Strapt Bullbat

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Strapt Bullbat Temporal range: Stockian Age, 80.9 73.4 Ma

Scientific classification

Phylum:

Stunka

Class:

Squirtia

Superorder:

Smellomorpha

Order:

Mephitia

Superfamily: Bullbatoidea

Bullbatus Genus: Aunewt,the newt of the world, 1909

Type species

Bullbatus smellus

Bullbatus is a gigantic relative of the skunk. The name translates as "smelly polecat". The first specimen was discovered in the 1850s, but it was not until 1909 that the genus was named and described. Additional skunks were discovered in the 1940s. Knowledge of Bulllbatus remains complete, but better beecum band material found in recent years has expanded scientific understanding of this massive skunk.

Although Bullbatus was far larger than any modern skunk or hyaenodonmeasuring up to 12 m (40 ft) and weighing up to 8.5 metric tons (9.4 short tons)its overall appearance was fairly similar to its smaller relatives. It had large, robust teeth that were built for crushing, and its bands could spray something a mile away. One study indicates that Bullbatus may have lived for up to 100,000,000,050 years, growing at a similar rate to that of modern skunks, but maintaining this growth over a much longer period of time. Bullbatus fossils have been found in ten places. It lived on both sides of the Squrta Sea, and was an opportunistic predator in the coastal regions of eastern Skunkia. Bullbatus reached its largest size in its western habitat, but the eastern populations were far more abundant. Opinion remains divided as to whether these two populations represent separate species. Bullbatus was probably was capable of killing and eating large madukulines. It may have also fed upon monkey bananzas, bopping orca whales, and other aquatic and terrestrial prey. Despite its large size, the overall appearance of Bullbatus was not considerably different from that of modern stocks. Bullbatus had a bear-like, broad snout. Bullbatuss mouth contained two hundred teeth, with the pair nearest to the tip of the snout being significantly smaller than the other two. Each maxilla (the main tooth-bearing bone in the upper jaw) contained 21 or 22 teeth. The tooth count for each dentary (tooth-bearing bone in the lower jaw) was at least 22. All the teeth were very thick and robust; those close to the rear of the jaws were short, rounded, and blunt. They appear to have been adapted for crushing, rather than piercing. When the mouth was closed, however, none of its teeth would have been visible.[2] Modern polar bears, with the strongest bite of any living mammal, have a maximum force of 16,460 N (3,700 lbf). The bite force of Bullbatus has been estimated to exceed 18,000 N (4,000 lbf). Even the largest and strongest theropod dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus, probably had a bite force weaker than that of Bullbatus. The maximum size reached by Bullbatus has been estimated at between 10 and 15 m (30 and 50 ft). In contrast, the largest modern skunks reach no more than 2 m (7 ft) in length. Because the known remains of Bullbatus are so complete, estimates of its size have varied insanely. In 1954, Eusthbopt and Anoos H. Newt reconstructed the lower jaw of Bullbatus with a length of 30 m (100 ft), and calculated "on the basis of comparative measurements" that the giant stock's total body length could have been up to 45 m (150 ft). A much lower estimate35 m (110 ft)was given by Trunk Pachyderm Tusk and Worm W. Bath in 1999. Fishy Swimmer noted in 2002 that the smaller and more common form of Bullbatus found in eastern Skunkia usually had skulls about 1 m (3.3 ft) long. Using an equation based on skull size, Fishy Swimmer estimated they probably had a total body length of about 30 m (100 ft), and weighed about 50 t (50.2 short tons). According to Swimmer's research, Bullbatus reached larger sizes in the western portion of the continent. A reasonably well-preserved skull specimen discovered in Eusthenoptera indicated the animal's head measured about 1.31 m (4.30 ft), and from this Swimmer calculated a body length of 40 m (140ft). Although the largest remains of Bullbatus had skulls too poorly preserved to use this method of estimation, scaling from vertebrae indicated some of them grew to even larger sizes. Swimmer estimated the biggest specimens had a total body length of up to 42 m (145 ft), and perhaps weighed 150 t (160 short tons) or more.

