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Darren Naish
Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator. As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including ''Eotyrannus'', ''Xenoposeidon'', and azhdarchid pterosaurs. Much of his research has focused on Wealden Group fossils from the Isle of Wight. He is founder of the vertebrate palaeozoology blog Tetrapod Zoology, and has written several popular science books. Naish also makes frequent media appearances and is a scientific consultant and advisor for film, television, museums and exhibitions. Naish is also known for his skepticism and work examining cryptozoology and sea monster sightings and beliefs from a scientific perspective. Research He obtained a geology degree at the University of Southampton and later studied vertebrate palaeontology under British palaeontologist David Martill at the University of Portsmouth, where he obtained both an M. Phil. and PhD. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek (, "old, ancient"), (, ( gen. ), "being, creature"), and (, "speech, thought, study"). Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics, and engineering. U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrannosauroid
Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent beginning in the Jurassic Period. By the end of the Cretaceous Period, tyrannosauroids were the dominant large predators in the Northern Hemisphere, culminating in the gigantic ''Tyrannosaurus''. Fossils of tyrannosauroids have been recovered on what are now the continents of North America, Europe and Asia, with fragmentary remains possibly attributable to tyrannosaurs also known from South America and Australia. Tyrannosauroids were bipedal carnivores, as were most theropods, and were characterized by numerous skeletal features, especially of the skull and pelvis. Early in their existence, tyrannosauroids were small predators with long, three-fingered forelimbs. Late Cretaceous genera became much larger, including some of the largest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosaurs
Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. There were two major types of pterosaurs. Basal pterosaurs (also called 'non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs' or 'rhamphorhynchoids') were smaller animals with fully toothed jaws and, typically, long tails. Their wide wing membranes probably included and connected the hind legs. On the ground, they would have had an awkward sprawling posture, but the anatomy of their joints and strong claws would have made them effective climbers, and some may have even lived in trees. Basal pterosaurs were insectiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropod
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their body), and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Well-known genera include ''Brachiosaurus'', ''Diplodocus'', ''Apatosaurus'' and ''Brontosaurus''. The oldest known unequivocal sauropod dinosaurs are known from the Early Jurassic. ''Isanosaurus'' and ''Antetonitrus'' were originally described as Triassic sauropods, but their age, and in the case of ''Antetonitrus'' also its sauropod status, were subsequently questioned. Sauropod-like sauropodomorph tracks from the Fleming Fjord Formation (Greenland) might, however, indicate the occurrence of the group in the Late Triassic. By the Late Jurassic (150 million yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alvarezsaurid
Alvarezsauridae is a family of small, long-legged dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, they are now thought to be an early diverging branch of maniraptoran theropods. Alvarezsaurids were highly specialized. They had tiny but stout forelimbs, with compact, bird-like hands. Their skeletons suggest that they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They had long, tube-shaped snouts filled with tiny teeth. They have been interpreted as myrmecophagous, adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites, with the short arms acting as effective digging instruments to break into nests. ''Alvarezsaurus'', the type genus of the family, was named for the historian Gregorio Álvarez. History of study Bonaparte (1991) described the first alvarezsaurid, ''Alvarezsaurus calvoi'', from an incomplete skeleton found in Patagonia, Argentina. Bonaparte also named a family, Alvarezsauridae, to contain it. He a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromaeosaurid
Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning 'runner', and ('), meaning 'lizard'. In informal usage, they are often called raptors (after ''Velociraptor''), a term popularized by the film '' Jurassic Park''; a few types include the term "raptor" directly in their name and have come to emphasize their bird-like appearance and speculated bird-like behavior. Dromaeosaurid fossils have been found across the globe in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and Antarctica, with some fossils giving credence to the possibility that they inhabited Australia as well. They first appeared in the mid-Jurassic Period (late Bathonian stage, about 167 million years ago) and survived until the end of the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, 66 ma), existing until the Cretaceous–Paleogene ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Troodontid
Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. During most of the 20th century, troodontid fossils were few and incomplete and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with many dinosaurian lineages. More recent fossil discoveries of complete and articulated specimens (including specimens which preserve feathers, eggs, embryos, and complete juveniles), have helped to increase understanding about this group. Anatomical studies, particularly studies of the most primitive troodontids, like ''Sinovenator'', demonstrate striking anatomical similarities with ''Archaeopteryx'' and primitive dromaeosaurids, and demonstrate that they are relatives comprising a clade called Paraves. Description Troodontids are a group of small, bird-like, gracile maniraptorans. All troodontids have unique features of the skull, such as large numbers of closely spaced teeth in the lower jaw. Troodontids have sickle-claws and raptorial hands, and some of the highest non-avian encephaliza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heptasteornis
''Heptasteornis'' is the name given to a potentially dubious genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. The type (and only known) species is ''Heptasteornis andrewsi'', described as a presumed gigantic prehistoric owl in 1975. It was previously included in ''Elopteryx nopcsai'' and indeed the holotypes of both were believed to be from the same individual as they were discovered, and initially were assigned the same specimen number. This appears to be in error however (see below).Harrison & Walker (1975) The material was discovered in Romania by Franz Nopcsa, in the late Maastrichtian Sânpetru Formation ( Rognacian faunal stage, deposited c. 68 - 66 million years ago) of the Haţeg Basin in Transylvania. The scientific name means "C.W. Andrews' Transylvanian bird", after the namer of ''Elopteryx'', and Ancient Greek ''hepta'' (ἑπτά) "seven" + ''asty'' (άστυ) "city" + ''ornis'' (όρνις) "bird"; the Latin ''septum urbium'' or the German ''Siebenbürgen'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gareth Dyke
Gareth John Dyke is a paleontologist whose work is concerned with the evolutionary history of birds and their dinosaurian relatives. His specific research interests include the phylogenetics of birds, the functional morphology of aves and non-avian dinosaurs, as well as the paleoenvironments of fossil vertebrates. Early life and education Dyke received a BSc in Geology & Biology in 1997 and a Ph.D. in Paleontology in 2000 from the University of Bristol. From 2000 to 2002, he was a Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow in Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Career From 2002 to 2011, Dyke was at the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin, where he was given the title of Senior Lecturer in 2007. Formerly a Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of Southampton, he is currently a researcher within the Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. In addition to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirischia
''Mirischia'' is a small (two meter-long) genus of compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the Albian stage ( Early Cretaceous Period) of Brazil. Discovery and naming In 2000 David Martill and Eberhard Frey reported the find of a small dinosaur fossil present in a chalk nodule, illegally acquired by the German Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe from an illegal Brazilian fossil dealer who had indicated the piece had been uncovered in the Chapada do Araripe, specifically at Araripina, Pernambuco. In 2004 the type species ''Mirischia asymmetrica'' was named and described by Martill, Frey and Darren Naish. The generic name combines the Latin ''mirus'', 'wonderful', with "ischia", the Latinised plural of Greek ἴσχιον, ''ischion'', 'hip joint'. The specific name ''asymmetrica'' refers to the fact that in the specimen the left ischium differs from its right counterpart. The holotype, SMNK 2349 PAL, has its probable provenance in the Romualdo Formation of the Santana G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eberhard Frey
Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (1445–1496) *Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg (after 1315–1392) * Eberhard I, Count of Bonngau (died 937) * Eberhard III, Duke of Franconia (''ca'' 885–939) * Eberhard (Archbishop of Trier) (1010–1066) *Eberhard of Salzburg (died 1164), Bishop of Salzburg and saint *Eberhard Anheuser (1806–1880), Soap and candle maker, co-founder of Anheuser-Busch *Eberhard Weber (* 1940), German jazz musician and composer Last name *Eberhard family, a prominent Swiss industrialist family ( Eberhard & Co.) from Bern whose origin has been traced back to the 10th century ** George-Emile Eberhard (1868–1936), founder of Eberhard & Co **George Eberhard, George-Emile's son and heir **Maurice Eberhard, George-Emile's son and heir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aristosuchus
''Aristosuchus'' is a genus of small coelurosaurian dinosaur whose name was derived from the Greek ἄριστος (meaning bravest, best, noblest) and ''σουχος'' (the Ancient Greek corruption of the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek). It shared many characteristics with birds. Discovery The type species, ''Aristosuchus pusillus'', was described in 1876 by Richard Owen and named ''Poekilopleuron pusillus''. The specific epithet means "small" in Latin. Harry Govier Seeley (1839–1909) gave it the name ''Aristosuchus'' in 1887. It was found in the Wealden Group dating to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) in England, on the Isle of Wight, i.e. from about 125 million years ago. Description ''Aristosuchus'' was a bipedal, meat-eating (carnivorous) theropod dinosaur. This predator is thought to have been about and is estimated to have weighed about . According to Gregory S. Paul, its weight was . The femur of ''Aristosuchus'' has a wing-like anterior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
