Also on last Fossil Friday, Ashley mentioned it would be really cool if ankylosaurs camouflaged themselves by putting plants on their back, like the terrestrial equivalent of decorator crabs, and wanted someone to draw that. I thought it sounded like a fun challenge. I love talking to scientists because they come up with so many great ideas that I never would have thought of!

I'm not sure ankylosaurs had the dexterity to pick something up and put it on their back, but I did think it plausible that they could roll in mud, get dirt caked on their backs, and then let plants grow in the dirt! I'd love to see something like this trundling around the desert.

The ankylosaur in question is Pinacosaurus from the Djadokhta Formation in Mongolia. The only flora found in the Djadokhta Formation so far are conifers, so I essentially had to come up with the shrubbery carte blanche. Aside from a few sapling conifers, I also populated this guy's back with a mix of plants currently found in the Gobi Desert, and shrubs found in the American West such as manzanita, sagebrush, and yes, good old tumbleweeds. I'm not saying these plant groups were definitely present in the Djadokhta, but the climactic conditions were similar enough that similar plants were probably present. It's a fudge, but a well-researched fudge.

 There are some surprising Pokémon who can learn Surf, like Tentacool, Mudkip, Goldeen, and Sentret. I dunno, maybe they tow you in an inner tube or something. (But the fact that the Pikachu line can learn Surf is totally normal, of course.)

 Last Fossil Friday, Maggie Jo was gushing about Velociraptor (and why wouldn't one) and she came up with the pun "Velocirapper" and then she wanted somebody to draw that. Good thing there was a mad doodler in the audience.

 Maybe don't stay in the ocean too long though.

Return to Lynwood, Chapter 5

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5

When they emerged from the trees onto the main road into Barrowmere, Connor started and jerked forward. Before he could take off in a run, Isengrim grabbed his shoulder and held him back. “Stay with us,” the Werelupe King said. “Remember… you do not look like yourself anymore. We will keep you safe.”

Connor looked crestfallen, but he seemed to have an ounce of sense as he moved behind Isengrim with a sullen pout.

“The good news is,” Isengrim said as he led the way onto lantern-lit cobblestones, “we have arrived late enough that there should not be many Neopets on the street. They should not give us too much trouble. Connor, would you direct us to your house?”

“Right—go down the high street for a bit,” the boy said, “and I’ll tell you where to turn.”

Rain had recently passed through the area, leaving puddles that the pack occasionally splashed through. The Werelupes clustered closer together now, craning their necks to look at lit windows, smoke rising from chimneys, and carriages parked on the side of the street. Barrowmere seemed as alien a place as Kreludor. It was certainly not the comfortable caves of the Werelupe Burrows.

 

 What, you thought he was talking about the ocean? :)

 I swear so many criminals are self-defeating due to their own stupidity.