Dinosaurs
Creatures from another age
241 files
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Afrovenator by Moondawg
By Guest
Afrovenator ("African hunter") is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of northern Africa.
It was a bipedal predator, with a mouthful of sharp teeth and three claws on each hand. Judging from the one skeleton known, this dinosaur was approximately 30 feet (9 meters) long from snout to tail tip.
The generic name comes from the Latin prefix afro- ("from Africa") venator ("hunter"). There is one named species, A. abakensis. The name refers to its predatory nature, and its location in Africa, specifically from In Abaka, the Tuareg name for the region of Niger where the fossils were found. The original description of both genus and species is found in a 1994 paper which appeared in the prestigious journal Science. The primary author was well-known American paleontologist Paul Sereno, with Jeffrey Wilson, Hans Larsson, Didier Dutheil, and Hans-Dieter Sues as coauthors.
The remains of Afrovenator were discovered in the Tiourarén Formation of the department of Agadez in Niger. The Tiourarén most likely represents the Hauterivian to Barremian stages of the Early Cretaceous Period, or approximately 136 to 125 million years ago (Sereno et al. 1994). The sauropod Jobaria, whose remains were first mentioned in the same paper which named Afrovenator, is also known from this formation.
Afrovenator is known from a single nearly complete skeleton, featuring most of the skull (minus the mandible, or lower jaw), parts of the spinal column, hands, and forelimbs, a nearly complete pelvis, and complete hind limbs. This skeleton is housed at the University of Chicago.
Most analyses place Afrovenator within Megalosauridae, which was formerly a "wastebasket family" which contained many large and hard-to-classify theropods, but has since been redefined in a meaningful way, as a sister taxon to the family Spinosauridae within the Spinosauroidea.
A 2002 analysis, focused mainly on the noasaurids, found Afrovenator to be a basal megalosaurid. However, it did not include Dubreuillosaurus (formerly Poekilopleuron valesdunesis), which could affect the results in that region of the cladogram (Carrano et al. 2002).
Other recent, more complete, cladistic analyses show Afrovenator in a subfamily of Megalosauridae with Eustreptospondylus and Dubreuillosaurus. This subfamily is either called Megalosaurinae (Allain 2002) or Eustreptospondylinae (Holtz et al. 2004). The latter study also includes Piatnitzkysaurus in this subfamily.
A few alternative hypotheses have been presented for Afrovenator's relationships.
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Hydrotherosaurus by Moondawg
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Hydrotherosaurus (meaning "water beast lizard") is an extinct genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Fresno County, California, measuring up to 13 m in length.
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Alvarezsaurus by Moondawg
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The Alvarezsauridae are an enigmatic family of small, long-legged running dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, a consensus of recent work suggests that they are primitive members of the Maniraptoriformes. Other work found them to be the sister group to the Ornithomimosauria. Alvarezsaurs are highly specialized. They bear tiny but stoutly proportioned forelimbs with compact birdlike hands and their skeleton suggests they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They have tubular snouts, elongate jaws, and minute teeth. They may have been adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites. Alvarezsaurids range from 0.5.2 m (20-80 inches) in length, although some possible members may have been substantially larger, including the European Heptasteornis (also called Elopteryx) that may have reached 2.5 m (8 ft).
At least one species of Alvarezsaurid, Shuvuuia deserti, has down-like, feathery, integumental structures that are preserved in the fossil. Schweitzer et al. (1999) subjected these filaments to microscopic, morphological, mass spectrometric, and immunohistochemical studies and found that they consisted of beta Keratin, which is the primary protein in feathers.
Alvarezsaurus, and thus Alvarezsaurinae, Alvaresauridae, and Alvarezsauria are named for the historian Don Gregorio Alvarez, not the more familiar physicist Luis Alvarez, who proposed that the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event was caused by an impact event.
The type species is A. calvoi. It was bipedal, had a long tail and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner. It may have been insectivorous and was basal to better-known members of its family, such as Mononykus and Shuvuuia. It has been alternately classified with both non-avian theropod dinosaurs and early birds
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Utahraptor by Moondawg
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Utahraptor (meaning "Utah's predator") is the largest known member of the theropod dinosaur family
Dromaeosauridae, and dates from the upper Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period (132-119 million years ago).
