Wukongopterus lii was a pterosaur that lived during the mid-to-late Jurassic, about 164 million years ago, in what is now northeastern China. It was fairly small, with a wingspan of around 70cm (~2'4"), and showed a mixture of anatomical features in-between the long-tailed short-headed 'rhamphorhynchoids' and the short-tailed long-headed pterodactyloids.

Its long jaws were lined with tiny pointed conical teeth, suggesting it was adapted for primarily feeding on insects. It also had a very slight overbite, with the first two pairs of teeth in its upper jaw protruding almost vertically over the end of its lower jaw.

As a fully mature adult it would have had a low bony crest on its head that probably supported a larger keratinous structure – similar to other known wukongopterids – although the exact size and shape is unknown since the one confirmed specimen of Wukongopterus is missing that particular part of its skull. Another fossil nicknamed "Ian" may represent a second individual of this species, showing a different crest arrangement further forward on its snout, so I've made two different versions of today's image to reflect that possibility.

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References:

Cheng, Xin, et al. "New information on the Wukongopteridae (Pterosauria) revealed by a new specimen from the Jurassic of China." PeerJ 4 (2016): e2177. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2177/supp-1

Garland, Nick. “Ian the Wukongopterid.” Pteros, https://www.pteros.com/pterosaurs/ian-the-wukongopterid.html

Wang, Xiaolin, et al. "An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China." Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 81 (2009): 793-812. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0001-37652009000400016

Wikipedia contributors. “Wukongopterus.” Wikipedia, 8 Dec. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wukongopterus

XuanYu Zhou 周炫宇. Anatomy, Systematics and Paleopathology of Pterosaurs: insights based on new specimens from China. 2023. Hokkaido University, PhD thesis. https://doi.org/10.14943/doctoral.k1560

Some little guys

#Archovember Day 18 - Cascocauda rong

The Anurognathids of the Jurassic and Cretaceous were highly derived pterosaurs that filled a similar niche to bats. They were nocturnal or crepuscular, insectivorous (though some larger species may have eaten fish as well), arboreal, and had short tails. However, Cascocauda rong of Middle - Late Jurassic China was an exception to the short tail rule. It’s tail was longer than other known anurognathids, earning it a name meaning “fluffy ancient tail.” But more importantly, Cascocauda provides us evidence of the complexity of pycnofibers in pterosaurs. Long thought to be simple and furlike, pterosaur pycnofibers were thought to be unique structures that evolved independently from feathers. However, Cascocauda had an array of different pycnofiber shapes and structures, one of them being similar to downy feathers with frayed ends. This further strengthens the hypothesis that feathers evolved before dinosaurs and pterosaurs even split into two different clades. Also, infrared spectral analysis was used on these pycnofibers, showing they had a similar absorption spectra to red human hair, making Cascocauda one of the only pterosaurs for which we know its coloration!

Found in the Tiaojishan Formation, Cascocauda rong would have lived with other anurognathids like Jeholopterus, Sinomacrops, and the tiny Luopterus. A wealth of other types of pterosaurs existed here as well, such as Darwinopterus, Kunpengopterus, Archaeoistiodactylus, Pterorhynchus, Wukongopterus, Daohugoupterus, Douzhanopterus, Fenghuangopterus, Jianchangnathus, Jianchangopterus, Qinglongopterus, and Liaodactylus. Dinosaurs lived here too, including the famously colored Anchiornis and other Anchiornithids like Aurornis, Caihong, Eosinopteryx, Pedopenna, Serikornis, and Xiaotingia, as well as the bizarrely bat-winged Scansoriopterygids Epidexipteryx, Scansoriopteryx, and Yi, and the quilled heterodontosaur Tianyulong. Arboreal cynodonts like Agilodocodon, Juramaia, Maiopatagium, Arboroharamiya, Volaticotherium, Vilevolodon, and Xianshou would have shared the trees with Cascocauda rong, adding to the busy, fluffy, feathery nature of this ancient forest.

I thought you might think this is neat: we started having our cats play before they get any food at all and it's pretty much eliminated one cats yelling for food each morning like he used to. The other will follow you around the apartment dragging a toy close to mealtime which is adorable and hilarious.

Awesome job! Not only are you doing a great job problem solving with a less than desirable behavior (the cat yelling), but you’re also incorporating the cat’s natural desire to eat after they’ve hunted something. A cat is going to get much more enrichment and enjoyment out of playtime if they’re rewarded with food! Amazing work!

Some crazy mashup between FGO and paleoart 1. Gilgamesh with Anzu 2. Caster Gilgamesh with Simurghia 3. Ozymandias with Alanqa 4. Minamoto no Raikou with Chupkaornis 5. Xuanzang with Archaeoindris and Wukongopterus

Something I noticed with all the people that don't like writscrib is this hilarious pseudo-intellectual crap they keep pulling in the messages. Like "i don't think writscrib will succeed because of the [sixteen big words that don't make sense on that order] and also something about being wary :/" like why do people want to be negative so bad

Yeah I noticed this too and one of the best things about all this is watching pretentious contrarians talk about things they know nothing about.

