They're still digging for the keymaster.
May 10, 2017 9:29 AM   Subscribe

Meet Zuul, destroyer of shins--a new ankylosaur. "In the creature’s horned head, she saw the spitting image of Zuul, the Gatekeeper of Gozer—the demonic dog that appeared in Ghostbusters and haunted Sigourney Weaver’s fridge." Also at Smithsonian.
posted by goatdog (30 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
Based on the sedimentary layers, Zuul was believed to have lived during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, after the rectification of the Vuldrini.

Also discovered in the Montana quarry were the fossilized remains of a giant Slor.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:38 AM on May 10, 2017 [19 favorites]


Other dinosaur discovery news: 'Baby Dragon' Found In China Is The Newest Species Of Dinosaur (NPR, May 9, 2017)
Meet Beibeilong sinensis, the most recently identified dinosaur species.

The name means "baby dragon from China." The dinosaur had massive feathered wings and a birdlike skull. It probably looked most like a cassowary, flightless birds slightly smaller than an ostrich.

But the Beibeilong was much bigger than any currently living bird, according to a study published in Nature Communications. Based on comparisons with close relatives, the birdlike dinosaur probably weighed about 3 tons and could grow up to 26 feet long.
The Nature Communications article is not behind a paywall.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:46 AM on May 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Beibei long!! Baby dragon! Eeeep!!
posted by Fig at 10:13 AM on May 10, 2017


You must defeat Beibei Long to stand a chance.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:21 AM on May 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Excuse me but the terror dogs are servants of Zuul.
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:31 AM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Oh wait, nevermind, that was Gozer. I'm always getting my elder gods mixed up.
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:34 AM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Are you a god?
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:39 AM on May 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Uh... yes?
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:54 AM on May 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


There is no Dana here, only Zuul.
posted by Chocomog at 11:06 AM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Okay, that's it. I am calling this thread.

As a duly-designated representative of the City, County and State of Metafilter, I order you to cease any and all supernatural or posting activity and return forthwith to your place of origin, or to the next convenient parallel dimension or topic thread.
posted by Samizdata at 11:22 AM on May 10, 2017 [11 favorites]


That oughta do it. Thanks very much, Samizdata.
posted by Servo5678 at 11:25 AM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Is it Ghostbusters 2?
posted by Gronk at 11:58 AM on May 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


Ankylosaurs were my favorite dinosaur as a kid, and hearing that they may not have whacked other dinosaurs with their tail clubs is as great a disappointment to me as when I learned that dimetrodons weren't even dinosaurs at all.
posted by ejs at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2017


Wait, they don't? Awww :(
posted by quaking fajita at 12:36 PM on May 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


as great a disappointment to me as when I learned that dimetrodons weren't even dinosaurs at all.

...wait until you hear about pterosaurs
posted by leotrotsky at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


OK, but this doesn't answer the big question: any signs of cats and dogs, living together?
posted by nubs at 1:06 PM on May 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


No, but I did see a REALLY BIG Twinkie.
posted by Samizdata at 1:10 PM on May 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


I love this TOWN! thread
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:46 PM on May 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


Everything we are doing is bad. I want you to know this.
posted by nubs at 1:59 PM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Also discovered in the Montana quarry were the fossilized remains of a giant Slor.

What's even more exciting are the traces in the abdominal region of its diet, including "many" Shubs and Zulls who were apparently swallowed whole.
posted by No-sword at 2:05 PM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


[REFERENCE TO THE 1984 FILM GHOSTBUSTERS]
posted by Chrysostom at 3:41 PM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


The joyfulness is over.
posted by nubs at 3:55 PM on May 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


I only sort of approve of this message. :-P

(Yes, my username comes from Ghostbusters. Yes, I know I misspelled it. I started using it before the days of IMDB, etc. so I just went with what sounded like Zuul. :-] )
posted by zuhl at 8:12 AM on May 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


What's even more exciting are the traces in the abdominal region of its diet, including "many" Shubs and Zulls who were apparently swallowed whole.

What's even more excitinger than that is that these traces show the the slor was eating the shubs and zuuls live, while the gut contents are clearly indicative of thoroughly-cooked meat. It's as if the shubs and zuuls were somehow roasted deep inside the slor.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:34 AM on May 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Zuul paper was published in Royal Society Open Science, so it's free and open access:

Victoria M. Arbour, David C. Evans. A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation.
posted by Kabanos at 9:14 AM on May 11, 2017 [2 favorites]




It just occurred to me that Ackroyd's Crystal Head Vodka should issue a special edition Zuul skull bottle.
posted by Kabanos at 9:27 AM on May 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


Whoa! Check out this National Geographic article about an ankylosaur relative called a nodosaur that was fossilized completely, including skin and armor plating. The lead image actually does look a lot like a carbonized Terror Dog from the end of the movie.
posted by ejs at 5:22 AM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Here's the fixed link for the Nat Geo article. Those are some remarkable images!
posted by Kabanos at 9:27 AM on May 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Oops, thank you!
posted by ejs at 10:54 AM on May 12, 2017


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