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Sauropodomorpha
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The '' prosauropods,'' which preceded the sauropods, were smaller and were often able to walk on two legs. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic (approximately 230 Ma) until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. Description Sauropodomorphs were adapted to browsing higher than any other contemporary herbivore, giving them access to high tree foliage. This feeding strategy is supported by many of their defining characteristics, such as: a light, tiny skull on the end of a long neck (with ten or more elongated cervical vertebrae) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateosaurus Engelhardti
''Plateosaurus'' (probably meaning "broad lizard", often mistranslated as "flat lizard") is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 214 to 204 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. ''Plateosaurus'' is a basal (early) sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod". The type species is ''Plateosaurus trossingensis''; before 2019, that honor was given to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'', but it was ruled as undiagnostic (i.e. indistinguishable from other dinosaurs) by the ICZN. Currently, there are three valid species; in addition to ''P. trossingensis'', ''P. longiceps'' and ''P. gracilis'' are also known. However, others have been assigned in the past, and there is no broad consensus on the species taxonomy of plateosaurid dinosaurs. Similarly, there are a plethora of synonyms (invalid duplicate names) at the genus level. Discovered in 1834 by Johann Friedrich Engelhardt and described three years later by Herman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saurischian
Saurischia ( , meaning "reptile-hipped" from the Greek ' () meaning 'lizard' and ' () meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two basic divisions of dinosaurs (the other being Ornithischia), classified by their hip structure. Saurischia and Ornithischia were originally called orders by Harry Seeley in 1888 though today most paleontologists classify Saurischia as an unranked clade rather than an order.Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H. (eds.). (2004). ''The Dinosauria. 2nd edition''. University of California Press, Berkeley. 833 pp. Description All carnivorous dinosaurs (certain types of theropods) are traditionally classified as saurischians, as are all of the birds and one of the two primary lineages of herbivorous dinosaurs, the sauropodomorphs. At the end of the Cretaceous Period, all saurischians except the birds became extinct in the course of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Birds, as direct descendants of one group of theropod dinosaurs, are a sub-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eoraptor Lunensis
''Eoraptor'' () is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwestern Argentina. The type and only species, ''Eoraptor lunensis'', was first described in 1993, and is known from an almost complete and well-preserved skeleton and several fragmentary ones. ''Eoraptor'' had multiple tooth shapes, which suggests that it was omnivorous. History of discovery The bones of this primitive dinosaur were first discovered in 1991, by University of San Juan paleontologist Ricardo Martínez, during field work conducted by the University of Chicago and the University of San Juan. The holotype specimen ''PVSJ 512'' was discovered in muddy siltstone belonging to the Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in Argentina. The fossils in this formation were deposited in the Carnian stage of the Triassic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eoraptor
''Eoraptor'' () is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwestern Argentina. The type and only species, ''Eoraptor lunensis'', was first described in 1993, and is known from an almost complete and well-preserved skeleton and several fragmentary ones. ''Eoraptor'' had multiple tooth shapes, which suggests that it was omnivorous. History of discovery The bones of this primitive dinosaur were first discovered in 1991, by University of San Juan paleontologist Ricardo Martínez, during field work conducted by the University of Chicago and the University of San Juan. The holotype specimen ''PVSJ 512'' was discovered in muddy siltstone belonging to the Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in Argentina. The fossils in this formation were deposited in the Carnian stage of the Triass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guaibasauridae
Guaibasauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, known from fossil remains of late Triassic period formations in Brazil and Argentina. Classification The exact makeup and classification of the Guaibasauridae remain uncertain. The family was originally named by Jose Bonaparte and colleagues in 1999 to contain a single genus and species, ''Guaibasaurus candelariensis''. When the second specimen of ''Guaibasaurus'' was described from better remains in 2007, it became easier to compare it to other enigmatic early saurischians, which are often difficult to classify because they combine characteristics of the two major saurischian groups, Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha. Bonaparte and colleagues, in light of the information gained from this second specimen, found that the genus ''Saturnalia'' (which is anatomically very similar to ''Guaibasaurus'') could also be assigned to the Guaibasauridae, though they did not conduct a phylogenetic analysis or define Guaibasauridae as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya; their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,700 living species, ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Efraasia