@wukongopterus Sadly no, I'll try to get one tomorrow though! For now, here is a picture of a homing pigeon's wing with the blue high lighted area where it would be solid black on Rex on top of her wings. It's called a "shield" marking :)

Hi hi did you know there's a dinosaur that after wukong it's called Wukongopterus there actually really cute

Sorry this was random

THERE IS!?!?!

Have you ever been to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, KS? It usually seems to rank top 20 in "best zoos" lists and number of species (it's absolutely huge zoo for the size of the city it's in).

Nope, sorry! I don’t make it out into the middle of the continent as much as I’d like. Kansas has a really large number of zoos so I’m hoping to hit it up someday, but trips require the cash monies. 

Updated my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NightmareFuelStation

Is it a problem for cats to hiss while playing with another cat? As far as I can tell, my cats appear to be playing: they take turns chasing each other and pouncing on each other. But often when they're wrestling the smaller female will pin back her ears and hiss at the male. He stops and avoids looking at her and after a small break he tries to wrestle again and she'll break away and then shortly after pounce/chase him again. Is it something I should worry about or is it an "ouch stop that!"?

Great question! Sometimes cats get a little wound up while playing and tend to go harder than the other cat is willing to handle. It sounds like your male cat, while he’s pushing the female cat’s boundaries, is more than willing to listen to the female’s cues, which is a good sign. This is a pretty typical exchange, and while being pushed to hissing is never great, the male seems to take the hint and back off and give the female the space she needs.That being said, while it’s a good thing nobody’s getting hurt in this exchange, there are some things you can do to try and encourage the male to take out his play aggression elsewhere. If you find the two of them playing, try and encourage the male to chase after a toy, or a wand, or whatever his favorite may be. This will give the female a little bit of a break, and it may also turn her attention onto a toy as well. If the female starts playing, involve another toy or two to give them some hunting options so they’re not competing for the same prey. It may just be a few minutes to break up their play with each other, but they may be more willing to get that energy out directed at toys, which in general shouldn’t lead to this hissing issue. If you notice the female pushing him back after getting to that hissing point, you can still try to distract him with a toy, but in general I prefer distraction before an issue arises.Consider your vertical space, too. Is the female backed into a corner when she hisses? I know for me, when our cats play in a certain room in the house, their anxiety can get a little high (same, though), since there’s only one way in and out of the room, and that comes out while they’re playing. It may not result in a fight, but it might be something that your female is concerned about, so she vocalizes her displeasure. Just try some gentle distracting for the male like I suggested, and give their play area a once-over to make sure that the female has more than one way out of a stressful situation should the need arise. The good news is that your female is being very generous in her warnings, ears back and hissing (willing to bet her eyes are also slits, swishing tail perhaps?) And the even better news is that your male cat is taking these cues the right way and giving the female the space she needs in that moment. 

In general I just say keep an eye out. If there was fighting it would be an entirely different story. It just sounds like your male is getting really excited and really enjoys playing, but maybe not at the same level as your female. Occasional hissing is pretty normal, and hissing really is just a verbal warning to go along with their more obvious body language. It’s when one cat skips that level of warning and goes right to fighting, OR when the other cat ignores their cues, that’s when we have a real big problem.

I hope this helps!

I noticed that physical affection seems to be really strongly linked with playing with my cats. My two cats will groom and lie next to each other, purring, and it very easily turns into a play session. The younger one seems to carry this over to people where she'll be purring her heart out as you pet her, flip over and gently grab your hand and bunny kick, before lying down and wanting more pets. The older one doesn't do that. Is that something that's generally true or is my girl a weirdo?

This is pretty standard, so don’t worry! While not all cats exhibit this kind of behavior, it’s far from weird or unusual. Petting and affection can stimulate the cat in such a way that sort of causes them to have a burst of energy. While petting the head or neck area will usually result in little to no excess energy, full body-petting can stimulate areas of the cat that will encourage them to want to work off that energy.

Part of a cat’s major sensory intake is through their fur and skin. So this sort of extra energy can come about whether they’re being pet by a human, or cuddling and sleeping with a sibling or another friendly cat. Even with other animals!

The only thing that’s really of concern here would be your cat playing with your hand. As per usual, if you see the cat starting to get playful during petting, try and attract her attention to a toy, so she doesn’t grow used to using your hand as a kick-toy! It may not be hurtful, and she may have excellent claw control, so as not to hurt you, but I always make this the case just to err on the side of caution. It only takes one rough play session to scratch or bite you too deep! 

Teach your cat that hands are ONLY for petting. If she wants to play while being pet, that’s fine! But she needs to know to focus that energy on a toy, or something that she otherwise won’t hurt. You never know, she may even start bringing you a toy when she seeks affection!

I decided to make more you’re welcome 

Please credit: 

Bear Dromornis by @drawingwithdinosaurs  Diamoric Savannasaurus by @quetzalcuetzpalin 

Androgyne Scansoriopteryx by @wukongopterus Transmasculine/Trans Man Dilophosaurus by @saint-nevermore 

Questioning Chasmosaurus by @artisticthingem  Sapphic Sarmientosaurus by @thewoodparable 

Polygender Tylocephale by @quetzalcuetzpalin  Achillean Masiakasaurus by @thewoodparable 

Transfeminine/Trans Woman Borealopelta by @hauntedmech  Polyamorous Shanweiniao by @drawingwithdinosaurs