Like other dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor had a huge curved claw on the second toe that could grow to 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long. The animal may have grasped its prey with its forelimbs while kicking with its hindlimbs. Recent tests on reconstructions of the smaller Velociraptor suggest that claws of this type were used for stabbing or suffocating its prey, not slashing into their hide.Up to 6.5 m (21 ft) long, 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, and 700 kg (1,500 lb) in weight, Utahraptor would have been a formidable predator.
Updated by Cricket on April 5, 2012:
Removed space from name
Removed extra verbiage
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Avimimus by Moondawg
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Avimimus was a small dinosaur, standing about 45 centimeters (2.5 ft) tall at the hips and
a length of 1.5 m (5 ft). The skull was relatively small compared to the body, though the
brain and eyes were relatively large. The size of the bones which surrounded the brain and
were dedicated to protecting it are large. This is also consistent with the hypothesis
that Avimimus had a proportionally large brain.
As in the related Oviraptoridae and Caenagnathidae, the jaws of Avimimus formed a
parrot-like beak, and lacked teeth. However, a series of toothlike projections along the
tip of the premaxilla would have given the beak a serrated edge. The toothless beak of
Avimimus suggests that it may have been an herbivore or omnivore. Kurzanov himself,
however, believed that Avimimus was an insectivore.
The foramen magnum, the hole allowing the spinal cord to connect with the brain, was
proportionally large in Avimimus. The occipital condyle, however, was small, further
suggestive of the skull's relative lightness.The neck itself was long and slender, and is
composed of vertebrae are much more elongate than in other oviraptorosaurs. Unlike
oviraptorids and caenagnathids, the back vertebrae lack openings for air sacs, suggesting
that Avimimus is more primitive than these animals.
The forelimbs were relatively short. The bones of the hand were fused together, as in
modern birds, and a ridge on the ulna (lower arm bone) was interpreted as an attachment
point for feathers by Kurzanov.Kurzanov, in 1987, also reported the presence of quill
knobs, and while Chiappe confirmed the presence of bumps on the ulna, their function
remained unclear. Kurzanov was so convinced they were attachment points for feathers that
he concluded that Avimimus may have been capable of weak flight. This interpretation has
not seen wide support among paleontologists, however.
The ilium was almost horizontally oriented, resulting in exceptionally broad hips. Little
is known of the tail but the hip suggests that the tail was long. The legs were extremely
long and slender, suggesting that Avimimus was a highly specialized runner. The
proportions of the leg bones add further weight to the idea of Avimimus was quick on its
feet. The animal's shins were long in comparison with its thighs, a trait common among
cursorial animals. It also had three-toed feet with narrow pointed claws.
Its remains were discovered in the Djadokta Formation by Russian paleontologists, and
officially described by Dr. Sergei Kurzanov in 1981. The type species is A. portentosus.
Because no tail was found with the original find, Dr. Kurzanov mistakenly concluded that
Avimimus lacked a tail in life. However, subsequent Avimimus finds containing caudal
vertebrae have confirmed the presence of a tail.
In 1991, Sankar Chatterjee erected the Order Avimimiformes to include Avimimus, though
this group is not used by most paleontologists today as it includes only a single species.
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Nanotyrannus by Moondawg
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Nanotyrannus ("tiny tyrant") is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur, and is possibly a
juvenile specimen of Tyrannosaurus. Represented only by a small skull it was discovered by Charles W. Gilmore in 1942 and described in 1946 as a
specimen of Gorgosaurus lancensis (now known as Albertosaurus).In 1988, the
specimen was re-described by Robert T. Bakker, Phil Currie, and Michael Williams,
the late curator of paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where
the original specimen was housed and is currently on display. Initial research indicated
that the skull bones were fused, and that it therefore represented an adult specimen.
In light of this, Bakker and colleagues assigned the skull to a new genus, which they
named Nanotyrannus for its apparently small size.However, subsequent work has cast
doubt on this, and some paleontologists no longer consider it a valid genus--since the
fossil was a contemporary of Tyrannosaurus rex, many paleontologists now believe it to
be a juvenile T.rex, especially since the discovery in 2001 of new Nanotyrannus specimen,
nicknamed "Jane." The original Nanotyrannus specimen is estimated to have been around
17 feet (5.2 meters) long when it died.
In 2001, a more complete juvenile tyrannosaur ("Jane"),
belonging to the same species as the original Nanotyrannus specimen, was uncovered.
