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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎

@tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social
1.8K followers 443 following 136 posts

Metal & Mosasaurs 🤘🦎 : RGGS at AMNH : Skeleton Crew Paleo Co-Founder : NSF GRFP Fellow : Carthage College Alumna : she/her 🖤🤍💜 : views my own. linktr.ee/tyrantlizardqueen

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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Dynamognathus @dynamoterror.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
A hypothetical earliest Tylosaurine, just after the split with Plioplatecarpines. No fossils of such basal Tylosaurs are known, but based on other early #Mosasaurs it’d be leggy and noodly. Inspired by @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social’s research/discussion on the Skeleton Crew. #sciart #paleoart #lizard
A colored-pencil drawing of a slender and sinuous early Tylosaurine mosasaur on a white background. Its head is slender and sharply pointed, with a streak of yellowish orange running along the upper lip. The lower jaw is a sickly green, as is the tail (also marked by vertical stripes). Its mouth is open and the small, pointed teeth of the lower jaw are visible. The rest of the body is a dull tan with faint, disorganized speckles. The limbs are relatively short and the hands and feet form relatively broad, webbed paddles with visible digits and claws. The tip of the curling tail is formed into a modest paddle, with a very short upper lobe. This is a speculative and hypothetical depiction, as no such fossils of early Tylosaurs are known but by the laws of biology and phylogenetics it must have existed at some point.
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Hady George @houdzgeorge.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Welcome Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda! I'm delighted to introduce you to a new species of protomammal. Hailing from the Triassic of Tanzania, this is the first record of Dinodontosaurus outside of South America, and it informs on the origin of dinosaurs. Here's a thread summarising our findings 🧵
Life reconstruction of two Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda individuals by Gabriel UguetoSkull and jaw of the holotype of Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda. Original photos by Jonathan Jackson
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Alejandro Q (EL_INDORAPTOR) @qindotrex.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
The real sea rex Tylosaurus rex (References below) #drawing #paleoart #mosasaur
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Thanks!
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Palaeo3D @palaeo3d.com · 18/07/2026
@tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social just watched this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9zu... 👍 how cool!
youtube.com
Mosasaurs with Dr. Amelia Zietlow | Fossil Crates Live Ep. 5
YouTube video by Fossil Crates
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Skeleton Crew Paleo @skeletoncrewpaleo.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Join us July 25th as we stream for a NEW COLLABORATIVE EXPEDITION to the Cretaceous of Kazakhstan, co-lead by Jared Shiffert, our own Dr. Napoli, & the Kyzylorda Regional Museum. Your support will ensure that the 2026 joint expedition will be the first of many!
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Resolving the “ontogeny problem” in vertebrate paleontology, recently published in Paleobiology, by @jgn-paleo.bsky.social - this is a *must read*, esp. for those in the archosaur realm www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Resolving the “ontogeny problem” in vertebrate paleontology | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Resolving the “ontogeny problem” in vertebrate paleontology
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
And you can also watch an in-depth description of the paper on the @SkeleCrewPaleo Youtube channel here: youtu.be/gem3IH7P7PY
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Huge thank you to my coauthors, Mike Everhart & Mike Polcyn, MCZ & Harvard, Scott Johnston for physically moving the beast into place for photos, & our reviewers & editors. The paper is available here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
researchgate.net
(PDF) Redescription of the holotypes of Tylosaurus proriger and Tylosaurus nepaeolicus (Squamata: Mosasauridae)
PDF | Mosasaurs are a clade of extinct secondarily marine-adapted lizards whose fossils are relatively common in museum collections around the world.... | Find, read and cite all the research you need...
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
We hope this paper, in tandem with TEX (& more future work to come soon), emphasize the necessity of classical anatomical description & direct comparison to holotypes - no matter how scrappy they may appear, we cannot ignore them.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Speaking of Cope: this paper is the 2nd chapter of my dissertation, written while a phd student at the AMNH...which has his desk in the paleo library. So, I did make sure to write part of the paper from that desk, lol. 📷: AMNH digital coll.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
...so, we restrict our conception of the type to exclusively material that Cope describes & that either physically articulates with or matches (in color/preservation) Cope's described material.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
We also redescribe & reassess another important holotype, T nepaeolicus AMNH FARB 1565. Turns out, not all the material in the box came from one individual - I found a duplicate splenial. This of course casts doubt on the whole specimen...
