Meraxes skeletal elements from Canale et al 2022.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-75315″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg?w=584&h=434″ alt=”Figure 1. Meraxes skeletal elements from Canale et al 2022.” width=”584″ height=”434″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg?w=584&h=434 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg?w=150&h=111 150w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg?w=300&h=223 300w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/meraxes_gigas588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 1. Meraxes skeletal elements from Canale et al 2022. PILs added here.
In 2022 I made the procedural mistake
of scoring characters from a trusted published graphic of the skull. This time I traced published photographs of skull elements (Figs 2, 3) using the DGS method and skipped the middleman. As in yesterday’s subject taxon, Giganotosaurus, I had to flip another published bone, this time the jugal (Fig 2), to help it fit an Allosaurus Bauplan.
Not everything published is perfectly represented.
Figure 2. DGS tracing and reconstruction of the Meraxes skull v1. See figure 3 for v2.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif?w=220″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-84763″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif?w=584&h=796″ alt=”Figure 2. DGS tracing and reconstruction of the Meraxes skull v1.” width=”584″ height=”796″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif?w=584&h=796 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif?w=110&h=150 110w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif?w=220&h=300 220w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes-2024right588.gif 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. DGS tracing and reconstruction of the Meraxes skull v1. See figure 3 for v2. Note the flipping of the jugal from the original at bottom. Photo from Canale et al 2022.
Meraxes gigas
(Canale et al 2022; Late Cretaceous, Late Cenomian Argentina, MMCh-PV 65, skull length 1.2m) is the “Campanas carcharodontosaurid.” Here it nests with Giganotosaurus, both derived from Late Jurassic Allosaurus. Carcharodontosaurus is known from North Africa. This clade of theropods had spread world wide, but is not yet known in North America.
Figure 3. Meraxes skull, also from Canale et al 2022. Colors added here. Allosaurus is once again comparable, but in frame 3 a distortion is added to more closely match Meraxes.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif?w=194″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-84766″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif?w=584&h=903″ alt=”Figure 3. Meraxes skull, also from Canale et al 2022. Colors added here. Allosaurus is once again comparable, but in frame 3 a distortion is added to more closely match Meraxes.” width=”584″ height=”903″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif?w=584&h=903 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif?w=97&h=150 97w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif?w=194&h=300 194w, https://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/meraxes_skull2024-588.gif 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 3. Meraxes skull, also from Canale et al 2022. Colors added here. Allosaurus is once again comparable, but in frame 3 a distortion is added to more closely match Meraxes. The colors from figure 2 are added at top.
The differences between large theropods
are sometimes few, especially when the skull is not completely known. The DGS method enables some restoration. Note that DGS colors that fall beyond the bones themselves (into the white background) make clear when restoration is attempted.
I appreciate readers who know their theropods
let me know when an error is more than likely. Thank you! I do not ‘know’ my theropods. I study each one once then move on to other taxa – unless called back to revisit errors or when related taxa are added.
In academia it is rare to see workers admit errors. It can be lethal to one’s status and standing in the university community.
My entire output was shunned in 2012 for earlier errors – and for discovering the ancestry of pterosaurs outside the academic/textbook paradigm. Eventually being shunned by academia worked to my advantage. Ever since they stopped letting me publish papers my output and interest in obscure taxa and their interrelationships have multiplied. I just learn about skeletons all day long during my retirement, and the Internet lets me share with you what I have learned.
Let that work for you, too, even if you’re raising kids and building your future.
References
Canale JI et al (9 co-authors) 2022. New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction. Current Biology. 32(14): 3195–3202.e5.
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2024/03/07/revisiting-meraxes-this-time-with-dgs/
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