Rajasaurus narmadensis by Draco300 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Rajasaurus narmadensis

"Narmada King lizard"

Length:7m(22.9ft) Height:2m(6.5ft) at the hip Weight: 1,000 kg (2,204.6lb.) Lifespan:24 years

Brief Information & Description: Rajasaurus is an abelisaurid theropod within the Majungasaurinae clade. In 1981, geologists working for the Geological Survey of India found the first fossils in this fossil-rich limestone bed near the Narmada River Valley in Gujarat state of Western India. GSI geologist Suresh Srivastava was assigned to excavate the area on two seperate trips over three years. The fossils comprise a partial skeleton of the braincase, spine, hip bone, legs, and tail. The American Institute of Indian Studies and the National Geographic Society joined the excavation to reconstruct the remains in 2001 with the support of the Panjab University. Geologist and paleontologist Jeffrey A. Wilson and colleagues formally described the fossils as Rajasaurus after finding a piece of the upper jaw, the first Indian theropod to have preserved these post-cranial remains. Paleontologists initially theorized that the abelisaurid Indosuchus be a synonym of Rajasaurus. However, they did not confirm this hypothesis due to fragmentary remains until the Primal Incorporation extracted the DNA from Rajasaurus and Indosuchus fossils to clone them to life. Genetics revealed that the DNA of both abelisaurids is a seperate genus. Like most abelisaurids, the cloned theropods have osteoderms and ornamentations covering the dorsal portions of their bodies. Both sexes have dark grey markings on their eyes and jaws. However, Rajasaurus have different colorations based on sexual dimorphism. The head and neck of the female Rajsaurus are olive-brown with a silver-fawn body. Male Rajasaurus are more colorful, with their head and necks being lime green with a dark fawn body and light yellow to dark blue bands.

Geographic Range & Habitat: Rajasaurus was the apex predator of the Lameta Formation of Late Cretaceous India 67 million years ago. These abelisaurids now roam Ifẹ̀'s semi-arid, tropical, and subtropical habitats. Rajasaurus primarily lives in forested areas while occasionally searching for food in open areas and badlands. These abelisaurids roam from the forests of Pemba to Somtup and Zanahary.

Behavior & Reproduction: The Rajasaurus exhibits unique social dynamics. They are naturally crepuscular, with activity levels decreasing during the dry season, and often rest in the shade of bushes and trees. These abelisaurids become more active during the rainy seasons. Both sexes establish home ranges of 10 to 32 square kilometers, depending on the density of food. They mark their territories by spraying urine, defecating, and marking or scratching the ground. Despite their home ranges overlapping, Rajasaurus rarely interact and mutually avoid one another rather than fight and defend their ranges. Two individuals will occasionally get into conflicts over territory and feeding rights. However, these conflicts usually consist of threat displays, such as inflating their throat pouches, mock lunges, and roaring fights to intimidate one another. Fights can escalate if neither opponent backs down but are non-violent, consisting of two individuals using the horns on their heads for headbutting and low-motion shoving matches. Rajasaurus are naturally solitary and only interact with each other to mate in the rainy season. Rajasaurus are naturally polygynous like their Madagascan cousins, with male territories overlapping with as many females as possible for optimal reproduction. During this time, females restlessly roam around their territory, spraying urine frequently on objects and giving out low, short, rumbling bellows to attract suitable males nearby for several days. Males who catch the scent start cleaning up a clearing within their territory to serve as a stage to attract receptive females. After tidying up the area, the males produce the same rumbling bellows to attract the females within the clearing. The males begin performing courtship displays to enhance their appeal as potential mates. These courtship displays start with the males extending their small arms while inflating their throat pouches. They follow up by standing vertically straight, twirling their arms, leaving their throat pouches inflated, and slowly prancing from side to side. The courtship display ends with the males freezing with their heads pointed upwards, arms extended, and the throat pouch still inflated. Female Rajasaurus is selective and demanding to impress like most abelisaurids.

Unimpressed individuals leave by the end or while the male still performs to find more suitable mates. Those who are impressed stay within the males' territory, traveling, hunting, resting together, and copulating until they separate the next day. Female Rajasaurus begin building nests of dense vegetation three months after mating to lay their eggs. Each female lays up to four eggs, watching over them while they incubate for up to 75 days until they hatch. Rajasaurus hatchlings are precocial at birth but rely on their mother's protection due to the lack of osteoderms. Females rest for a notably less time and spend almost twice the time and energy hunting to feed themselves and their offspring. By six months, the hatchlings begin developing their osteoderms and are old enough to follow their mothers on hunts. Young Rajasaurus stay with their mother until they fully develop armor and leave to find their territory at twelve months of age. Adolescents do not attain their adult colorations once they reach sexual maturity between 18 and 24 months. This detailed understanding of the reproduction process and early life stages of Rajasaurus is crucial to appreciating the complexity and resilience of these creatures.

Diet: Rajasaurus are carnivorous animals that specialize in ambushing their prey. Like their Madagascan cousin, these abelisaurids are too slow to chase fast-moving prey and primarily go after slow-moving herbivores actively. Juvenile and medium-sized sauropods make up 99% of Rajasaurus' diet. These abelisaurids occasionally hunt thyreophorans, such as stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, and scavenge on carrion. Rajasaurus hunt their prey using a bite-and-hold tactic similar to their Madagasan cousin Majungasaurus. They conceal themselves within dense vegetation or rocky terrain, waiting for an easy target. The abelisaurids then charge their chosen victim to strike. A powerful bite force and strong neck muscles allow this abelisaurid to deliver a powerful bite and firmly latch onto its prey's neck, holding it down until it subdues the victim. During the summertime, Rajasaurus is one of the few predators that annually venture towards the poison-gas-free badlands to gorge themselves on newborn Isisaurus hatchlings that head toward the forests. Individuals will occasionally squabble for feeding rights during this time but usually end quickly to continue to feast on the multiple sauropod hatchlings.

Predation|Competition: Rajasaurus aggressively competes with similar-sized predators for feeding rights. Their powerful jaws are the abelisaurids' primary weapons, while the osteoderms armoring their bodies provide some form of defense from lethal attacks. Their competitors include Ceratosaurus, Metriacanthosaurus, Neovenator, Genyodectes, Sinraptor, and Thanatotheristes. Fights between these animals over food are fierce, with both of them receiving severe wounds that can lead to death. These predators will also kill each other's offspring to limit the competition. Rajasaurus easily dominate smaller carnivores up to six meters and often steal their kills. Indosuchus, despite their similar size, usually avoid conflict from their natural enemy, Rajasaurus, and give them a wide berth or give up their kills to the more aggressive abelisaurid. At the same time, Rajasaurus instinctively avoids areas frequented by larger carnivores but will challenge the sub-adult versions over a carcass.
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Reconstruction based on {Justice Duncan on X: "Rajasaurus is the first time I’ve really attempted a Ceratosaur of any kind, and my was it an interesting task. The amount of light grey is depressing though. Overall I’m proud of this. t.co/4oWV8hVd4o" / X (twitter.com)}