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
MCZ 4374 is not the most complete Tylosaurus, but it does preserve a region of anatomy that's usually destroyed in Seaway tylos: the anterior palate. We find morphology unique to Tylosaurus & lots of potential for phylogenetic characters here.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
In this paper, we give MCZ 4374 the descriptive spotlight it deserves. We also provide a detailed account of its discovery and transfer to Harvard (including its receipt! Courtesy of the Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard)
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Holotypes are critically important to studies of taxonomy & skeletal variation in extinct animals. Despite many *recent* studies addressing those topics in Tylosaurus, ED Cope was the last person to figure the holotype, MCZ VPRA 4374, in the scientific literature... in 1870.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
It's been far too long since Tylosaurus news...so here's another NEW TYLOSAURUS PAPER! 🦎 From me & Mike² (Everhart & Polcyn) For the first time in over 150 years, the holotype of Tylosaurus proriger is fully described & figured in detail. Incredible artwork by Andrey Atuchin
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Skeleton Crew Paleo @skeletoncrewpaleo.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: LIVESTREAM. JULY 25. Something very different this time.... stay tuned!! ✈️⛏️🦴
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
David Soriano| Dilo @shamublackfish.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
King in Black A few weeks late but here’s a Tylosaurus rex life reconstruction . Huge congrats to @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social and her team on publishing the work on the king of the seaway. #TylosaurusTuesday #paleoart #sciart #art
Tylosaurus rex, one of the largest known mosasaurs, in full body with a red background. Tylosaurus rex up close. PNG of Tylosaurus rex
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Natee (they/them) @himmapaan.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
T. rex vs. T. rex.
Single-panel comic, drawn in pencil. A Tylosaurus rex in a cowboy hat faces a Tyrannosaurus rex. The caption reads: 'This town ain't big enough for the two of us.'
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
There's a new T. rex in town. Not a dinosaur, but a mosasaur. Tylosaurus rex. About the same size as Tyrannosaurus rex. Top predator, but in the sea. Nasty bite. The terror of ancient Texas! Described by pal @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social My thoughts @cnn.com edition.cnn.com/2026/05/28/s...
edition.cnn.com
Another T. rex debuts: A marine apex predator named Tylosaurus rex | CNN
There’s a newly crowned T. rex. This one, called Tylosaurus rex, was a tyrant of the sea and mosasaur spanning up to 43 feet in length.
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Mindy Weisberger @laminda.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Meet 'the ocean version of T. rex'—apex predator Tylosaurus rex, ruler of Cretaceous seas. I spoke to paleontologist @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social for @cnn.com about how she noticed something unusual about Texas fossils assigned to a known mosasaur & ended up describing a new species 🧪 #FossilFriday
cnn.com
Another T. rex debuts: A marine apex predator named Tylosaurus rex | CNN
There’s a newly crowned T. rex. This one, called Tylosaurus rex, was a tyrant of the sea and mosasaur spanning up to 43 feet in length.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Thank you!!!
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Aaron Woodruff @cenozoicking.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
#FossilFriday I mostly draw mammals, but I've always been fascinated by marine reptiles. So after the new paper by @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social et al announced a new species of #Tylosaurus, T. rex, I had to take a crack at a reconstruction! Fun to try something different..
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
This is why one should avoid using the abbreviation "T. rex" from here on out - 'cause now there are *two* of them. Welcome to science, Tylosaurus rex! (Take a back seat for once, tyrannosaurs.) #FossilFriday 🧪
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I'll end this thread here for now - please check out the paper here, & check out the new Tylosaurus rex model in Path of Titans! hdl.handle.net/2246/7549
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 But we also see here, arguably for the first time, how diverse this clade really is & how arbitrary paleogenera are. There is no single, clear-cut way to define a genus - they inevitably ebb & flow as new specimens & new characters are described. AND THAT'S OKAY!
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
1. Potentially monophyletic Hainosaurus 2. Derived Taniwhasaurus 3. Paraphyletic Tylosaurus Do we think Tylosaurus should be split at this time? NO-these are basically PRELIMINARY results. I expect the genus to resolve in future analyses with broader sampling & new characters.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Because I did everything from scratch, & was on a limited timeline, we were not able to fully sample Mosasauridae. But, we were able to include more spp of tylos than had ever been analyzed together before. We found three weird things:
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
In this paper, we provide a heavily revised character list for mosasaur phylogenetic analyses. Not all the characters are new, but I *rewrote* the entire character list, & *re scored* the matrix, from scratch. We did also add *50* new characters - only 3 had been added since 1997
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
WE COULD TEST THAT HYPOTHESIS, & we found that TEX are apomorphically distinct from T proriger REGARDLESS of body size - importantly, this includes in the size range where they overlap. AND, even better, we *do* see onto change in TEX - & it matches onto changes in extant lizards
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
wHaT aBoUt OnToGeNy?? Now that is a fair question to ask - and we of course considered that. TEX are larger, & their apomorphies could, theoretically, be ontogenetic. But here's the cool thing about an animal with a [relatively] large sample size & close living relatives...
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
TEX is distinguished from T. proriger by a suite of characters associated with the attachment sites for jaw & neck musculature, as well as consistently 'serrated' teeth...now I *know* what you're thinking:
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
...lo and behold, it is also NOT actually contemporaneous with T. proriger!!! Most TEX are from the Ozan Fm. - about 80-79 mil. yrs old, *younger* than the Niobrara T. proriger (~84 mya). Bunker is from the Pierre Shale - ~80 mya.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
IT'S BUNKER! 'Bunker' is on display at Kansas University...& was found in Kansas...so what gives?? A common pitfall in paleo taxonomy is to refer specimens to a species based on their locality, and NOT apomorphic comparison to the holotypes. BUNKER POSSESSES TEX APOMORPHIES...
