Two Mythical Creatures

A Medieval Dragon

A dragon is possibly an animal that came to be in our minds as the human race...when dinosaur and / or Pterosaur fossilized skeletons were found by Man in ancient civilizations.  One theory that is had...IF dragons had been real...is that they had bodies filled with lighter than air gas, like Hydrogen or Methane.  First you need to understand that the amu is the atomic mass units in an atom or a molecule.  Each neutron or proton in the nucleus of an atom has a mass of 1 amu.  Hydrogen is the smallest atom and a Hydrogen molecule has an atomic weight of only 2 amu.  That makes Hydrogen gas the least dense of any substance found in the Universe.  The atomic weight of Methane is 16.  Air has an atomic weight of around 28-29 amu.  So, since air is way more dense than Hydrogen or Methane then perhaps dragons (if they were real) would have been able to fly because the gas made them much less dense . . . or lighter than air.  The gas would have to be methane or hydrogen because of course dragons could shoot fire.  So the gas has to be hydrogen or methane because they can burn.  A dragon full of Helium would be able to fly, but not shoot fire.

Land Iguana in Mexico

The closest thing I've seen to a dragon would probably be Marine Iguanas in the Galapagos and Land Iguanas in Ecuador, the Galapagos, and Mexico.  They can get over 4 feet long!  I don't think that they fly or breathe fire though.  I took this photo.

Unicorn being friends with a Squirrel

Unicorns are reported to be very magical and that magic is always good magic...light magic etc.  There is no such thing as a bad unicorn.  They are always depicted as kind and good.  So I could see them being friends with other magical creatures..as well as non-magical creatures like squirrels.

Unicorn Drawing with Pastel Chalk

The closest thing I've seen to a real unicorn is a horse, specifically my neice's horse that I drew and turned into a Unicorn in the drawing.  It's a non-traditional unicorn...it is not white.

All images in this post and all posts on my blog to this point are 

Copyright Robin Andrew Lyman 2005-2017. 

Short Eared Owl from the Galapagos Islands

Short Eared Owl 

There is a specific sub-species of Short Eared Owl that live in the Galapagos Islands.  They are found on many of the islands.  They hunt smaller birds.  The island they live on has lots of volcanic caves that are all over the lava field.  OK, I admit, it is a cooled lava field so it is made up of Basalt.  The short eared owls will sneak into a cave where one of the prey birds live and when that bird comes home it gets grabbed, killed and eaten.  These owls sneak around like a cat when they are hunting.  As frequently happens on islands, the limited food supply leads to the Galapagos Short Eared Owl to be smaller than its mainland cousins.  The Basalt on the islands is oxidized to be a brown color and the owl's brown spotted feathers are perfect camouflage.  So if you color this drawing...the rocks and the owl are brown,and tan, but not black.  When lava first cools it IS black, but it oxidizes in the rain and sun and turns brown.  

The sub-species of the Galapagos Short Eared Owl has the scientific name of :  

 Asio flammeus galapagoensis.

Torvosaurusvs Allosaurus & Rhamphorhyncus

Torvosaurus with Rhamphorhynchus

Torvosaurus is a type of Allosaur that was REALLY big.  Don't get confused.  A Torvosaurus is possibly a type of Allosaur, but it was NOT Allosaurus.  Torvosaurus had a much bigger skull and larger overall size compared to the Allosaurus. They lived in the Late Jurassic Period, at the same time, however the widely known Allosaurs was clearly not the top predator in this ancient ecosystem.  There are few remains of Torvosaurus, compared to many skeletons of Allosaurus.  There are some main differences in the two Theropod dinosuars.  Torvosaurus had a heavier overall or more robust build.  That makes Allosaurs more gracile. Robust means big or hefty, while gracile means lightly built or thinner.  The many specimens found of Allosaurus (over 40) while only a few Torvosaurs are known....they have been found in Portugal and in the Western US near the Utah/Colorado border.

