Metazoica

As a mammal paleontology enthusiast, I have come across numerous reconstructions of prehistoric mammals. However, one particular group is always reconstructed the same way. The ground sloths are always portrayed as omnivorous opportunists, feeding on leaves and plant matter, but also eating meat and carrion as well. The entire idea that ground sloths could have eaten meat comes from a single paper entitled “ Megatherium , the stabber”. In it, the scientists suggest that Megatherium and its ground sloth kin were carnivorous superpredators, on the sole basis that the muscles of Megatherium were strongly anchored, and could thus move fast. This claim is rather dumb. While being able to move an react fast does mean Megatherium was bad-ass, it doesn’t make it a carnivore. We know that ground sloths were more energetic than their slow, tree-climbing kin today, so it makes sense that they could react and move faster. In short, if you tick a Megatherium or an Eremotherium off, it will take y...

Not to take away from Metazoica, but this is something that has been annoying me for a while. Since the beginning of the 21st century (give or take a few months or years), we have known that all maniraptoran dinosaurs were covered in feathers, whether it be the fluffy down of Sinosauropteryx or the surprisingly bird-like plumage of the dromaeosaurs. So, everyone started to draw their dinos with feathers, feathered theriznosaurs, feathered tyrannosaurs (though there is a whole other pet peeve associated with this), feathered raptors, etc. Except one group. Ornithomimids. Despite the fact that every other member of their clade was fluffy, paleontologists insist on drawing their ornithomimids smooth-skinned and naked. I can understand because at first Pelicanimimus , the only member of the clade with skin impressions, was thought to be smooth skinned, but when dinosaurs like Shenzousaurus were discovered, it was now known that these dinosaurs too were fluffy. So why hasn't paleoart c...