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
To give you a sense of scale: the SMALLEST specimen that we refer to TEX is on par with our largest T. proriger, & the biggest is a few feet longer than the False Lizard King itself. Our biggest individual also introduces a little twist...
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Many TEX specimens were collected decades ago & referred to an existing sp of Tylosaurus, T. proriger. These referrals were primarily based on being larger & later in time than other T. spp...& boy they sure ARE larger (graph: Tylo quadrate size across 70 specimens)
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
...but wait, there's more! We are confident in referring a DOZEN specimens to T. rex. These referrals, & the taxon itself, are supported by MULTIPLE LINES OF EVIDENCE: apomorphic, stratigraphic, & geographic.
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
You can visit the holotype, PMNS 8029-"Heath"-on display at the Perot Museum! "Heath" preserves a nearly complete skull & partial skeleton. Shout out & thank you to my friend & colleague Kiersten for letting us use her skeletal for highlighting how much of the beast is preserved!
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
TEX is the culmination of my PhD research. Not only do we describe & figure our new species in exhaustive detail, but we include a revised phylogenetic dataset for analysis of Mosasauridae, & my measurement dataset for HUNDREDS OF MOSASAURS & EXTANT LIZARDS-& it's ALL OPEN ACCESS
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Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎 @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Everything IS bigger in Texas... Introducing TYLOSAURUS REX–“TEX”. A monster animal, a monster paper, & a monster project that I am *so* excited to finally share with everyone after ~5 yrs. Huge thanks to my coauthors, Mike & Ron, & to Alderon Games for bringing our lad to life!! #FossilFriday
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Palaeoncryptozoologist Briton @raftingzalmoxes.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Fun fact: the length of the Tylosaurus from #TheDinosaurs is 12.4m/40.7ft. This meakes it larger than the biggest Tylosaurus proriger and puts it in the size range of Tylosaurus rex.
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Riley Black 🏳️‍⚧️ 🦕 @restingdinoface.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
This week's free newsletter is out! Come learn about the new T. rex in town - Tylosaurus rex. And if you haven't yet, sign up for The Boneyard on Buttondown
buttondown.com
Friday Fragments #14
We've got a new mosasaur, and it's a *big one.*
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American Museum of Natural History @amnh.org · 21/05/2026
This research was led by Museum Research Associate Amelia Zietlow, who began this work as a comparative biology Ph.D. student in the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School. The study updates a dataset crucial for studying mosasaur evolution! Image courtesy of Alderon Games - Path of Titans
Rendering depicts Tylosaurus rex with teeth bared, swimming over a rocky outcrop.
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
American Museum of Natural History @amnh.org · 21/05/2026
🚨 There’s a new T. rex in town! A newly described species of giant mosasaur—growing up to 43 ft long—has been named Tylosaurus rex, or “king of the tylosaurs.” One of the largest mosasaurs known to date, this T. rex might be every bit as fearsome as the original “tyrant king.” Read more.👇
bit.ly
Giant Mosasaur Species from Texas Named T. rex | AMNH
New research describes Tylosaurus rex from more than a dozen previously known fossils.
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Path of Titans @pathoftitans.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
We are excited to announce a fourth new subspecies of Tylosaurus in Path of Titans, Tylosaurus Rex! Check out the interview with Amelia Zietlow, one of the amazing paleontologists who have described this new species of Tylosaurus! #pathoftitans #dinosaurs #game #interview #paleontology #Tylosaurus
youtu.be
Tylosaurus rex - New Subspecies & Interview
YouTube video by Path of Titans
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
But the new T.rex is actually just the appetizer: @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social also went and re-measured every mosasaur specimen (as well as a bunch of living lizards) she could, in order to create a good dataset for the family, which has been released as part of the paper's supplemental data.
digitallibrary.amnh.org
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
For decades, people have pulled massive remains of Tylosaurus -- an enormous sea-going lizard -- out of North Texas creeks. Really massive remains. So massive that researchers like Mike Polcyn and @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social increasingly wondered if they were a new species. Turns out they are!
nationalgeographic.com
Exclusive: There’s a new T. rex in town—and this giant beast ruled the seas
Equipped with powerful jaws and finely serrated teeth, paleontologists say the 43-foot-long prehistoric marine reptile deserves the name Tylosaurus rex.
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Reposted by Dr. Amelia R. Zietlow 🦎
EDGE @edgescience.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
🚨NEW STUDY DROP🚨 New species of giant mosasaur, Tylosaurus rex, based on over 12 specimens previously referred to other species of Tylosaurus. Culmination of the PhD research of lead author @tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social the paper is extremely thorough! 🎨: AlderonGames + @formorphology.bsky.social
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EDGE @edgescience.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
@tyrantlzrdqueen.bsky.social will do a live stream today discussing the work. bsky.app/profile/skel...
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