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Description
Nanosaurus agilis

Bio:

The dawn of the Jurassic saw emergence of many different types of Dinosaurs. Thanks to the mass extinction, a wide variety of ecological niches was left free for the taking. This was the time when another major group of dinosaurs called Ornithischia came on stage. Origins of this group lie as far as Early Jurassic, approximately 200 million years ago, with some potential fossils rooting them even further back, in the Triassic. While younger than Saurichians, these "bird-hipped" dinosaurs not only didn't concede in their diversity but also surpassed their "lizard-hipped" relatives. Over the course of their 134 million year history Ornithiscians have produced many different forms, from small and lanky bipedal runners to giant armored quadrupeds, capable of taking on any predator.

Nanosaurus was first described by Othniel Charles Marsh at the time of so-called Bone Wars. The holotype fossils belonged to a small herbivore, which was desribed by Marsh as "fox-sized". The exact appearence of this dinosaur, however, remained unclear. It wasn't until later discoveries of closely related Laosaurus, Othnielia, Drinker and Othnielosaurus. These fossils painted a vivid picture of variety of small ornithopods that roamed Morrison formation in the Late Jurassic. It wasn't until new discovery in 2018 shed the light on true nature of Morrison's small Ornithiscians. The new specimen shared close resemblance to a fragmentary holotype of Nanosaurus but the similarities with the like of Drinker and Othnielosaurus were even more striking. This led to the only possible conclusion — most of the diversity of Morrison's small Ornithiscians were one, but very abundant species.

In the savanna-like ecosystems of Late Jurassic Nanosaurs filled the role akin to modern-day gazelle, being small and agile herbivore. As such, they were targets for many carnivores like Tanycolagreus and Stokesosaurus with young of large predators like Allosaurus percieaving small ornithopods as prey as well. With no real means of defence, Nanosaurs preferred to stay closer to larger herbivores like Stegosaurus and giant Sauropods, creating symbiotic relationships with well-protected giants. While Nanosaurs couldn't protect themselves in any direct way, their keen eyesight allowed them to locate predators faster then their giant short-sighted neighbors and alert giants of approaching danger. Another benifit small Ornithopods would get from such relationship was the fact that giant herbivores, being messy eaters, willallow their smaller counterparts to pick up leftovers from another feast.

Role in the series:

Nanosaurus first appears in the second episode of Walking With Dinosaurs reboot series titled Time of Titans.

A small flock of Nanosaurus was seen in the fern savanna, as it followed a large Stegosaurus that walked through.

Later, another flock was seen feasting upon trees knocked down by feeding herd of Diplodocus. Small Ornithiscians used giant sauropods as means of defence since presence of large herd of giants retracted predators from them.

Nanosaurus makes another appearence in a remake of Ballad of Big Al special. A small flock of Nanosaurs were following a large male Stegosaurus, feeding of cruched cycads, as well as using giant armored herbivore as means of protection. They were stalked by a young Allosaurus named Big Al who quickly turned away to look for more approachable prey.

More than a decade later, a Harpactognathus pterosaur was feasting upon dried carcass of Nanosaurus before getting killed by Big Al.

Background:

There's only so much I can tell about the creative process behind my artwork of Nanosaurus. To be fair, I really liked it. The texturing was quite fun and I find the general shape of Nanosaurus quite endearing. As you see, I got a bit speculative with its overall look as I gave it the integument similar to that of Kulindadromeus. I thought it was a cool way to incorporate a discovery made in my country in some way (since it's not very likely that a documentary about Russia's dinosaurs will ever come out). Besides, Nanosaurus and Kulindadromeus were closely related so this bit of speculation seems very plausible to me.

I also decided to give it a bit bigger role. With the whole "Diplodocus is an ecosystem in itself" stuff getting largely removed due to inaccuracies in specific details like the portrayal of Anurognathus or ding beetles' mere existence I felt I should replenish the segment on Diplodocus influence on ecosystem and I felt like scene of Nanosaurs feeding near sauropods would make suitable replacement. I initially planed on including Nanosaurs eating feces of Diplodocus but eventually scrapped this idea due to its very unlikely nature.

That's all for now, folks! Stay tuned for the updates as there's a lot for us to unpack!