In 2005, a conference on tyrannosaurs focused on the issues of Nanotyrannus validity
brought about by the discovery of the Jane specimen, was held at the Burpee Museum of
Natural History. Several paleontologists, such as Phil Currie and Donald M. Henderson,
saw the discovery of Jane as a confirmation that Nanotyrannus was a juvenile T. rex or
closely related species.Peter Larson, on the other hand, continued to support a
separate genus for Nanotyrannus.The actual scientific study of Jane, set to be
published by Bakker, Larson, and Currie, may help determine whether Nanotyrannus is a
valid genus, whether it simply represents a juvenile T. rex, or whether it is a new
species of a previously identified genus of tyrannosaur.
Bakker has stated he believes Nanotyrannus hunted in packs. Teeth from multiple Nanotyrannus have been found in the bones of herbivorous dinosaurs.
In 2008, Nanotyrannus was featured in the second episode of Jurassic Fight Club, a pseudo-documentary about prehistoric predators.[8] The episode dismissed the ongoing scientific debate on the validity of the Nanotyrannus genus, with the producers preferring instead to present a speculative battle between two juvenile Tyrannosaurus and one Nanotyrannus (which was possibly a juvenile Tyrannosaurus). The episode depicted both genera as having pronated hands (hands with downward or backward-facing palms), something tyrannosaurids could not do.[9] The episode relied heavily on speculation to determine who would be the victor in the battle between the similar (or possibly synonymous) genera. Some television reviewers felt the battles depicted in the series were over-hyped and remarked negatively on the producers and experts' speculation about what the animals were thinking.[10]
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Abelisaurus by Moondawg
By Savannahjan
Abelisaurus ("Abel's lizard") is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America.
The generic name recognizes Roberto Abel as the discoverer of the specimen and former director of the provincial Museum of Cipolletti in Argentina, where the specimen is housed. It also incorporates the Greek sauros, meaning 'lizard'. There is one named species, A. comahuensis, which honors the Comahue region of Argentina, where the fossil was found. Both genus and species were named and described by Argentine paleontologists Jose Bonaparte and Fernando Novas in 1985, who placed it in the newly-created family Abelisauridae.
Many other abelisaurids have since been discovered, including extremely complete specimens of Aucasaurus, Carnotaurus and Majungasaurus. Some scientists place Abelisaurus as a basal abelisaurid, outside the subfamily Carnotaurinae. Others are less certain of its position.Abelisaurids share some skull features with the unrelated carcharodontosaurids and, since Abelisaurus is known only from a skull, future discoveries may show that this genus was in fact a carcharodontosaurid. However, this is thought unlikely.
The one known fossil skull of Abelisaurus is incomplete, especially on the right side. It is also missing most of the palate (roof of the mouth). Despite the missing pieces, it is over 85 centimeters (33 inches) long. Although there are no bony crests or horns, like those found in some other abelisaurids, such as Carnotaurus, rough ridges on the snout and above the eyes might have supported some kind of crest made out of keratin, which wouldn't have become fossilized. There are also very large fenestrae (window-like openings) in the skull, which are found in many dinosaurs and reduce skull weight
Abelisaurus is one of the many dinosaurs that have been discovered in Patagonia. It was originally described as coming from the Allen Formation but subsequent research proved the remains were actually found in the older Anacleto Formation (part of the Neuquén Group) of Rio Negro Province, Argentina. The Anacleto is a geologic formation in South America, dating from the early Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, between 83 and 80 million years ago.
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Toadally Batrocious Land Invaders (Extinct Amphibians Pack)
By Zarawatto
This pack is a Halloween gift for all of you!
~~ IMPORTANT NOTE!!! ~~
Some animals use message texts and images contained in the following files: Borsato's ui99ztd + LANG--ZBorsato.dll in order to see all animal eras in the purchase menu & description window properly. However, even without them, all files should work right.
If you don't have them and wanna know how it works, you may find it here:
https://zootekphoenix.com/forums/topic/11248-borsato-project/page/21/#comment-317858
~~ Content List ~~
Hynerpeton North America. Aquatic. Devonian.
Ichthyostega North America. Aquatic. Devonian.
Proterogyrinus North America. Coniferous Forest. Carboniferous.
Eryops North America. Coniferous Forest. Carboniferous.
Platyhystrix North America. Desert. Permian.
Diploceraspis North America. Desert. Permian.
Uralerpeton Asia. Desert. Permian.
Prionosuchus South America. Coniferous Forest. Permian.
Gerrothorax Europe. Aquatic. Triassic.
Sclerothorax Europe. Aquatic. Triassic.
Metoposaurus Europe. Aquatic. Triassic.
