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Albalophosaurus
''Albalophosaurus'' (meaning 'white crest lizard') is a genus of ceratopsian ornithischian dinosaur. It was described in 2009 from remains found in 1997 by Yoshinori Kobayashi from the Kuwajima Formation of central Japan, outcropping in Hakusan in the Ishikawa Prefecture. The holotype, SBEI 176, consists of cranial bones from an incomplete, disarticulated skull and left lower jaw thought to belong to a single individual. The type species is named ''A. yamaguchiorum''. The generic name is derived from Latin ''albus'', "white", and Greek λόϕος (''lophos''), "crest", a reference to the snow-covered crest of Mount Hakusan. The specific name honours Ichio Yamaguchi and Mikiko Yamaguchi, who discovered and prepared many fossils from the site. The exact age of the strata from which the remains of ''Albalophosaurus'' have been found is not known because of the lack of marine beds containing index fossils, but the Kuwajima Formation is known to have formed during the Early Cretac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuwajima Formation
The Kuwajima Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation in Japan. Its precise age is uncertain due to a lack of identifying fossils, and it was previously considered likely Valanginian to Hauterivian in age. However, it is now considered to probably be Barremian in age. Dinosaurs and other vertebrates has been recovered from the Kaseki-kabe "Fossil-bluff" locality in the uppermost part of the formation. The multituberculate mammals ''Hakusanobaatar matsuoi'' and '' Tedoribaatar reini'' are known from the Kuwajima Formation. A member of Tritylodontidae, '' Montirictus kuwajimaensis'', has also been recovered from the unit.Hiroshige Matsuoka, Nao Kusuhashi and Ian J. Corfe (2016). "A new Early Cretaceous tritylodontid (Synapsida, Cynodontia, Mammaliamorpha) from the Kuwajima Formation (Tetori Group) of central Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Online edition: Vertebrate Paleobiota Fish Amphibians Choristoderes Squamates Dinosaurs Mammaliam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia ( or ; Greek: "horned faces") is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, '' Yinlong downsi'', lived between 161.2 and 155.7 million years ago.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> The last ceratopsian species, '' Triceratops prorsus'', became extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, . ''Triceratops'' is by far the best-known ceratopsian to the general public. It is traditional for ceratopsian genus names to end in "''-ceratops''", although this is not always the case. One of the first named genera was ''Ceratops'' itself, which lent its name to the group, although it is considered a ''nomen dubium'' today as its fossil remains have no distinguishing char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yinlong
''Yinlong'' (, meaning "hidden dragon") is a genus of basal ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period of central Asia. It was a small, primarily bipedal herbivore. Discovery and species A coalition of American and Chinese paleontologists, including Xu Xing, Catherine Forster, Jim Clark, and Mo Jinyou, described and named ''Yinlong'' in 2006. The generic name is derived from the Mandarin Chinese words 隱 (''yǐn'': "hidden") and 龍 (''lóng'': "dragon"), a reference to the movie ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', large portions of which were filmed in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, near the locality where this animal's fossil remains were discovered. ''Long'' is the word most often used in the Chinese media when referring to dinosaurs. The species was named after the American vertebrate paleontologist William Randall Downs III, a frequent participant in paleontological expeditions to China who died the year before ''Yinlong'' was discovered.Xu, X., Fors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Proposals for the exact age of the Barremian-Aptian boundary ranged from 126 to 117 Ma until recently (as of 2019), but based on drillholes in Svalbard the defining early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a) was carbon isotope dated to 123.1±0.3 Ma, limiting the possible range for the boundary to c. 122–121 Ma. There is a possible link between this anoxic event and a series of Early Cretaceous large igneous provinces (LIP). The Ontong Java- Manihiki- Hikurangi large igneous province, emplaced in the South Pacific at c. 120 Ma, is by far the largest LIP in Earth's history. The Ontong Java Plateau today covers an area of 1,860,000 km2. In the Indian Ocean another LIP began to form at c. 120 Ma, the Kergue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berriasian
In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/ stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago). The Berriasian succeeds the Tithonian (part of the Jurassic) and precedes the Valanginian. Stratigraphic definition The Berriasian Stage was introduced in scientific literature by Henri Coquand in 1869. It is named after the village of Berrias in the Ardèche department of France. The largely non-marine English Purbeck Formation is in part of Berriasian age.In fact, the first rocks to be described of this age were the beds of the English Purbeck Formation, named as the Purbeckian by Alexandre Brongniart in 1829 following description by Henry De la Beche, William Buckland, Thomas Webster and William Henry Fitton. The base of the Berriasian, which is also the base of the Cretaceous System, has traditionally been placed at the fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaoyangosaurus
''Chaoyangsaurus'' (" Chaoyang lizard") is a marginocephalian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China. It has been dated to between 150.8 and 145.5 million years ago. ''Chaoyangsaurus'' belonged to the Ceratopsia ( Greek for "horned faces"). ''Chaoyangsaurus'', like all ceratopsians, was primarily a herbivore. Discovery and naming In 1976, the remains of ''Chaoyangsaurus'' were found by Cheng Zhengwu at Ershijiazi, in the Chaoyang area of Liaoning Province in northeastern China. The fossil was added to a travelling exhibition. Unlike many other dinosaurs, ''Chaoyangsaurus'' had been discussed in a number of sources before its official publication. As a result of this, several different spellings of its name have come and gone as invalid '' nomina nuda'' ("naked names", names with no formal description behind them). The first name to see print was ''Chaoyoungosaurus'', which appeared in the guidebook to a Japanese museum exhibit, and was the result of an incorrect transliterat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stenopelix
''Stenopelix'' (meaning "narrow pelvis") is a genus of small marginocephalian dinosaur, possibly a basal ceratopsian, from the Early Cretaceous of Germany. It lived in the late Berriasian Stage of the Cretaceous period, approximately 140 myr ago.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> The genus is based on a partial skeleton lacking the skull, and its classification is based on characteristics of the hips. Discovery and species In 1855, in a sandstone quarry near Bückeburg on the Harrl, a fossil was found of a small dinosaur. Most of its bones were in a poor condition and removed on preparation, leaving two sets of hollow impressions on the plate and counterplate. The two plates do not overlap completely. The hollows, serving as a natural mold, have since been used to produce several casts in gypsum and latex to facilitate the study of the specimen. It was originally part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micropachycephalosaurus
''Micropachycephalosaurus'' (meaning "small thick-headed lizard") is an exinct genus of basal ceratopsian dinosaur containing only the type species, ''Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis'' It lived in China during the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) and was found in the Jiangjunding Formation.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> ''Micropachycephalosaurus'' has the longest name of any dinosaur, with 23 letters in the genus name alone, while the full binomial contains 37 letters. Discovery and naming The holotype, IVPP V5542 was found on a cliff southwest of Laiyang, Shandong Province, near Hongtuyan train station.Z. Dong. (1978). new genus of Pachycephalosauria from Laiyang, Shantung ''Vertebrata PalAsiatica'' 16(4):225-228. The remains were named and described by Dong Zhiming in 1978 as belonging to the new genus and species ''Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incertae Sedis
' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is indicated by ' (of uncertain family), ' (of uncertain suborder), ' (of uncertain order) and similar terms. Examples *The fossil plant '' Paradinandra suecica'' could not be assigned to any family, but was placed ''incertae sedis'' within the order Ericales when described in 2001. * The fossil '' Gluteus minimus'', described in 1975, could not be assigned to any known animal phylum. The genus is therefore ''incertae sedis'' within the kingdom Animalia. * While it was unclear to which order the New World vultures (family Cathartidae) should be assigned, they were placed in Aves ''incertae sedis''. It was later agreed to place them in a separate order, Cathartiformes. * Bocage's longbill, ''Motacilla boc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithopoda
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world, dominating the North American land. Their major evolutionary advantage was the progressive development of a chewing apparatus that became the most sophisticated ever developed by a non-avian dinosaur, rivaling that of modern mammals such as the domestic cow. They reached their apex of diversity and ecological dominance in the hadrosaurids (colloquially known as 'duck-bills'), before they were wiped out by the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event along with all other non- avian dinosaurs. Members are known from all seven continents, though they are generally rare in the Southern Hemisphere. History of research In 1870, Thomas Henry Huxley listed Iguanodontidae (coined by Cope a year earlier) as one of his three families of dinos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morphology (biology)
Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects of the outward appearance ( shape, structure, colour, pattern, size), i.e. external morphology (or eidonomy), as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs, i.e. internal morphology (or anatomy). This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function. Morphology is a branch of life science dealing with the study of gross structure of an organism or taxon and its component parts. History The etymology of the word "morphology" is from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "form", and (), meaning "word, study, research". While the concept of form in biology, opposed to function, dates back to Aristotle (see Aristotle's biology), the field of morphology was developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1790) and independently by the German anatomist and physiologist Karl Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synapomorphy
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have evolved in their most recent common ancestor. ) In cladistics, synapomorphy implies homology. Examples of apomorphy are the presence of erect gait, fur, the evolution of three middle ear bones, and mammary glands in mammals but not in other vertebrate animals such as amphibians or reptiles, which have retained their ancestral traits of a sprawling gait and lack of fur. Thus, these derived traits are also synapomorphies of mammals in general as they are not shared by other vertebrate animals. Etymology The word —coined by German entomologist Willi Hennig—is derived from the Ancient Greek words (''sún''), meaning "with, together"; (''apó''), meaning "away from"; and (''morphḗ''), meaning "shape, form". Clade ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