Walking with Dinosaurs is owned by BBC and Impossible Pictures

Description
Nanosaurus agilis

Bio:

The dawn of the Jurassic saw emergence of many different types of Dinosaurs. Thanks to the mass extinction, a wide variety of ecological niches was left free for the taking. This was the time when another major group of dinosaurs called Ornithischia came on stage. Origins of this group lie as far as Early Jurassic, approximately 200 million years ago, with some potential fossils rooting them even further back, in the Triassic. While younger than Saurichians, these "bird-hipped" dinosaurs not only didn't concede in their diversity but also surpassed their "lizard-hipped" relatives. Over the course of their 134 million year history Ornithiscians have produced many different forms, from small and lanky bipedal runners to giant armored quadrupeds, capable of taking on any predator.

Nanosaurus was first described by Othniel Charles Marsh at the time of so-called Bone Wars. The holotype fossils belonged to a small herbivore, which was desribed by Marsh as "fox-sized". The exact appearence of this dinosaur, however, remained unclear. It wasn't until later discoveries of closely related Laosaurus, Othnielia, Drinker and Othnielosaurus. These fossils painted a vivid picture of variety of small ornithopods that roamed Morrison formation in the Late Jurassic. It wasn't until new discovery in 2018 shed the light on true nature of Morrison's small Ornithiscians. The new specimen shared close resemblance to a fragmentary holotype of Nanosaurus but the similarities with the like of Drinker and Othnielosaurus were even more striking. This led to the only possible conclusion — most of the diversity of Morrison's small Ornithiscians were one, but very abundant species.

In the savanna-like ecosystems of Late Jurassic Nanosaurs filled the role akin to modern-day gazelle, being small and agile herbivore. As such, they were targets for many carnivores like Tanycolagreus and Stokesosaurus with young of large predators like Allosaurus percieaving small ornithopods as prey as well. With no real means of defence, Nanosaurs preferred to stay closer to larger herbivores like Stegosaurus and giant Sauropods, creating symbiotic relationships with well-protected giants. While Nanosaurs couldn't protect themselves in any direct way, their keen eyesight allowed them to locate predators faster then their giant short-sighted neighbors and alert giants of approaching danger. Another benifit small Ornithopods would get from such relationship was the fact that giant herbivores, being messy eaters, willallow their smaller counterparts to pick up leftovers from another feast.

Role in the series:

Nanosaurus first appears in the second episode of Walking With Dinosaurs reboot series titled Time of Titans.

A small flock of Nanosaurus was seen in the fern savanna, as it followed a large Stegosaurus that walked through.

Later, another flock was seen feasting upon trees knocked down by feeding herd of Diplodocus. Small Ornithiscians used giant sauropods as means of defence since presence of large herd of giants retracted predators from them.

Nanosaurus makes another appearence in a remake of Ballad of Big Al special. A small flock of Nanosaurs were following a large male Stegosaurus, feeding of cruched cycads, as well as using giant armored herbivore as means of protection. They were stalked by a young Allosaurus named Big Al who quickly turned away to look for more approachable prey.

More than a decade later, a Harpactognathus pterosaur was feasting upon dried carcass of Nanosaurus before getting killed by Big Al.

Background:

There's only so much I can tell about the creative process behind my artwork of Nanosaurus. To be fair, I really liked it. The texturing was quite fun and I find the general shape of Nanosaurus quite endearing. As you see, I got a bit speculative with its overall look as I gave it the integument similar to that of Kulindadromeus. I thought it was a cool way to incorporate a discovery made in my country in some way (since it's not very likely that a documentary about Russia's dinosaurs will ever come out). Besides, Nanosaurus and Kulindadromeus were closely related so this bit of speculation seems very plausible to me.

I also decided to give it a bit bigger role. With the whole "Diplodocus is an ecosystem in itself" stuff getting largely removed due to inaccuracies in specific details like the portrayal of Anurognathus or ding beetles' mere existence I felt I should replenish the segment on Diplodocus influence on ecosystem and I felt like scene of Nanosaurs feeding near sauropods would make suitable replacement. I initially planed on including Nanosaurs eating feces of Diplodocus but eventually scrapped this idea due to its very unlikely nature.

That's all for now, folks! Stay tuned for the updates as there's a lot for us to unpack!

Walking with Dinosaurs is owned by BBC and Impossible Pictures