tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post2740909541159893772..comments2024-03-23T12:02:36.626-07:00Comments on Mark P. Witton's Blog: Walking with ichthyosaurs: the amphibious ichthyosaur hypothesisMark Wittonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-56246374956817878452017-04-28T09:42:10.451-07:002017-04-28T09:42:10.451-07:00Excellent article, really expands the context of h...Excellent article, really expands the context of how we think of these weird guys. Towards the end of the article I couldn't help but think of the epaulette shark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaulette_shark which has a unique niche of hauling itself over exposed corals at the ebbing tide to hunt in tidal pools. In doing so it can exploit such pools without competition from other fish that have to retreat at low tide. It also can expand it's buccal cavity to suck in small prey (mainly invertebrates), is of a similar size, and is tolerant of low oxygen.Duane Nashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14467779935085970909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-71396101636339690322017-04-27T23:46:02.286-07:002017-04-27T23:46:02.286-07:00I agree on the distinct liklihood of Sclerocormus ...I agree on the distinct liklihood of Sclerocormus just being an adult Cartorhynchus. So often this happens where a supposed new radiation is all found in the same formation, so conveniently- 'sapeornithids', pengornithids, the Archaeopteryx and Microraptor complexes.<br /><br />However, your statement that "This surrounds Cartorhynchus with lineages that had taken to water in a significant way and we should conclude that any amphibious adaptations of Cartorhynchus do not represent an ichthyosaurian invasion of the sea, but ichthyosaurs returning to land" is incorrect. If we assume the topology you and Naish describe is correct, then it takes just as many steps (2) to get a secondarily amphibious Nasorostra as it does to have huphehsuchians and ichthyosaurs convergently evolve to be fully aquatic from an amphibious ancestor.<br /><br />Great drawing, btw. Reminds me of a ratfish.Mickey Mortimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08831823442911513851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-19541274047932482782017-04-27T13:54:26.637-07:002017-04-27T13:54:26.637-07:00Wonderful post! I've been interested in the po...Wonderful post! I've been interested in the possible life appearance of these snub-nosed critters since they were first described. I also wonder if Sclerocormus is simply an adult Cartorhynchus. It would be unusual to see two virtually identical taxa in the same place at the same time. On the other hand, hupehsuchians are all from pretty much the same place at the same time and they're surprisingly diverse.<br /><br />Speaking of, I would love to see your take on Hupehsuchus or Nanchangosaurus. In the meantime, I'll toot my own horn here and link to my own two-part blog post on those bizarre critters, one of which features a life restoration by Ethan Kocak!<br /><br />http://waxing-paleontological.blogspot.com/2015/03/hupehsuchians-primer.html<br />and<br />http://waxing-paleontological.blogspot.com/2016/07/hupehsuchians-2-return.html<br /><br />I'd like to see that polydactylous hupehsuchian described at some point.<br />Zachary Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05035947146927565746noreply@blogger.com