Anaschisma North America. Aquatic. Triassic.
Antarctosuchus Antarctica. Decidous Forest. Triassic.
Mastodonsaurus Eurasia. Aquatic. Triassic.
Siderops Australia. Rainforest. Jurassic.
Beelzebufo Madagascar. Rainforest. Cretaceous.
*Bonus Items*
Tiktaalik North America. Aquatic. Devonian. Early access animal. First release date: Oct 10th, 2022.
-> Tiktaalik previous version must be erased from your /dlupdate folder before installing this pack <-
Swimming Tadpoles Neutral exhibit & tank placeable scenery item!
-> A .txt file with the credits & a compatibility guide.
Enjoy!
188 downloads
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Irritator by Moondawg
By Guest
Irritator is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in the early Cretaceous Period (Albian stage), around 110 million years ago.
Current estimations indicate a length of 8 meters (26 feet) and a height of 3 meters (9 feet). It was found in Brazil. Irritator was a theropod with an unusually shaped crest at the rear of its head, and probably ate fish.
So far the only fossil that has been found was an 80 centimeter long fossil skull in the Romualdo Member, a layer member of the Brazilian Santana formation. This skull strongly resembles the skulls of Suchomimus and Spinosaurus. The genus is often regarded today as identical (synonymous) with Angaturama, which lived in the same time and the same place as Irritator.
Irritator was first scientifically described in 1996 by paleontologists Martill, Cruikshank, Frey, Small and Clarke. Its only known fossil, an 80cm skull discovered in eastern Brazil, was badly obscured by plaster which was added by the commercial fossil-collecting amateurs who discovered it, and illegally sold it, since the trade of fossils is prohibited by law in Brazil, in hopes of making the fossil look more complete and valuable. It required a great deal of work to reconstruct the original features — hence the name.
It is probably synonymous with Angaturama limai, another spinosaurid from the same time and place, whose remains curiously seem to complete Irritator's skull, meaning that they could belong to the same specimen.
Material of I. challengeri, not counting that of A. limai, hails from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in Brazil. The holotype is SMNS 58022, from the Stuttgart State Museum of the Natural Sciences, and it consists of an incomplete skull, lacking the anterior (front) portion.
The skull was recovered nearly complete and is considered the most complete head find of a Spinosaurid. It is characterized particularly by its unusual length and curved lip region, which is strongly compressed laterally. The overall length of the complete head is estimated at approximately 84 centimeters. It possesses a clear Sagittal crest; such a comb is found also with some other dinosaurs. The teeth exhibit a single embedding of the strongly extended and straight teeth with conical tooth crowns, which indicates a continual tooth change, as new teeth were pushed up between the old ones. The teeth exhibit lengths from 6 to approximately 40 millimeters.
In the year 2004 parts of a spinal column were discovered in the Santana Formation. These have been assigned, due to their structure, to the Spinosauridae. With very high probability these fossils belong to Irritator, since this is the so far the only so far well-known Spinosaurid of the formation.
Sorry I couldn't make the sail smaller so i left it as is :D
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Titanosaurus by Ghirin
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Titanosaurus (“Titanic Lizard”) was the first found of a distinct group of sauropods, the Titanosauria. This group of sauropods lasted from the late Jurassic to the late Cretaceous periods and seems to be indigenous to the southern hemisphere.
Titanosaurus looked similar to the Diplodocidae, having both a long neck and a whip-like tail. However, the skin on its back was studded with small bony plates called osteoderms.
References:
http://dinosauricon.com/genera/titanosaurus.html
Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. Malam and Parker, 2002
Dinosaurs. Parker, 2003
Created by Ghirin, 2004
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Cetiosaurus by Ghirin
By Guest
This therapod had a pair of bony ridges above its eyes and a horn on its snout. These were probably used by males when fighting for a mate.
Ceratosaurus (cera-TO-saur-US ) meaning 'horned lizard', in reference to the horn on its nose (Greek keras/keratos meaning 'horn' and sauros meaning 'lizard'), was a large predatory dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period, found in the Morrison Formation of North America, in Tanzania and Portugal. It was characterized by large jaws with blade-like teeth, a large, blade-like horn on the snout and a pair hornlets over the eyes. The forelimbs were powerfully built but very short. The bones of the sacrum were fused (synsacrum) and the pelvic bones were fused together and to this structure (Sereno 1997) (i.e. similar to modern birds). A row of small osteoderms was present down the middle of the back.