Both animals were around 40 ft (12 m) long at the biggest, but agian, Torvosaurus was much more robust.  Both had the "S-curve" neck but the head of the Torvosaurus was huge, more like a Tyrannosaurus rex head.  (Remember that T. rex lived millions of years later, in the Cretaceous Period.)  So T. rex never fought with a Torvosaursus or an Allosaurus.

For years the overall length of Torvosaurus was thought to be 33 feet ( 10 m) ...that changed recently with the find of a new skeleton of Torvosaur in Colorado, near the Utah border...in fact near Dinosaur National Monument.  This new find is estimated to be 40+ (12 m+) feet long.   It clearly was the top predator of the Late Jurassic.  A very large Torvosaurus was found in Wyaoming as well...found by Robert Bakker the famous paleontologist.

Torvosaurus had short but powerful arms.  They were NOT tiny like T. rex arms.  These arms were functional with very large claws for grasping and/or killing prey.  The upper arm bone or humerus was much shorter than the forearm bones or radius and ulna bones.

Torvosaurus vs Allosaurus

It is clear that in a confrontation or fight that if the Allosaurus did not back down then the Torvosaurus would have lunch.  Lunch being the Allosaurus.  Of course, there is significant evidence that Theropods hunted in packs.  If a sole Torvosaurus went up against a pack of Allosaurus then that might have a different outcome...and the Allosaurus pack would have lunch.

A large skeleton of Torvosaurs can been seen in the entryway of the Museum of Ancient Life located in Lehi, Utah...at Thanksgiving Point.  I drew the dinosaur by examining this skeleton.  This skeleton is actually a model.  The original skeleton is located at the  BYU Paleontology Museum.   In fact, when they were setting up the museum at Thanksgiving Point the American Paleontological Associates asked BYU if they could have their unprepared skeleton of Torvosaurs with the stipoulation that they American Paleontological Associates, would prepare the fossilized skeleton IF they could make a copy for the Museum of Ancient Life.  (Many prepared exhibits are of replica bones of dinosurs.  This leaves the real bones available for study.)  By the way, the first Torvosaurus was discovered by Dinosaur Jim Jensen, of BYU.

There are two species of Torvosaurus.  The first part of the scientific name is the Genus.  Both are Genus Torvosaurus.  The species are tannerii and gurneyii.   So, like we say T. rex or Tyrannosaurus rex... we also say Torvosaurus tanneri .... and .... Torvosaurus gurneyi.

Rhamphorhynchus, pictured in the drawing, was a Jurassic Pterosaur.  It had a long tail as many Pterosaurs had during the Jurassic Era.  (Cretaceous Pterosaurs lost the long tails.)  It also had needle-like teeth for catching fish and other marine life.   Cephalopod remains and fish skeletal remains have been found in Rhamphorhynchus rib cages...where the stomach would have been.  So we KNOW what it ate.  Just so you know, Pterosaurs were NOT flying dinosaurs.  They were flying reptiles.  They are commonly called Pterodactyls.

Battle of Midway 75th Anniversary

Yes I know it is Sunday, and I already did a post of Jesus Calming the Sea.  But today is also the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.  There were many brave men who gave their lives for their country that day... on June 4, 1942.

TBD Devastator Torpedo Bomber

The first planes to arrive over the Japanese attack fleet were TBD Devastator Torpedo Bombers.  This plane was designed in 1934 and manufacture began in 1937  . . . and at that time it was state of the art. However, when World War II arrived the plane was obsolete.  It was going up against the far more maneuverable and faster Japanese Zero Fighter.

As I wrote in a previous post...all 8 planes of the first attacking squadron of American planes were shot down and only one pilot survived.  (Ensign George Gay)  The other flights of TBD Devastator Torpedo Bombers also attacked and not a single torpedo hit a Japanese ship.  The American gunners in the back of each bomber also did not bring down a single Japanese Zero Fighter.  In all 41 American torpedo planes attacked the enemy and only 6 returned safely to their aircraft carrier.  The Devastator Torpedo Bombers were not sacrificed for nothing though...because the entire cover force of Japanese Zero Fighters had dived down to shoot up the flights of attacking American planes.  Because of this when the Dauntless Dive Bombers arrived next, there were no Japanese Fighter aircraft to defend their ships.  Eventually all 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were destroyed by the dive bombers.

Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber

In today's Deseret News there is a report about the commander of one of those squadrons of dive bombers.   Lt. Commander C. Wade McClusky led his squadron into  attack and destroy one or more of the Japanese aircraft carriers.  C. Wade McClusky survived the war and went on to become an admiral.  His hometown of Buffalo, New York unveiled a statue of him today.  Another commander of a squadron of torpedo planes, Max Leslie, lost his bomb due to faulty electric arming switches.  He still led his squadron in their dive to bomb the Japanese carriers.  Each Japanese aircraft carrier took 3-4 bombs.  This was enough to destroy them because they were getting ready to launch another attack and their flight decks were full of fully loaded and armed planes with high octane airplane fuel in the wings.  Even one hit probably would have destroyed the Japanese carriers!

Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter Plane with Japanese Zero in Background

The main American Fighter that was used in the battle was the F4F Wildcat.  A Commander Thatch developed a weave technique of flying that helped the Wildcats to outfight the faster Japanese Zero.  In fact, for every F4F Wildcat shot down there were around 6 Zeros shot down.  That technique is called the Thatch Weave.  The Thatch weave was first used in combat at the Battle of Midway.  Commander Thatch's flight of 4 F4Fs came under attack and he had his pilots and himself excecute the weave and the enemy Zeros were shot down instead of the American planes.  Because the F4F was so well armed and armored, plus with good tactics like the Thatch Weave, in the early days of the war the kill ratio was 6:1.  That is, 6 Japanese Zeros shot down to every 1 F4F Fighter.

I highly recommend a movie from 1976 called Midway.  It tells the story of the battle and also tells the story of how, because of fear, the US imprisoned American citizens of Japanese descent.  The movie also treats the Japanese sailors and flyers with respect.  A famous Japanese actor played a major role as Admiral Yamamoto, the leader of the Japanese Navy at the time of the battle.

We need to remember the sacrifices of those who have died to keep our freedom.  IF Japan had won the Battle of Midway it is thought that the Hawaiian Islands would have fallen next and then the West Coast of the US would have been invaded.  The outcome of this battle meant that the USA would have time to mobilize its industrial might and eventually win the war.  Japan was never able to mobilize another major offensive campaign during the rest of the war.

Jesus Calms the Stormy Sea

Jesus Calms the Storm

I went to a baptism of a grandnephew yesterday.  He chose the song: Master The Tempest is Raging for the closing song.  I drew this for him.  I love the story of how Jesus had taught the people by the shore of the Sea of Galilee and then as his disciples sailed him out away from the shore a great storm hit.  Jesus was at peace so he was taking a nap in the bow of the ship.  His disciples woke him and said, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"  In other words, "We're all gonna die!"  Jesus calmly stood up and commanded the sea to be calm.  He said, "Peace be still."  ...and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

T. rex Size, Speed, and Development of the Young

T. rex Mother Hunting with Chick

(If you read the text, something is wrong with this picture...what is it?)

(See answer at bottom of blog.)

   

Newer evidence is mounting that T. rex may have been heavier than previously thought.  It was once thought that T. rex weighed between 4.5 to 6.5  tons, (4.08 to 5.44 metric tons).  However, newer estimates are are that T. rex or Tyrannosaurus rex weighed 9 tons, (8.16 metric tons).  That is 18,000 pounds!  So a Tyrannosaurus rex weighed as much as 100 adult men.

A T. rex egg has never been found but other Theropod eggs HAVE been found.  We think that a young newly hatched T.rex chick probably weighed between 5-10 lbs. (2.3-4.5 kg).  It is estimated that a young T. rex grew 3950 lbs. (1790 kg.) in one year.  So that is equal to the weight of 22 men.  So a young newly hatched T. rex grew in one year to be the size of 22 men.