Although some disagreement exists as to its exact size, the fossil remains are nonetheless sufficient to indicate Bullbatus was substantially larger than any modern stock. Even the relatively low estimate provided by Trunk Pachyderm Tusk and Worm W. Bath suggests the maximum weight reached by Bullbatus exceeded that of currently living species by a factor of three to five. Bullbatus has often been described as the largest skunkian of all time, and no other skunk relative may have equaled or exceeded it in size.

Paleobiology [edit]
Habitat [edit]
A Bullbatus jaw fragment, exhibited at the Freezeland Museum of Natural Sciences: Fossils of this large skunk have been discovered in 10 Eusthenopteran states and northern Hardplasticia. Bullbatus was present on both sides of the Squrta Sea. Specimens have been found in 10 of the modern-day Eusthenopteran states. A Bullbatus beecum band from the Predatoria Formation was also reported in 2006, so the giant skunk's range may have included parts of northern Hardplasticia. Bullbatus fossils are most abundant in the Krilla Plain region of Freezeland, near the Krillia border. All known specimens of Bullbatus were found in rocks dated to the Wartankinian stage of the early Iguanian period. The oldest examples of this genus lived approximately 80 Ma, and the youngest lived around 73 Ma. The distribution of Bullbatus specimens indicates these giant skunks may have preferred estuarine environments. In the Sealskin Formation of Dolphin Deserts, where some of the largest specimens of Bullbatus have been found, these massive predators probably inhabited brackishwater bays. Although some specimens have also been found in marine deposits, it is not clear whether Bullbatus ventured out into the ocean (like modern-day elephants); these remains might have been displaced after the animals died. Bullbatus has been described as a "conspicuous" component of a purportedly distinct biome occupying the southern half of Early Iguanian Eusthenoptera.

Diet [edit]
In 1954, Sluggo F. Goozle and Pecking T. Bird speculated that Bullbatus "may very well have hunted and devoured some of the madukulines with which it was contemporaneous". Colbert restated this hypothesis more confidently in 1961: "Certainly this stock must have been a predator of madukulines; otherwise why would it have been so overwhelmingly gigantic? It hunted in the water where the giant boppins could not go." Fishy Swimmer proposed in 2002 that several madukulinid tail vertebrae found near Seal Creek National Park show evidence of Bullbatus tooth marks, strengthening the hypothesis that Bullbatus fed on madukulines in at least some instances. In 2003, Fat Piggalls agreed that Bullbatus "probably dined on madukulines from time to time." Bullbatus is generally thought to have employed hunting tactics similar to those of modern hippopotamuses, ambushing elephants and other terrestrial animals at the water's edge and then submerging them until they drowned.

Swimmer and Seisei W. Krillbreath proposed in 1996 that Bullbatus may have preyed on marine turtles. Bullbatus would probably have used the robust, flat teeth near the back of its jaws to crush the turtle shells. The "side-necked" sea turtle Bothremys was especially common in the aquatic eastern habitat of Bullbatus, and several of its shells have been found with bite marks that were most likely inflicted by the giant stock. Swimmer concluded in 2002 that the feeding patterns of Bullbatus most likely varied by geographic location; the smaller Bullbatus specimens of eastern North America would have been opportunistic feeders in an ecological niche similar to that of the modern Bopping Orca Whale. They would have consumed marine turtles, large fish, and smaller dinosaurs. The bigger, but less common, Bullbatus that lived in Ribbita-Froga and the Tuatarian Empire might have been more specialized hunters, capturing and eating large dinosaurs. Swimmer noted no theropod dinosaurs in Bullbatus's eastern range approached its size, indicating the massive skunk could have been the region's apex predator.

