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1846 In Paleontology ...
Archosauromorphs New taxa Pterosaurs New taxa Sauropterygians Newly named plesiosaurs References {{Reflist 1840s in paleontology Paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solnhofen Formation
The Solnhofen Limestone or Solnhofen Plattenkalk, formally known as the Altmühltal Formation, is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte that preserves a rare assemblage of fossilized organisms, including highly detailed imprints of soft bodied organisms such as sea jellies. The most familiar fossils of the Solnhofen Plattenkalk include the early feathered theropod dinosaur ''Archaeopteryx'' preserved in such detail that they are among the most famous and most beautiful fossils in the world. The Solnhofen beds lie in the German state of Bavaria (Bayern), halfway between Nuremberg (Nürnberg) and Munich (München) and were originally quarried as a source of lithographic limestone. The Jura Museum situated in Eichstätt, Germany has an extensive exhibit of Jurassic fossils from the quarries of Solnhofen and surroundings, including marine reptiles, pterosaurs, and one specimen of the early bird ''Archaeopteryx''. Paleoenvironment and preservation During the Late Jurassic, this are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abydosaurus
''Abydosaurus'' (meaning " Abydos lizard") is a genus of brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur known from skull and postcranial material found in upper Lower Cretaceous rocks of northeastern Utah, United States. Discovery ''Abydosaurus'' is one of the few sauropods known from skull material, with the first described complete skull for a Cretaceous sauropod from the Americas. It is also notable for its narrow teeth, as earlier brachiosaurids had broader teeth. ''Abydosaurus'' is based on the holotype DINO 16488, a nearly complete skull and lower jaws with the first four neck vertebrae. Abundant skull and postcranial bones were found at the same site, including partial skulls from three additional individuals, a partial hip and associated tail vertebrae, a shoulder blade, an upper arm bone, and hand bones. These fossils were found in a sandstone bed at the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, near the old visitor center of Dinosaur National Monument ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhomaleosaurid
Rhomaleosauridae is a family of plesiosaurs from the Earliest Jurassic to the latest Middle Jurassic (Hettangian to Callovian stages) of Europe, North America, South America and possibly Asia. Most rhomaleosaurids are known from England, many specifically from lower Blue Lias deposits that date back to the earliest Jurassic, just at the boundary with the Triassic. In fact, to date only two undisputed rhomaleosaurids were named from outside Europe - the closely related '' Borealonectes russelli'' and '' Maresaurus coccai'' from Canada and Argentina, respectively. These two species are also the only Middle Jurassic representatives of the family. Rhomaleosauridae was formally named by Kuhn in 1961, originally proposed to include ''Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni'' and its relatives, which have short necks and large heads relatively to plesiosauroids like ''Elasmosaurus'' and ''Plesiosaurus'', but longer necks and smaller heads relatively to advanced pliosaurids like ''Pliosaurus'' and ''Kr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Lias
The Blue Lias is a formation (stratigraphy), geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago. The Blue Lias is famous for its fossils, especially ammonites. Its age corresponds to the Rhaetian to lower Sinemurian stages of the geological timescale, thus fully including the Hettangian stage. It is the lowest of the three divisions of the Lower Jurassic period and, as such, is also given the name ''Lower Lias''. stratigraphy, Stratigraphically it can be subdivided into three Geological unit#Lithostratigraphic units, members: the Wilmcote Limestone, Saltford Shale and Rugby, Warwickshire, Rugby Limestone. Lithology and facies The Blue Lias comprises decimetre scale alternations of clay, argillaceous limestone and mudstone. These alternations are caused by short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Early Jurassic, Early or Lower Jurassic epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between 199.5 ±0.3 annum, Ma and 192.9 ±0.3 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian and is followed by the Pliensbachian. In Europe the Sinemurian age, together with the Hettangian age, saw the deposition of the lower Lias Group, Lias, in Great Britain known as the Blue Lias. Stratigraphic definitions The Sinemurian Stage was defined and introduced into scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide d'Orbigny in 1842. It takes its name from the French town of Semur-en-Auxois, near Dijon. The calcareous soil formed from the Jurassic limestone of the region is in part responsible for the character of the classic Sancerre (wine), Sancerre wines. The base of the Sinemurian Stage is at the first appearance of the ammonite genu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hettangian