''Efraasia'' (pronounced "E-FRAHS-ee-A") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germany. It was named in 1973 after Eberhard Fraas, who during the early twentieth century collected what were the original type specimens. The specimens were at first assigned to three already existing genera and so became divided among three separate species: ''Teratosaurus minor'', ''Sellosaurus fraasi'' and ''Paleosaurus diagnosticus''. In 2003 these were combined into a single valid species: ''Efraasia minor''. ''Efraasia'' was a lightly built, medium-sized sauropodomorph, about long. Discovery and naming ''Efraasia'' has had a complicated taxonomic history involving several genera and species. Material now known under ''Efraasia'' first came to light after Albert Burrer, ''Hofsteinmetzmeister'' ("Court master stonemason") at Maulbronn, in 1902 began to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantydraco
''Pantydraco'' (where "panty-" is short for Pant-y-ffynnon, signifying ''hollow of the spring/well'' in Welsh, referring to the quarry at Bonvilston in South Wales where it was found) was a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of the United Kingdom (Wales). It is based on a partial juvenile skeleton once thought to belong to ''Thecodontosaurus''. Only one valid species of ''Pantydraco'' is recognised: ''P. caducus.'' Description ''Pantydraco'' was of moderate build. The creature had a long tail that tapered towards the end and was broad at the hip joint. It had a pointed head with a strong jaw. The forelimbs of the dinosaur were developed for grasping while the hindlimbs were adapted for supporting the creature's body weight. The center of mass lies near the pelvic bone, meaning the creature was bipedal. The forelimbs were shorter than the hindlimbs. The hands had three movable digits while the fourth digit was embedded. It had well-developed claws. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturnaliidae
Saturnaliidae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs found in Brazil, Argentina and possibly Zimbabwe. It is not to be confused with Saturnalidae, a family of radiolarian protists. Classification In 2010, Martin Ezcurra defined the subfamily Saturnaliinae for the clade containing ''Saturnalia'' and ''Chromogisaurus'', which were found to be close relatives in several studies. While they are sometimes found to be a subgroup within the Guaibasauridae, all recent studies have found the saturnaliines to form an independent lineage at the very base of the sauropodomorph family tree. At one point, '' Agnosphitys'' was recovered as a possible saturnaliine until it was recovered as a member of Silesauridae in 2017.Baron, M.G., Norman, D.B., and Barrett, P.M. (2017). A new hypothesis of dinosaur relationships and early dinosaur evolution. ''Nature'', 543: 501–506. Langer and colleagues (2019) recovered '' Pampadromaeus'' and '' Panphagia'' as relatives of ''Saturnalia'' and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mbiresaurus
''Mbiresaurus'' (meaning " Mbire reptile") is an extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Pebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. The genus contains a single species, ''Mbiresaurus raathi'', known from a nearly complete skeleton. ''Mbiresaurus'' represents one of Africa’s earliest known definitive dinosaurs. Discovery and naming The ''Mbiresaurus'' holotype specimen, NHMZ 2222, was discovered in two expeditions in 2017 and 2019 in layers of the Pebbly Arkose Formation on Dande Communal Land of Mbire District, Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe, which dates to the late Carnian age of the late Triassic period. The holotype consists of a mostly complete, partially-articulated skeleton, including a partial skull and lower jaws, cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrae, fragments of ribs, partial pectoral and pelvic girdles, and partial forelimbs and hindlimbs. A larger referred specimen, NHMZ 2547, was found in association w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosauropods
Plateosauridae is a family of plateosaurian sauropodomorphs from the Late Triassic of Europe, Greenland, Africa and Asia. Although several dinosaurs have been classified as plateosaurids over the years, the family Plateosauridae is now restricted to ''Plateosaurus'', '' Yimenosaurus'', ''Euskelosaurus'', and '' Issi''''.'' In another study, Yates (2003) sunk ''Sellosaurus'' into ''Plateosaurus'' (as ''P. gracilis''). Classification Plateosauridae, which was first named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1895, is a stem-based taxon and it was defined by Sereno, 1998 as all animals more closely related to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'' than to '' Massospondylus carinatus''. Galton and Upchurch, 2004 proposed the following definition: all animals more closely related to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'' than to ''Massospondylus carinatus'' and '' Yunnanosaurus huangi''. Yates, 2007 defined it as all animals more closely related to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'' than to ''Diplodocus longus''. Recen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buriolestes
''Buriolestes'' is a genus of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southern Brazil. It contains a single species, ''B. schultzi'', named in 2016. The type specimen was found alongside a specimen of the lagerpetid dinosauromorph '' Ixalerpeton''. Discovery and naming The holotype specimen, ULBRA-PVT280, was discovered in 2009 in the Buriol ravine in São João do Polêsine, Brazil. These rocks are part of the Santa Maria Formation, which dates to the Carnian epoch. The specimen consists of a single skeleton preserving parts of the skull, vertebrae, left forelimb, and left hindlimb. Another set of smaller bones is also present, which may belong to a juvenile or a different taxon altogether. Two individuals of '' Ixalerpeton'' were also preserved close by. Additional remains were discovered in 2015 and published in 2018. These include a mostly complete skeleton, CAPPA/UFSM 0035, which preserves a complete skull and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
