Ausarchosaur
@ausarchosaur.bsky.social
Biology MD+BSc (thesis still in progress). Vertebrate zoo/paleontology; tad obsessed w/ predation/combat/biomechanics. Also TF, DBZ, ATLA
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I'm a biology Master's student with a Bachelor's degree in biology. I post about animals, alive and extinct, and the insane, often obscure things about them. If that interests you, feel free to follow.
I'm a biology Master's student with a Bachelor's degree in biology. I post about animals, alive and extinct, and the insane, often obscure things about them. If that interests you, feel free to follow.
Really hope I can send out my thesis to my committee members two weeks before presentation like one of them said. Which translates to this Friday.
February 18, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Really hope I can send out my thesis to my committee members two weeks before presentation like one of them said. Which translates to this Friday.
An actual extant analogy to this particular killing method are jaguars biting through the skulls of even large game like tapirs and cattle. Crocodiles can also rip off the faces of ungulates with their death rolls, and ora can apparently break prey’s necks via shaking.
February 18, 2026 at 5:01 PM
An actual extant analogy to this particular killing method are jaguars biting through the skulls of even large game like tapirs and cattle. Crocodiles can also rip off the faces of ungulates with their death rolls, and ora can apparently break prey’s necks via shaking.
Sounds like a band name
February 18, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Sounds like a band name
Made a couple low effort pics using photos I took of them, removing the backgrounds, and pasting them in front of a free stock deep ocean image.
February 18, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Made a couple low effort pics using photos I took of them, removing the backgrounds, and pasting them in front of a free stock deep ocean image.
The Edmontosaurus skull paper's timing is funny b/c the past few days I've been thinking about how the extreme bite force of tyrannosaurids was probably primarily for killing large prey. Bone crushing was a real, but not required, aspect of their feeding biology.
February 18, 2026 at 1:41 AM
The Edmontosaurus skull paper's timing is funny b/c the past few days I've been thinking about how the extreme bite force of tyrannosaurids was probably primarily for killing large prey. Bone crushing was a real, but not required, aspect of their feeding biology.
Well, ended up getting these today. My first toy of megalodon and a toy of Mosasaurus. Both from Schleich.
February 17, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Well, ended up getting these today. My first toy of megalodon and a toy of Mosasaurus. Both from Schleich.
Probable evidence of *successful* predation by a non-avian theropod. Lucky day for paleontologists and enthusiasts!
peerj.com/articles/207...
peerj.com/articles/207...
Behavioral implications of an embedded tyrannosaurid tooth and associated tooth marks on an articulated skull of Edmontosaurus from the Hell Creek Formation, Montana
Because teeth can be taxonomically distinct, particularly for non-mammalian carnivores such as non-avian dinosaurs, teeth that have broken off in the bone of another animal during feeding, predation o...
peerj.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Probable evidence of *successful* predation by a non-avian theropod. Lucky day for paleontologists and enthusiasts!
peerj.com/articles/207...
peerj.com/articles/207...
A new tiny basal Sauropodomorpha (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Santa Maria Supersequence, Upper Triassic of southern Brazil
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A new tiny basal Sauropodomorpha (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Santa Maria Supersequence, Upper Triassic of southern Brazil
The Upper Triassic outcrops of Brazil and Argentina have provided important information on the earliest stages of the dinosaur radiation. Dinosaurian …
www.sciencedirect.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:06 PM
A new tiny basal Sauropodomorpha (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Santa Maria Supersequence, Upper Triassic of southern Brazil
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Me on my work days: “I’m going to the fossil museum I’ve never been to next chance I get!!”
Me on my days off: “Ehhh…I’ll put it off for next week”
Me on my days off: “Ehhh…I’ll put it off for next week”
February 17, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Me on my work days: “I’m going to the fossil museum I’ve never been to next chance I get!!”
Me on my days off: “Ehhh…I’ll put it off for next week”
Me on my days off: “Ehhh…I’ll put it off for next week”
I LOVE LOOKING AT HISTORICALLY INFORMED RECONSTRUCTIONS OF WARRIORS!!!
I LOVE LOOKING AT VARIATION IN WEAPONS AND ARMOR OR LACK THEREOF BASED ON EVIDENCE NEXT TO REALISTIC LOOKING PEOPLE, WITHOUT FANTASY EMBELLISHMENTS!!!!!!
I LOVE LOOKING AT VARIATION IN WEAPONS AND ARMOR OR LACK THEREOF BASED ON EVIDENCE NEXT TO REALISTIC LOOKING PEOPLE, WITHOUT FANTASY EMBELLISHMENTS!!!!!!
February 17, 2026 at 1:56 AM
I LOVE LOOKING AT HISTORICALLY INFORMED RECONSTRUCTIONS OF WARRIORS!!!
I LOVE LOOKING AT VARIATION IN WEAPONS AND ARMOR OR LACK THEREOF BASED ON EVIDENCE NEXT TO REALISTIC LOOKING PEOPLE, WITHOUT FANTASY EMBELLISHMENTS!!!!!!
I LOVE LOOKING AT VARIATION IN WEAPONS AND ARMOR OR LACK THEREOF BASED ON EVIDENCE NEXT TO REALISTIC LOOKING PEOPLE, WITHOUT FANTASY EMBELLISHMENTS!!!!!!
