This break from Dinopedia hadn't exactly gone to plan. One of the improvisions is that we went to the Field Museum (again) instead of the Shedd Aquarium (that place costs a lot). This time around I went through more of the museum than just the fossil area. Took considerably less photos than the first time I went. Here's what I consider some highlights.

Geosternbergia (the museum calls it that fight me)

Megalodon (they put the teeth on backwards [flat end at the front of the mouth])

Helicoprion

Tiktaalik

Tullymonstrum

Herrerasaurus

Apatosaurus

Daspletosaurus & Lambeosaurus

Sue

Galagadon (how the hell [creek] did they find a bamboo shark tooth)

Borealosuchus

Hyaenodon

Megatherium

Sobek

Plushie Quetz (& arctic fox cameo from Toledo Zoo)

The shirts I got from both visits

And some photos of Essien at Lake Michigan

(Ida is not real, the event that happened in this story did not happen. This is a realistic interpretation of a "What If...?", it is not meant to demoralize the real paleontologists who make real breakthrough discoveries)

Ida the Tyrannosaurus

On April 16th, 2022, Paleontologist Jay Norman and Paleoartist Edward Kohler were trying to find Stygimoloch (Pachycephalosaurus spinifer) fossils in Hell’s Creek, Montana. However, after a hot day, Norman tripped on a rock sticking out of the ground, Kohler identified it as a fossil, possibly of Nanuqsaurus or another medium theropod. As they carefully dug it out, they found it was a small fragment of a Tyrannosaurid jaw. They carefully dug further, finding more possible fragments, before fining the entire rest of the skull, and a destroyed neck vertebra. It was intensely miraculous that this skull had been merely fragmented and not destroyed, as carbon dating put the fossil at about 65.8 million years ago. However, after scanning the fossils on Blender and then putting the digital fossils together, they found that the jaws of the Tyrannosaurid were destroyed. There were heavy outdents, possibly caused by a tree or a Ceratopsid horn puncture. They found out that a team 4 miles north found a huge Triceratops horridus specimen and wanted to double-check. So using Blender, they fitted the Triceratops horn through the bottom jaw; too big. Then they tried the puncture that broke the top jaw and snout; perfect fit. But something bothered Norman, the other puncture wound. The Triceratops’ horn was too big to fit the hole. Luckily, a few months later, the same team found a nest of Triceratops specimens, and a juvenile had a broken frill. Then, the adult next to it (possibly the mother), had a chip in her left horn. The same Blender process was used, yadda yadda yadda, it was a fit. That team was Astrid Olsson and Rocco Abate, two European paleontologists who were investigating Triceratops behavioral patterns, trying to see if they truly could be in huge herds as shown in media.

A Tyrannosaurid injured from two Triceratops? This wasn’t a coincidence, it was a revolutionary find. Not only did this prove that Triceratops engaged with Tyrannosaurids, but it proved that Tyrannosaurids hunted, disproving Jack Horner. Additionally, even though speculated, this proved that Triceratops at least, worked together. The amount of bone healing, trying to merge the dispersed part of bones with the rest of the jaws, put both injuries about 2 months before the specimen’s death. At first, Korman illustrated it as Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, but the size of the specimen made it out to likely be of the Tyrannosaurus species, likely Tyrannosaurus rex. But when another, more informative Paleontologist, Paleontologist Matt Broker, a Tyrannosaur expert investigated the specimen, he deducted it to be Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, not Tyrannosaurus rex. And the specimen was female. Broker could tell from the smoothed-out cheekbones, snout, brows, and less pronounced jaw edges. Broker put the animal to be about 13 years old, a late subadult or early adult. Seeing as the animal had, likely perished from combat, Broker suggested the name “Ida” referencing Ida the primate, who was the “missing link” in our evolution, like how Ida’s discovery had led to several scientific confirmations. The European team decided to name their specimens Andre, a homage to Andre the Giant, for the alpha, who was estimated to be around 10 feet tall and 30 feet long. The mother Trike was nicknamed Minerva. And the juvenile was named Mary.

At Andre's Stronghold, a site once thought to be a rushing river, there were several prints of footprints, from Triceratops horridus to Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. Several skeletons have been found, there was a hip fragment, thought to belong to Tyrannosaurus rex, but with Ida's presence, it was likely Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. There are a confirmed 4 Tyrannosauridae fragments in Adre's Stronghold. There are a confirmed 2 Triceratops, and 5 unknown specimens, known as "Andre's Ghosts".

Ida was thought to have originated from a nest found in west Montana in the Rockies in 2018, putting her life at 65.8 mya, fitting the nest and her fossils. Her age matched the uranium-lead dating of those eggshells. Ida was about 4.8 meters tall, and about 12 meters long. She weighed about 5.9 metric tons. Ida’s famous encounter was thought to have occurred when Ida was looking for food, and found a Triceratops herd. Ida possibly tried singling out a youngster, probably only 2 at the time of this incident, but the mother Trike defensively thrusted her horn through Ida’s bottom jaw. As Ida, reeling, (evidenced by fossilized footprints) tried to retreat, the Alpha, Andre the Giant came and trusted his horn through the other side of Ida’s face, specifically her top jaw. Ida was forced to retreat. This major injury would’ve put it so Ida couldn’t eat, and starved, but because her injuries show her bones healing for at least two months, that’s not the case. It is likely Ida scavenged at this point, slowly losing her body weight while eating very small amounts of flesh. During this time, Ida lost about 1/3 of her body weight, only weighing about 3.6 metric tons. A scar across her brow and snout were matched with the sickle claw of a dromaeosaurid, possibly Dakotaraptor stieni or Achillobator giganticus. There were likely multiple specimens, as even though Ida was starving, she wasn’t weak. She likely held her own for a bit before finally succumbing to the onslaught.

Some things that Norman and Kohler couldn’t figure out were if Ida was injured in her torso or legs at all, what she’d been eating leading up to her death, as anything past her neck was destroyed or moved away via erosion and tectonic activity. Or, if she’d managed to kill any of the dromaeosaurs, as there aren’t any nearby fossils supporting this, the only clues to a dromaeosaur even being involved are the two scars. She couldn't have been attacked by Andre near her legs or chest though, as these would be fatal blows, and she couldn't have survived for two months. At most, she had a puncture on her tail.

(Thanks @Tyranno Imperrium1 for the Idea)

I’ve been hearing talks lately about Monolophosaurus being reclassified into the Spinosauridae.

However, I can’t seem to find a source for this claim anywhere.

Does anyone know where and when this classification was brought to the public eye?

Also, how exactly was it determined that Monolophosaurus is related to Spinosaurus and family?