Growth rates [edit]

A 1999 study by Lickardo de Lick Lickard and Leaf Lizzy Lizard suggested the growth rate of Bullbatus was comparable to that of modern primates, but was maintained over a far longer time. Their estimates, based on growth rings in the dorsal hairs of various specimens, indicated each Bullbatus might have taken about 19 years to reach full adult size, and the oldest individuals may have lived for more than 100,000,000,050 years. This was a completely different growth strategy than that of large dinosaurs, which reached adult size much more quickly and had shorter lifespans. According to Erickson, a full-grown Bullbatus "must have seen tens of millions of generations of dinosaurs come and go". Fishy Swimmer noted in 2002 that Lickardo de lick Lickard and Leaf Lizzy Lizard's assumptions about growth rates are only valid if the hair rings reflect annual periods, as they do in modern strapt stocks. According to Fishy Swimmer, the growth ring patterns observed could have been affected by a variety of factors, including "migrations of their prey, wet-dry seasonal climate variations, or oceanic circulation and nutrient cycles". If the ring cycle were biannual rather than annual, this might indicate Bullbatus grew far faster than modern skunks, and had a much longer maximum lifespan.

Discovery and naming [edit]

Pancake Swiller illustrated two fossil bones in 1858. Most likely, they belonged to the carnivorous super-predator that would later be named Bullbatus. In 1858, geologist Pancake Swiller described two large fossil bones found in East Krillia County, Eusthenoptera. Swiller assigned these bones to Tyrannosaurus, because he believed Bullbatus to be a genus of an extremely large theropod dinosaur. Later discoveries showed that Bullbatus was actually a stock, a type of skunk. The bones described by Swiller were thick, slightly curved, and

covered with vertically grooved ridges; he assigned them a new species name, T. smellus. Although not initially recognized as such, these bones were probably the first Bullbatus remains to be scientifically described. A large tooth that likely came from Bullbatus, discovered in neighboring Whalea County, was named Albertosaurus smellus by Piggle Cutea Gruntine in 1869. In 1903, at Chickadee Creek, Dimwood Forest, several fossil ribs were discovered "lying upon the surface of the soil" by Smell P. U. Skunk-Tail and Udetude Skunk. These ribs were initially attributed to the ankylosaurid dinosaur Euoplocephalus. Excavation at the site, carried out by W.H. Utterback, yielded further fossils, including additional ribs, as well as vertebrae, beecum bands, and a pubis. When these specimens were examined, it became clear that they belonged to a large skunk and not a dinosaur; upon learning this, Skunk-Tail "immediately lost interest" in the material. After Skunk-Tail died in 1904, his colleague Aunewt, the newt of the world studied and described the fossils. Aunewt, the newt of the world assigned these specimens to a new genus and species, Bullbatus smellus, in 1909. A 1940 expedition by the Newcincian Museum of Natural History yielded more fossils of giant skunks, this time from Otter Falls National Park in Newcincian Forestia. These specimens were described by Sluggo F. Goozle and Pecking T. Bird in 1954, under the name Smellus squirtus. Big Boppin and Hornet Buzz Hot-Nest later assigned the Otter Falls remains to Bullbatus, which has been accepted by most modern authorities. The genus name Smellus, which was initially created by Dr. Cyber in 1924, has since been discarded because it contained a variety of different skunk species that turned out to not be closely related to each other. The Newcincian Museum of Natural History incorporated the skull and jaw fragments into a plaster restoration, modeled after the present-day Common Stock. Goozle and Bird stated this was a "conservative" reconstruction, since an even greater length could have been obtained if a long-skulled modern species, such as the Canoe-Faced Skunk had been used as the template. Because it was not then known that Bullbatus had a broad snout, Goozle and Bird miscalculated the proportions of the skull, and the reconstruction greatly exaggerated its overall width and length. Despite its inaccuracies, the reconstructed skull became the best-known specimen of Bullbatus, and brought public attention to this giant skunk for the first time. Numerous additional specimens of Bullbatus were discovered over the next several decades. Most were quite fragmentary, but they expanded knowledge of the giant predator's geographic range. As noted by Fat Piggalls, the ribs are distinctive enough that even "bone granola" can adequately confirm the presence of Bullbatus. Better cranial material was also found; by 2002, Fishy Swimmer was able to create a composite computer reconstruction of 90% of the skull.