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Description
We are getting closer to the end of this series as we enter the last month on 2020. In this entry we can find creatures described between mid-October and the entire month of November. There are a lot to cover, so let's start with the descriptions!

- Jucha squalea: an early member of the elasmosaurid family, whose remains were discovered in Western Russia. This Early Cretaceous plesiosaur shows one of the first attempts within its family to elongate its neck (later elasmosaurids are known for their extremely long necks) but lacks other traits of more derived members. During these last months another marine reptile has been described: Brevicaudosaurus, from mid-Triassic China.

- Ericixerxes potii: a stem-myriapod from the Upper Devonian of Belgium. Known from a single specimen, it shows adaptations to an amphibious lifestyle, developing its own unique air breathing system (which is known to have evolved independently several times in arthropods).

- Punatitan coughlini and Bravasaurus arrierosorum: two titanosaurian sauropods from Late Cretaceous NW Argentina. They are known from a region where titanosaur remains are rare (compared to Patagonia and SW Brazil) , thus helping to understand the distribution of these dinosaurs in South America. Bravasaurus was considerably smaller than Punatitan, though not as small as island dwarfes like Magyarosaurus. The skeletal remains were found in the same locality as a large accumulation of titanosaurian eggs (one of the largest in the world), probably belonging to these species.

- Yaksha perettii: an albanerpetontid from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar (99 mya), known from a head encased in amber. The structure of the hyoid is similar to that of chameleons, which leads to hypothesize that this small amphibian had a ballistic tongue to capture its prey. The remains of Yaksha (which is the name of a kind of guardian spirit in the region) belong to the controversial Burmese amber; however, the authors of the paper state that the fossil was obtained following ethical standards, a practice that they encourage for future studies in the region.

- Filikomys primaevus: a small multituberculate mammal from Late Cretaceous Montana. While the genus is new, fossils assigned to other species were already known since 1902. The new genus arises after the finding of several new specimens that appear to have died in the same burrow: this would be the earliest example of social behaviour in mammals

- Ajnabia odysseus: the first hadrosaur from Africa, the remains of Ajnabia (parts of the mandible) were found in the phosphate mines of Morocco. This late Cretaceous (66 mya) dinosaur was small, probably not reaching 1.5m tall. Its presence in Africa, a relatively isolated continent by the end of the Cretaceous, suggest an oceanic dispersal from Europe.

- Kylinxia zhangi: this Cambrian creature from the Chinese province of Yunnan looks similar to radiodonts, but appears to be closer to early arthropods, establishing a link between both animal groups. Reaching 5cm in length, it had 5 eyes (like Opabinia) and 2 raptorial appendages. Its name makes reference to the kylin/qirin, a mythological chimeric Chinese animal, due to its characteristics.

- Eomonachus belegaerensis: this seal is the first monk seal known from the Southern Hemisphere. Its remains (several skulls including a brain endocast) were discovered in Pliocene rocks of New Zealand, which has led to a revision in the evolutionary history of this group of seals: modern monk seals only live North of the Equator, and it was thought that they appeared there, but it appears not to be the case anymore

- Bagualia alba: an early sauropod from the end of the Early Jurassic. Remains from 3 specimens were found in the Cañadón Asfalto Formation of Chubut province (southern Argentina), the same place where Asfaltovenator is known from. Rocks of the same age as Bagualia (179 mya) show that large volcanic event in Gondwana during that time led to a later dominance of sauropods in Jurassic ecosystems, as well as leading prosauropod dinosaurs into extinction

- Ferromirum oukherbouchi: a small symmoriiform condrichtyan (a group closer to chimaeras than sharks) from Late Devonian Morocco. Its skull was preserved in 3D, revealing an unique jaw mechanism unknown in other known fish.

- Falcatekely forsterae: this enantiornithe bird is known from a single skull discovered in Late Cretaceous rocks of Madagascar. The beak was quite elongated, making this bird similar to toucans and hornbills, and suggests a feeding specialization

Only one entry remains, which will be posted by the end of the month. After that, this long series will come to an end

Other parts of the series:
- Part I: fav.me/ddq5x3f
- Part II: fav.me/ddtxi48
- Part III: fav.me/ddx8ez1
- Part IV: fav.me/de0jt8v
- Part V: fav.me/de4jfit
- Part VI: www.deviantart.com/diegooa/art…
- Part VIII: www.deviantart.com/diegooa/art…

Description
We are getting closer to the end of this series as we enter the last month on 2020. In this entry we can find creatures described between mid-October and the entire month of November. There are a lot to cover, so let's start with the descriptions!

