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Dinosaur Biostratigraphy
Dinosaur biostratigraphy studies the distribution of dinosaur taxa through rock layers. It can be useful for dating and correlating rock units and reconstructiong ancient ecosystems. Most dinosaur-bearing rock formations do not contain multiple distinct stratigraphically separated faunas. Typically dinosaur faunas are static throughout a formation or change piecemeal over time. Faunal turnover usually occurs between formations. The fossil record can give an appearance of faunal turnover due to multiple causes including evolution, migration, or changing preservational biases. Turnover events can have extremely minor causes like the migration of a taxon to a new area or extremely conspicuous ones like an ecosystem destroying catastrophe. Since the fossil record is incomplete assessing the nature and causes of faunal turnovers is fraught with difficulty, except in cases where the fossil record is "unusually complete." Dinosaur Park Formation The Dinosaur Park Formation can be divid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur-bearing Rock Formations
This list of dinosaur-bearing rock formations is a list of geologic formations in which dinosaur fossils have been documented. Containing body fossils * List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils ** List of stratigraphic units with few dinosaur genera ** List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils Containing trace fossils * List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur trace fossils ** List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur tracks *** List of stratigraphic units with ornithischian tracks *** List of stratigraphic units with sauropodomorph tracks *** List of stratigraphic units with theropod tracks See also * Lists of fossiliferous stratigraphic units * List of fossil sites * Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Creta ... {{DEFAULTS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parasaurolophus Walkeri
''Parasaurolophus'' (; meaning "near crested lizard" in reference to ''Saurolophus)'' is a genus of herbivorous hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America and possibly Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 76.5–73 million years ago. It was a herbivore that walked both as a biped and as a quadruped. Three species are universally recognized: ''P. walkeri'' (the type species), ''P. tubicen'', and the short-crested ''P. cyrtocristatus''. Additionally, a fourth species, ''P. jiayinensis'', has been proposed, although it is more commonly placed in the separate genus '' Charonosaurus''. Remains are known from Alberta (Canada), New Mexico and Utah (United States), and possibly Heilongjiang (China). The genus was first described in 1922 by William Parks from a skull and partial skeleton found in Alberta. ''Parasaurolophus'' was a hadrosaurid, part of a diverse family of Cretaceous dinosaurs known for their range of bizarre head adornments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypacrosaurus Sternbergi
''Hypacrosaurus'' (meaning "near the highest lizard" [Greek υπο-, ''hypo-'' = less + ακρος, ''akros'', high], because it was almost but not quite as large as ''Tyrannosaurus'') was a genus of hadrosaurid, duckbill dinosaur similar in appearance to ''Corythosaurus''. Like ''Corythosaurus'', it had a tall, hollow rounded crest, although not as large and straight. It is known from the remains of two species that spanned 75 to 67 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, and Montana, United States, and is the latest hollow-crested duckbill known from good remains in North America. It was an obscure genus until the discovery in the 1990s of nests, egg (biology), eggs, and hatchlings belonging to ''H. stebingeri''. Discovery and history The holotype, type remains of ''Hypacrosaurus'' were collected in 1910 by Barnum Brown for the American Museum of Natural History. The remains, a partial postcranial skeleton consisting of several vertebrae and a partial pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vagaceratops Irvinensis
''Vagaceratops'' (meaning "wandering (''vagus'', Latin) horned face", in reference to its close relationship with '' Kosmoceratops'' from Utah) is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It is a chasmosaurine ceratopsian which lived during the Late Cretaceous period (late Campanian) in what is now Alberta. Its fossils have been recovered from the Upper Dinosaur Park Formation The Dinosaur Park Formation is the uppermost member of the Belly River Group (also known as the Judith River Group), a major geologic unit in southern Alberta. It was deposited during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between about 7 .... It is sometimes included in the genus '' Chasmosaurus'' as ''Chasmosaurus irvinensis'' instead of being recognized as its own genus. Description ''Vagaceratops'' was a medium-sized ceratopsian, reaching in length and weighing . It is known primarily from three fossil skulls. Although the general structure was typical of ceratopsids (i.e. a parrot- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Styracosaurus Albertensis
''Styracosaurus'' ( ; meaning "spiked lizard" from the Ancient Greek / "spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft" and / "lizard") is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period (Campanian stage), about 75.5 to 74.5 million years ago. It had four to six long parietal spikes extending from its neck frill, a smaller jugal horn on each of its cheeks, and a single horn protruding from its nose, which may have been up to long and wide. The function or functions of the horns and frills have been debated for many years. ''Styracosaurus'' was a relatively large dinosaur, reaching lengths of and weighing about . It stood about tall. ''Styracosaurus'' possessed four short legs and a bulky body. Its tail was rather short. The skull had a beak and shearing cheek teeth arranged in continuous dental batteries, suggesting that the animal sliced up plants. Like other ceratopsians, this dinosaur may have been a herd animal, travelling in large groups, as sugg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lambeosaurus Lambei