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Steppe Mammoth by Ghirin
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Steppe Mammoth by Ghirin
The steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) lived on the steppes that covered large portions of Eurasia.
This grassland was south of the ice sheets, but was still colder than the steppes of today.
The steppe mammoth may be descended from the ancestral mammoth, Mammathus mridionalis. It gave rise to the woolly mammoth of the late Pleistocene.
*Inspired by the Zoo tycoons brains trust at the Zoo Tek Evolved Forums.*
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Diplodocus by Ghirin
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Diplodocus ("Double Beam") was one of the sauropods found during the North American "Bone Rush" of the late 1800's. At that time, Diplodocus was the longest known dinosaur, though more recently discovered dinosaurs such as Supersaurus are longer. Even with its great length, Diplodocus was relatively light-weight (compared to Barosaurus and Apatosaurus).
Diplodocus' long, sloping skull became the type for a group of dinosaurs with similar skulls (the Diplodocidae). Other important features of Diplodocus include a long tail with a whip-like ending (possibly an anti-predator defense), a long neck, and skid-like projections on the vertebra of the middle tail region.
References:
http://dinosauricon....diplodocus.html
Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. Malam and Parker, 2002
Dinosaurs. Parker, 2003
Created by Ghirin 2004
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Omeisaurus by Ghirin
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Omeisaurus by Ghirin
Description : Omeisaurus ("Mount O-mei Lizard") was a large sauropod from China.
It had a very long neck and some scientists think that it might be related to Mamenchisaurus. Others think that its more closely related to Shunosaurus.
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Huayangosaurus by Ghirin
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Huayangosaurus by Ghirin
The primitive stegosaur Huayangosaurus ("Lizard from Huayang") lived in China during the middle Jurassic period.
Reference:
www.wikipedia.org
*Inspired by the Zoo Tycoon Braind Trust at the Zoo Tek Forums*
Created by Ghirin 2007
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Prosqualodon by Ghirin
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Prosqualodon by Ghirin
Prosqualodon ("Before the Shark-Tooth") was a toothed whale that resembled a modern dolphin in both size and build. It's teeth, however, were more like the ancient shark-toothed whales than the modern toothed whales. It lived during the Oligocene and the Miocene eras.
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Maiasaura by Ghirin
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Maiasaura
Author: Ghirin
http://www.zoo-tek.com/forums/index.php?download=782
Maiasaura ("Good Mother Lizard") formed large nesting colonies of up to 10,000 animals. Young Maiasaurs were cared for in the nest by adults until they were strong enough to follow the herd.
*Inspired by the Zoo Tycoon Brains Trust at the Zoo Tek Evolved Forums.*
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Barosaurus by Ghirin
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Barosaurus (“Heavy Lizard”) was a member of the Diplodocidae and a close relative of both Apatosaurus and Diplododus. This particular family of sauropods was named after the beam-shaped bones in their tails.
Barosaurus fossils have been been found in two locations. It ws first identified in western North America. Recently, Barosaurus fossils have been discovered in Tanzania.
References:
http://dinosauricon.com/genera/barosaurus.html
Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. Malam and Parker, 2002
Dinosaurs. Parker, 2003
Created by Ghirin 2004
254 downloads
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Machairodus Giganteus by Ghirin
By Guest
Machairodus was a genus of large saber-toothed cats found in Eurasia, Africa and North America. These sabertooths thrived over the period covered by the mid-Miocene to the mid-Pliocene (15 to 2 million).
Machairodus giganteus, the size of a modern lion or tiger, was the largest and most specialized member the genus in Eurasia. Its skull was longer and narrower than a modern lion and the teeth had serrations along the edges.; in addition, M. giganteus also had longer legs than some other species of Machairodus. There was a small flange on either side of the chin to provide support for the sabers when the mouth was closed.
It lived in mixed habitats of savannah and broadleaf evergreen trees and might have had a lifestyle similar to that of modern lions. M. giganteus also might have had a tawny brown coat to help it blend in with its surroundings.
Referrences:
Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives by Anton, Clark and Turner, 2000.
Mammoths, Sabertooths and Hominids by Agusti and Anton, 2002.
http://www.bluelion.org/lowgraphmachairodus.htm
Created by Ghirin 2003
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Tarchia by Ghirin
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Tarchia ("Brainy One") was a large ankylosaur from Asia. Its name comes from the size of the brain, which was larger than the brain found is some other ankylosaurs.
References:
www.wikipedia.com
Professor Paul's Nature Encyclopedia at the Zoo Tycoon Evovled Forums.