- Jucha squalea: an early member of the elasmosaurid family, whose remains were discovered in Western Russia. This Early Cretaceous plesiosaur shows one of the first attempts within its family to elongate its neck (later elasmosaurids are known for their extremely long necks) but lacks other traits of more derived members. During these last months another marine reptile has been described: Brevicaudosaurus, from mid-Triassic China.

- Ericixerxes potii: a stem-myriapod from the Upper Devonian of Belgium. Known from a single specimen, it shows adaptations to an amphibious lifestyle, developing its own unique air breathing system (which is known to have evolved independently several times in arthropods).

- Punatitan coughlini and Bravasaurus arrierosorum: two titanosaurian sauropods from Late Cretaceous NW Argentina. They are known from a region where titanosaur remains are rare (compared to Patagonia and SW Brazil) , thus helping to understand the distribution of these dinosaurs in South America. Bravasaurus was considerably smaller than Punatitan, though not as small as island dwarfes like Magyarosaurus. The skeletal remains were found in the same locality as a large accumulation of titanosaurian eggs (one of the largest in the world), probably belonging to these species.

- Yaksha perettii: an albanerpetontid from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar (99 mya), known from a head encased in amber. The structure of the hyoid is similar to that of chameleons, which leads to hypothesize that this small amphibian had a ballistic tongue to capture its prey. The remains of Yaksha (which is the name of a kind of guardian spirit in the region) belong to the controversial Burmese amber; however, the authors of the paper state that the fossil was obtained following ethical standards, a practice that they encourage for future studies in the region.

- Filikomys primaevus: a small multituberculate mammal from Late Cretaceous Montana. While the genus is new, fossils assigned to other species were already known since 1902. The new genus arises after the finding of several new specimens that appear to have died in the same burrow: this would be the earliest example of social behaviour in mammals

- Ajnabia odysseus: the first hadrosaur from Africa, the remains of Ajnabia (parts of the mandible) were found in the phosphate mines of Morocco. This late Cretaceous (66 mya) dinosaur was small, probably not reaching 1.5m tall. Its presence in Africa, a relatively isolated continent by the end of the Cretaceous, suggest an oceanic dispersal from Europe.

- Kylinxia zhangi: this Cambrian creature from the Chinese province of Yunnan looks similar to radiodonts, but appears to be closer to early arthropods, establishing a link between both animal groups. Reaching 5cm in length, it had 5 eyes (like Opabinia) and 2 raptorial appendages. Its name makes reference to the kylin/qirin, a mythological chimeric Chinese animal, due to its characteristics.

- Eomonachus belegaerensis: this seal is the first monk seal known from the Southern Hemisphere. Its remains (several skulls including a brain endocast) were discovered in Pliocene rocks of New Zealand, which has led to a revision in the evolutionary history of this group of seals: modern monk seals only live North of the Equator, and it was thought that they appeared there, but it appears not to be the case anymore

- Bagualia alba: an early sauropod from the end of the Early Jurassic. Remains from 3 specimens were found in the Cañadón Asfalto Formation of Chubut province (southern Argentina), the same place where Asfaltovenator is known from. Rocks of the same age as Bagualia (179 mya) show that large volcanic event in Gondwana during that time led to a later dominance of sauropods in Jurassic ecosystems, as well as leading prosauropod dinosaurs into extinction

- Ferromirum oukherbouchi: a small symmoriiform condrichtyan (a group closer to chimaeras than sharks) from Late Devonian Morocco. Its skull was preserved in 3D, revealing an unique jaw mechanism unknown in other known fish.

- Falcatekely forsterae: this enantiornithe bird is known from a single skull discovered in Late Cretaceous rocks of Madagascar. The beak was quite elongated, making this bird similar to toucans and hornbills, and suggests a feeding specialization

Only one entry remains, which will be posted by the end of the month. After that, this long series will come to an end

Other parts of the series:
- Part I: fav.me/ddq5x3f
- Part II: fav.me/ddtxi48
- Part III: fav.me/ddx8ez1
- Part IV: fav.me/de0jt8v
- Part V: fav.me/de4jfit
- Part VI: www.deviantart.com/diegooa/art…
- Part VIII: www.deviantart.com/diegooa/art…