I love whatever’s wrong with them
#mirasaura #longisquama #hypuronector #drepanosaurus #paleoart

Third and most recent skeletal reconstruction, without scale or inset, of a reconstructed head after Mirasaura grauvogeli. Body is now longer and more drepanosaur-like.

Oh, but this wasn't enough.

A new paper by Spiekman et al. now propose Longisquama is a drepanosauromorph --or simiosaur, whatever -- and this comes it more peculiarites. It makes other things MAKE SENSE, too. Those RIBS.

#drepanosaurs #sciart #skeletal_reconstruction #longisquama #mirasaura

Same skeleton, better rendered, with smaller gray insert showing the shapes, but not the correct SIZE, of the midline dermal "appendages." It's also correctly sprawling.

The second came shortly after the publication of Buchwitz and Voigt in 2012 who described all the impressions of these peculiar midline dermal appendages.

This one's a lot better, and it fixes some issues with the first.

#drepanosaurs #sciart #skeletal_reconstruction #longisquama #mirasaura

Skeletal reconstruction of the small saurian Longisquama insignis, with a smaller version showing the size and extent of impressions of midline dermal "appendages," likened to "plumes."

It occurred to me to update my Longisquama skeletal reconstruction with recent findings of close relation to drepanosaurs.

The first one was dozens ans dozens of years ago, rendered from bad photographs. It's really bad.

#drepanosaurs #sciart #skeletal_reconstruction #longisquama #mirasaura

Life reconstruction in pastellish greens of Mirasaura grauvogeli, a longisquamid drepanosauromorph archosaur. Top left, dorsal view with midline scales shown in contrast, and the text: "Overlap in scales suggest either paramedian or staggered feather-like structures." To the middle right, the text: "midline scales are the same basal width, but grow wider distally, overlapping their neighbors." [Distally means towards the far end.] A side-vew of the same animal with its head raised follows in the lower half of the image, facing right, squatting on its hips with is shoulders raised up along with its head. The feather-like midline scales are labeled, L for Left and R for Right, alternating. The left ar bottom right reads: "instead of alternating paramedian scales, they may be staggered, left and right" At bottommost right, my imprint. A watermark is present (faint, as it should be).

More on #Mirasaura grauvagoli, a small drepanosauromorphan from the Middle Trias of France, a close relative of #Longisquama, #Megalancosaurus.

Questions arise about the nature and arrangement of the midline scales, if they're midline or paramedian.

This is my suggestion, hardly a proof. #SciArt

Triassic diapsid shows early diversification of skin appendages in reptiles - Nature A Middle Triassic diapsid is presented that has a distinctive crest consisting of integumentary appendages that are structurally distinct from avemetatarsalian feathers.

Hello to a new #Triassic reptile with similarities to 'plumed' #Longisquama: Mirasaura grauvogeli Spiekman et al., 2025. Paper is #OA and in @nature.com. Both animals are drepanosauromorphs, an increasingly special and remarkable group! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #fossils #evolution #reptiles

#Mirasaura and #Longisquama are #drepanosaurs. These tree-living specialists have bird-like skulls, prehensile tails, and grasping limbs. A typical Triassic weirdo, they perhaps vaguely resembled a pygmy anteater.

But it's fair to say, we just made drepanosaurs even weirder!

Image credit: Hans Sues

Image credit: Hans Sues

Mirasaura is similar to #Longisquama, a controversial Triassic reptile described in the 70s. Longisquama remained a mystery due to its poor preservation and it was used as an alternate bird "ancestor". With Mirasaura, we can now also finally put the Longisquama debate to rest.

Given the wait to see a Longisquama was too long, David fell asleep on a tree. To his luck, as soon as he takes a nap, the lizard comes to feast, and Louise and Frida get to capture it on camera

#HildaTheSeries #hildafanart #davidhilda #fridahilda #louisehilda #Longisquama