To determine the size and weight of an adult T. rex the scientists called in help from the forensic detectives from the Chicago Police Department to scan the skeleton of Sue, the largest and most complete T. rex ever found.  The fossilized skull of Sue is so large that they took it and the larger fossilized bones to a Ford Motor Company site where they had a huge scanner.  They then digitally added muscle and skin etc. and the weight estimate went up 30%.  .   .  to 9 tons (or 8.16 metric tonnes).  So, if you think about it, paleontology is often like police forensics...trying to solve a mystery from limited evidence.

The above adult T. rex in the drawing is a drawing of a hefty 18,000 lb. T. rex.

T. rex, as an adult, was probably rather slow.  They were way too heavy to run 35 mph like in the movie Jurassic Park.  However, new discoveries of teen T. rex fossils has many paleontologists thinking that the young were the chase predators in a T. rex pack.  First you need to know that other Tyrnannosaurs, like Albertosaurus have been found to have died together.  So we can infer that they also lived and hunted together.  Bones of the Theropod carnivore Giganotosaurus were also found in a group.  Even the above mentioned Sue had a healed  broken leg.  This led paleontologists to infer that she must have been fed by a mate or a pack as her injury healed.  It would have taken around 6 weeks for her broken leg to heal.  And it HAD healed well before she died.  She had walked on it again.

So, getting back to the youthful T. rex.  They would have been much more lightly built than the full grown adults.  These youthful Tyrannosaurs would have been the ones to chase prey animals into an ambush where the huge 9 ton mom and dad would be waiting to crush the neck or bite of the head of the plant eating dinosaurs that got chased into the ambush.

Young (16 yrs. old) T. rex Hunts for Prey

Notice the above young T. rex is about 2 years shy of adulthood.  They reached maturity about as fast as we humans do.  We are adults at age 18, and so was a T. rex.

Younger still, adolescent T. rex (14 yrs old) Hunting for Prey

Younger still, this T.rex is more lightly built.  He would be able to run even faster than his 16 year old sister.  He was perhaps almost as long as his sister, but not as heavy.  This would have made him the chase dinosaur of his T. rex pack.  Notice that there are a few feathers.  Most paleontologist think that very young T. rex had feathers, to keep them warm.  When you live in a warm climate...and you get big, that is when you need to get rid of excess heat, not keep heat in. (Think of elephants in Africa.)  

Notice that there are more spots on the younger T. rex.  Some modern prey animals like cougars and leopards have spots, different spots, or more spots when they are young.  The feathers and spots were lost as the T. rex grew up.

Remember the first picture on today's blog entry?  I mentioned in the text that the young T. rex chicks were feathered to keep warm.  I also mentioned that often in predators the young have more spots or markings for camouflage from other predators.   So, I recognized my mistake and altered the first picture of the chick with more spots or stripes and feathers for keeping warm.  Notice that both chicks I drew have the larger head in proportion to body size.  This is called the "cuteness factor."  The cuteness factor in our day can be seen in many of our young.  It is seen in puppies, kittens, and even humans.

Large Adult Mother T. rex Hunting with Feathered and Spotted Chick

For more info look up these sites:  "Old Thunder Thighs:  T. rex's weight topped 9 tons" and... "Dinosaur Home, Size of a T-Rex Egg" and "Dinosaur World".

Unicorn, Elf, and Fairy

Unicorn, Elf, and Fairy

Magical creatures would certainly hang out together.  So these are all light creatures or creatures of light.  They would not hang out with creatures of darkness like werewolves or ogres.  In one fantasy series I read the unicorns were offspring of the lead fairies.  On the other hand, I choose to think that Unicorns make Unicorns.  .   .  Fairies make fairies. . . and Elves make Elves.   So I would think that there are male and female Unicorns.  I guess it would be Unicorn Stallions and Unicorn Mares.  And there would be male and female Fairies as well.  In another story I came across there were both male and female fairies living in their kingdoms.  There were even rival fairy kingdoms.  The fairies and elves and unicorns would all have their own individual type of magic.   Never dark magic.  The female elf in this drawing is giving an apple to her friend the unicorn.  This is one buff unicorn mare!