The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of the Jurassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma and 199.3 ± 0.3 Ma (million years ago). The Hettangian follows the Rhaetian (part of the Triassic Period) and is followed by the Sinemurian. In European stratigraphy the Hettangian is a part of the time span in which the Lias was deposited. An example is the British Blue Lias, which has an upper Rhaetian to Sinemurian age. Another example is the lower Lias from the Northern Limestone Alps where well-preserved but very rare ammonites, including '' Alsatites'', have been found. Stratigraphic definitions The Hettangian was introduced in the literature by Swiss palaeontologist, Eugène Renevier, in 1864. The stage takes its name from Hettange-Grande, a town in north-eastern France, just south of the border with Luxembourg on the main road from Luxembourg City to Metz. The base of the Hettangian Stage (which is also the base of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atychodracon
''Atychodracon'' is an extinct genus of rhomaleosaurid plesiosaurian known from the Late Triassic - Early Jurassic boundary (probably early Hettangian stage) of England. It contains a single species, ''Atychodracon megacephalus'', named in 1846 originally as a species of ''Plesiosaurus''. The holotype of ''"P." megacephalus'' was destroyed during a World War II air raid in 1940 and was later replaced with a neotype. The species had a very unstable taxonomic history, being referred to four different genera by various authors until a new genus name was created for it in 2015. Apart from the destroyed holotype and its three partial casts (that survived), a neotype and two additional individuals are currently referred to ''Atychodracon megacephalus'', making it a relatively well represented rhomaleosaurid. History of discovery The type species of ''Atychodracon'' was first described and named by Samuel Stutchbury in January 1846, as a species of the wastebasket taxon ''Plesiosauru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhamphorhynchus DB
''Rhamphorhynchus'' (, from Ancient Greek ''rhamphos'' meaning "beak" and ''rhynchus'' meaning "snout") is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such as ''Pterodactylus'', it had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a characteristic soft-tissue tail vane. The mouth of ''Rhamphorhynchus'' housed needle-like teeth, which were angled forward, with a curved, sharp, beak-like tip lacking teeth, indicating a diet mainly of fish; indeed, fish and cephalopod remains are frequently found in ''Rhamphorhynchus'' abdominal contents, as well as in their coprolites. Although fragmentary fossil remains possibly belonging to ''Rhamphorhynchus'' have been found in England, Tanzania, and Spain, the best preserved specimens come from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany. Many of these fossils preserve not only the bones but impressions of soft tissues, such as wing membranes and pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhamphorhynchid
Rhamphorhynchidae is a group of early pterosaurs named after ''Rhamphorhynchus'', that lived in the Late Jurassic. The family Rhamphorhynchidae was named in 1870 by Harry Govier Seeley.Seeley, H.G. (1870). "The Orithosauria: An Elementary Study of the Bones of Pterodactyles." Cambridge, 135 p. Members of the group possess no more than 11 pairs of teeth in the rostrum, a deltopectoral crest that is constricted at the base but expanded at the distal end, and a bent phalange on the fifth toe. Rhamphorhynchidae traditionally contains two subfamilies: the Rhamphorhynchinae and the Scaphognathinae. While not recovered as distinct clades by all analyses, there do appear to be traits uniting members of each group. Rhamphorhynchines are more common, were lightly built, and had jaws ending in pointed tips that contained more teeth, which are often procumbent (pointed forward). Scaphognathines are comparatively quite rare, were more robust skeletally, and had shorter wing proportions. The br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tithonian
In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age (geology), age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 149.2 ±0.7 annum, Ma and 143.1 ±0.6 (million years ago). It is preceded by the Kimmeridgian and followed by the Berriasian (part of the Cretaceous). Stratigraphic definitions The Tithonian was introduced in scientific literature by German stratigrapher Albert Oppel in 1865. The name Tithonian is unusual in geological stage names because it is derived from Greek mythology. Tithonus was the son of Laomedon of Troy and fell in love with Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn. His name was chosen by Albert Oppel for this stratigraphy, stratigraphical stage because the Tithonian finds itself hand in hand with the dawn of the Cretaceous. The base of the Tithonian stage is at the base of the ammonite biozone of ''Hybonoticeras, Hybonoticeras hybonotum''. A global reference profile (a GSSP, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smilodon
''Smilodon'' is an extinct genus of Felidae, felids. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats, belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae, with an estimated date of Speciation, divergence from the ancestor of living cats around 20 million years ago. ''Smilodon'' was one of the last surviving machairodonts alongside ''Homotherium''. ''Smilodon'' lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene to early Holocene epoch (2.5 Year#mya, mya – at latest 8,200 years ago). The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means or combined with . Three species are recognized today: ''S. gracilis'', ''S. fatalis'', and ''S. populator''. The two latter species were probably descended from ''S. gracilis'', which itself probably evolved from ''Megantereon''. The hundreds of specimens obtained from the La Brea T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