''Lambeosaurus'' ( , meaning " Lambe's lizard") is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived about 75 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage) of North America. This bipedal/quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur is known for its distinctive hollow cranial crest, which in the best-known species resembled a mitten. Several possible species have been named, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico, but only the two Canadian species are currently recognized as valid. Material relevant to the genus was first named by Lawrence Lambe in 1902. Over twenty years later, the modern name was coined in 1923 by William Parks, in honour of Lambe, based on better preserved specimens. The genus has a complicated taxonomic history, in part because small-bodied crested hadrosaurids now recognized as juveniles were once thought to belong to their own genera and species. Currently, the various skulls assigned to the type species ''L. lambei'' are interpreted as showi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daspletosaurus
''Daspletosaurus'' ( ; meaning "frightful lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Laramidia between about 79.5 and 74 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. The genus ''Daspletosaurus'' contains three species. Fossils of the earlier type species, ''D. torosus'', have been found in Alberta, and fossils of a later second species, ''D. wilsoni,'' and third species, ''D. horneri'', have been found only in Montana. A possible fourth species, also from Alberta, awaits formal identification. The taxon '' Thanatotheristes'' has been suggested to represent a species of ''Daspletosaurus'', ''D. degrootorum'', but this has not been widely supported. ''Daspletosaurus'' is closely related to the much larger and more recent tyrannosaurid '' Tyrannosaurus rex''. Like most tyrannosaurids, ''Daspletosaurus'' was a multi-tonne bipedal predator equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. ''Daspletosaurus'' had the small forelimbs typical of tyrannosau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosaurolophus Maximus
''Prosaurolophus'' (; meaning "before ''Saurolophus''", in comparison to the later dinosaur with a similar head crest) is a genus of hadrosaurid (or duck-billed) dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. It is known from the remains of at least 25 individuals belonging to two species, including skulls and skeletons, but it remains obscure. Its fossils have been found in the late Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, and the roughly contemporaneous Two Medicine Formation in Montana, dating to around 75.5-74.0 million years ago. Its most recognizable feature is a small solid crest formed by the nasal bones, sticking up in front of the eyes. The type species is ''P. maximus'', described by American paleontologist Barnum Brown of the American Museum of Natural History in 1916. A second species, ''P. blackfeetensis'', was described by Jack Horner of the Museum of the Rockies in 1992. The two species were differentiated mainly by crest siz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panoplosaurus Mirus
''Panoplosaurus'' is a genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ... of armoured dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. Few specimens of the genus are known, all from the middle Campanian of the Dinosaur Park Formation, roughly 76 to 75 million years ago. It was first discovered in 1917, and named in 1919 by Lawrence Lambe, named for its extensive armour, meaning "well-armoured lizard". ''Panoplosaurus'' has at times been considered the proper name for material otherwise referred to as ''Edmontonia'', complicating its phylogenetic and ecological interpretations, at one point being considered to have existed across Alberta, New Mexico and Texas, with specimens in institutions from Canada and the United States. The skull and skeleton of ''Panoplosaurus'' are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chasmosaurus Belli
''Chasmosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Period of North America. Its name means 'opening lizard', referring to the large openings (fenestrae) in its frill (Greek ''chasma'' meaning 'opening' or 'hollow' or 'gulf' and ''sauros'' meaning 'lizard'). With a length of and a weight of , ''Chasmosaurus'' was a ceratopsian of average size. Like all ceratopsians, it was purely herbivorous. It was initially to be called ''Protorosaurus'', but this name had been previously published for another animal. All specimens of ''Chasmosaurus'' were collected from the Dinosaur Park Formation of the Dinosaur Provincial Park of Alberta, Canada. Referred specimens of ''C. russelli'' come from the lower beds of the formation while ''C. belli'' comes from middle and upper beds. Discovery and species In 1898, at ''Berry Creek'', Alberta, Lawrence Morris Lambe of the Geological Survey of Canada made the first discovery of ''Chasmosaurus'' remains; holotype NMC 4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gryposaurus Incurvimanus
''Gryposaurus'' (meaning "hooked-nosed (Greek ''grypos'') lizard"; sometimes incorrectly translated as "griffin (Latin ''gryphus'') lizard") was a genus of duckbilled dinosaur that lived about 80 to 75 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous (late Santonian to late Campanian stages) of North America. Named species of ''Gryposaurus'' are known from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada, and two formations in the United States: the Lower Two Medicine Formation in Montana and the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah. A possible additional species from the Javelina Formation in Texas may extend the temporal range of the genus to 66 million years ago. ''Gryposaurus'' is similar to ''Kritosaurus'', and for many years the two were thought to be synonyms. It is known from numerous skulls, some skeletons, and even some skin impressions that show it to have had pyramidal scales projecting along the midline of the back. It is most easily distinguished from other duckbills by its n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centrosaurus Apertus
''Centrosaurus'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Canada. Their remains have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation, dating from 76.5 to 75.5 million years ago. Discovery and naming The first ''Centrosaurus'' remains were discovered and named by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in strata along the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada. The name ''Centrosaurus'' means "pointed lizard" (from Greek ', , "point or prickle" and ', , "lizard"), and refers to the series of small hornlets placed along the margin of their frills, not to the nasal horns (which were unknown when the dinosaur was named). The genus is not to be confused with the stegosaur '' Kentrosaurus'', the name of which is derived from the same Greek word. Later, vast bonebeds of ''Centrosaurus'' were found in Dinosaur Provincial Park, also in Alberta. Some of these beds extend for hundreds of meters and contain thousands of individuals of all ages and all levels of complet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