*Inspired by the Zoo Tycoon Brains Trust*
Created by Ghirin 2006
161 downloads
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Telmatosaurus by Ghirin
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Telmatosaurus ("Marsh Lizard") was one of two hadrosaur species found in Europe. Since at the time of this dinosaur Europe was composed of islands, Telmatosaurus's size may be a form of dwarfism.
Reference:
Professor Paul's Nature Encyclopedia (Zoo Tek Evolved Forums)
Illustrated Encylopedia of Dinosaurs. Dougal Dixon 2006
*Inspired by the Zoo Tycoon Brain Trust at the Zoo Tek Evovled Forums
Created by Ghirin 2006
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Ivory Velociraptor by Ghirin
By Guest
The ivory velociraptor is a leucistic version of the velociraptor. While leucistic animals are light-colored, often white, they are not albinos. Albinism is defined as a defect in the production of the pigment melanin. Albino mammals usually have white fur because they only use melanin as a pigment. Other animals such as reptiles and amphibians have additional sources of pigmentation such as carotenoids (reds, oranges, yellows) and structures that reflect light (iridophores), producing greens and blues; thus, albino reptiles are often brightly colored with reds and yellows.
In extant reptiles and amphibians, there is an absence of cells that produce both melanin and carotenoids, and only a few iridophores are present. The result is white skin. Unlike albinism, color cannot be restored by the transplantation of normal chromoblastic cells and thus seems to be related to a defect in the skin itself. This condition appears to be limited to the skin because leucistic animals often have pigmented eyes, although the irises may be blue instead of the normal brown or black.
It is very likely that leucistic individuals occurred among dinosaurs, just as they do among modern animals; however, such individuals would have a major disadvantage compared to their normally colored fellows because they would stand out and be more likely to fall to predators. Just like leucistic animals today, the ivory velociraptor would have a higher survival rate in captivity than in the wild.
References:
Designer Reptiles and Amphibians. R.D. Bartlett and Patricia Bartlett, 2001.
Reptile and Amphibian Variants: Colors, Patterns, and Scales. H. Bernard Bechtel, 1995.
The Corn Snake Manual. Bill Love and Kathy Love, 2000.
Sites of Interest:
http://www.caudata.org/axolotl/genetics.htm
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/204/12/12/e
http://www.vmsherp.com/LCChromatophores.htm
http://www.herpbooks.com/care2/phen.html
http://www.cornsnakemorphs.com/genetics.html
Created by Ghirin 2003
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Mokele Mbembe by Ghirin
By Guest
Mokele-mbembe, a name that means "One who stops the flow of rivers", is a legendary animal from the Likouala swamp region of the Central African Republic. It is usually described as having a small head on a long neck, a long, tail, rounded feet with three claws on each foot, and to be intermediate in size between an elephant and a hippopatamus The skin is hairless and reddish brown in color.
Mokele-mbembe is said to live in the pools and wetlands near rivers. It is herbivorous, prefering the malambo plant (Landolphia sp.). The animal is reported to spend most of its time in the water, only coming onto dry land to feed.
Some cryptozoologists believe that Mokele-mbembe is a surviving population of sauropod dinosaurs from the Mesozoic era. Many reports of the creature have come from the Congo region and several expeditions have been organized, but no actual specimenes, living or dead have been recovered for scientific study.
*Inspired by the Zoo Tycoon Brains Trust at the Zoo Tek Forums.
References:
http://www.mokelembembe.com/
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/7270/mokele.html
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/mokele.html
http://www.occultopedia.com/m/mokele_mbembe.htm
Created by Ghirin 2004
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Desert Velociraptor by Ghirin
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Desert Velociraptor
Author: Ghirin
During the late Cretaceous Period, the area now known as the Gobi Desert had a semi-arid climate. The fossils of many species of dinosaurs have been found there, such as Protoceratops, Oviraptor, and Velociraptor.
Velociraptor was a fierce predator that might have lived in hunting packs. A fossil of a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops locked in battle indicates that this therapod was a predator of Protoceratops.
Reference:
Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. Malam and Parker, 2003
Created by Ghirin 2004
443 downloads
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Attenborosaurusby Ghirin
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Attenborosaurus
Author: Ghirin
The genus Attenborosaurus was named in honor of British naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Its fossils were found in Europe and were originally classified as a species of Plesiosaurus.
Attenborosaurus is fully compatible with Cryptocleidus.
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