So I put my Apple Watch in my sweater pocket for the last hour. I forgot about it, but the noise for when you meet a fitness goal for the day literally just went off, even though I wasn’t wearing it.
Lol
Lol
February 17, 2026 at 12:38 AM
So I put my Apple Watch in my sweater pocket for the last hour. I forgot about it, but the noise for when you meet a fitness goal for the day literally just went off, even though I wasn’t wearing it.
Lol
Lol
Quick Primal S3 prediction:
February 17, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Quick Primal S3 prediction:
I was talking about this with some other guys the other day. I think the best evidence for stuff like Allosaurus hunting sauropods is still anatomical evidence, and that should be enough. We lack hard evidence for it preying on large sauropods but like…it most certainly did.
February 16, 2026 at 6:57 PM
I was talking about this with some other guys the other day. I think the best evidence for stuff like Allosaurus hunting sauropods is still anatomical evidence, and that should be enough. We lack hard evidence for it preying on large sauropods but like…it most certainly did.
So I was curious about this weapon for a while. Turns out it’s a ringed staff carried by Buddhist monks in East Asia. Surprisingly and apparently, it really WAS adapted as a weapon. My impression is that the metal rings would deliver blunt trauma.
February 16, 2026 at 12:37 PM
So I was curious about this weapon for a while. Turns out it’s a ringed staff carried by Buddhist monks in East Asia. Surprisingly and apparently, it really WAS adapted as a weapon. My impression is that the metal rings would deliver blunt trauma.
How many times could I talk about fossil predator predation (especially theropods, but other creatures too) before you folks get sick of it?
February 15, 2026 at 11:28 PM
How many times could I talk about fossil predator predation (especially theropods, but other creatures too) before you folks get sick of it?
If I ever saw this promo image for The Ballad of Big Al, I forgot it ever existed until now
February 15, 2026 at 10:13 PM
If I ever saw this promo image for The Ballad of Big Al, I forgot it ever existed until now
Was looking at an old study on lion prey preferences. The most interesting part of it IMO was reading how certain prey can be preferred for completely different reasons from others, or can be preferred even when not expected to.
February 15, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Was looking at an old study on lion prey preferences. The most interesting part of it IMO was reading how certain prey can be preferred for completely different reasons from others, or can be preferred even when not expected to.
It’s apparently World Whale Day, so I introduce you to the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise. Supposedly, it can click up to 200 times/second to find prey in murky waters. There are other species of finless porpoise in the same genus, but all are threatened.
February 15, 2026 at 1:54 PM
It’s apparently World Whale Day, so I introduce you to the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise. Supposedly, it can click up to 200 times/second to find prey in murky waters. There are other species of finless porpoise in the same genus, but all are threatened.
The Wikipedia page for the bullet ant claims that it is a predator of the glasswing butterfly, but cites no source. I haven’t been able to find one to confirm either. Can anyone help?
February 15, 2026 at 11:32 AM
The Wikipedia page for the bullet ant claims that it is a predator of the glasswing butterfly, but cites no source. I haven’t been able to find one to confirm either. Can anyone help?
Speaking of Marshosaurus, as I googled it the other day, I found a reconstruction of it that actually looks…pretty good?
February 14, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Speaking of Marshosaurus, as I googled it the other day, I found a reconstruction of it that actually looks…pretty good?
Couple random Grévy’s zebra facts:
- Their braying sounds have been compared to a hippo’s grunt combined with a donkey’s wheeze (I played the audio file screenshotted here, it’s true)
- A lion died of its wounds after killing a male Grévy’s zebra
- Their braying sounds have been compared to a hippo’s grunt combined with a donkey’s wheeze (I played the audio file screenshotted here, it’s true)
- A lion died of its wounds after killing a male Grévy’s zebra
February 14, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Couple random Grévy’s zebra facts:
- Their braying sounds have been compared to a hippo’s grunt combined with a donkey’s wheeze (I played the audio file screenshotted here, it’s true)
- A lion died of its wounds after killing a male Grévy’s zebra
- Their braying sounds have been compared to a hippo’s grunt combined with a donkey’s wheeze (I played the audio file screenshotted here, it’s true)
- A lion died of its wounds after killing a male Grévy’s zebra
Sunfish are capable of burst speeds of up to 6.6 m/s (almost 15 mph).
February 14, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Sunfish are capable of burst speeds of up to 6.6 m/s (almost 15 mph).
Now I kind of want to write a short story where some Permian predator (gorgonopsid?) ends up being transported millions of years into the Triassic, and it's like
February 13, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Now I kind of want to write a short story where some Permian predator (gorgonopsid?) ends up being transported millions of years into the Triassic, and it's like
Although its teeth weren’t especially long, Marshosaurus had thinner, more blade-like teeth than machairodonts and even Ceratosaurus. It was far from the biggest predator of the Morrison, but a bite from its mouth would bleed its prey dry.
February 13, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Although its teeth weren’t especially long, Marshosaurus had thinner, more blade-like teeth than machairodonts and even Ceratosaurus. It was far from the biggest predator of the Morrison, but a bite from its mouth would bleed its prey dry.
“I’m gonna peacefully stand here and support my belief that the government can violently attack and kill its own citizens”
February 13, 2026 at 7:38 PM
“I’m gonna peacefully stand here and support my belief that the government can violently attack and kill its own citizens”