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Macrogryphosaurus Scale
''Macrogryphosaurus'' (meaning "big enigmatic lizard") is a genus of elasmarian dinosaur from the Coniacian age Upper Cretaceous Sierra Barrosa Formation (Neuquén Group) of Argentina in Patagonia. It was described by Jorge Calvo and colleagues in 2007, with ''M. gondwanicus'' as the type species, type and only species. Discovery and naming In May 1999, during field work at Mari Menuco Lake, Argentina (sixty kilometres northwest of Neuquén) conducted by the National University of Comahue, an articulated, nearly complete dinosaur skeleton was discovered and excavated. It was brought to the attention of the palaeontologists by young boy Rafael Moyano, who had discovered it. Originally reported to hail from the Portezuelo Formation of the Neuquén Group, its locality was later revised to be in the Sierra Barrosa Formation of the same geologic group. This unit is dated to the Coniacian Age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous. Noted for bony plates on its thorax, it was identified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coniacian
The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series and spans the time between 89.8 ± 1 Ma and 86.3 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Coniacian is preceded by the Turonian and followed by the Santonian. Stratigraphic definitions The Coniacian is named after the city of Cognac in the French region of Saintonge. It was first defined by French geologist Henri Coquand in 1857. The base of the Coniacian Stage is at the first appearance of the inoceramid bivalve species '' Cremnoceramus deformis erectus''. The official reference profile for the base (a GSSP) is located in Salzgitter-Salder, Lower Saxony, Germany. The top of the Coniacian (the base of the Santonian Stage) is defined by the appearance of the inoceramid bivalve ''Cladoceramus undulatoplicatus''. The Coniacian overlaps the regional Emscherian Stage of Germany, which is roughly coeval with the Coniacian and Santonian Stages. In magn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Aus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coelurosaur
Coelurosauria (; from Greek, meaning "hollow-tailed lizards") is the clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs. Coelurosauria is a subgroup of theropod dinosaurs that includes compsognathids, tyrannosauroids, ornithomimosaurs, maniraptorans, and over the recent years, megaraptorans (Although position within the clade is unclear). Maniraptora includes birds, the only known dinosaur group alive today. In the past, Coelurosauria was used to refer to all small theropods, but this classification has since been amended. Most feathered dinosaurs discovered so far have been coelurosaurs. Philip J. Currie had considered it likely and probable that all coelurosaurs were feathered. However, several skin impressions found for some members of this group show pebbly, scaly skin, indicating that feathers did not completely replace scales in all taxa. Anatomy Bodyplan The studying of anatomical traits in coelurosaurs indicates that the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypsilophodon
''Hypsilophodon'' (; meaning "high-crested tooth") is a neornithischian dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of England. It has traditionally been considered an early member of the group Ornithopoda, but recent research has put this into question. The first remains of ''Hypsilophodon'' were found in 1849; the type species, ''Hypsilophodon foxii'', was named in 1869. Abundant fossil discoveries were made on the Isle of Wight, giving a good impression of the build of the species. It was a small, agile bipedal animal with an herbivorous or possibly omnivorous diet, measuring long and weighing . It had a pointed head equipped with a sharp beak used to bite off plant material, much like modern-day parrots. Some outdated studies have given rise to a number of misconceptions about ''Hypsilophodon'', including that it was an armoured, arboreal animal, and that it could be found in areas outside of the Isle of Wight. However, research from the following years has shown thes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thescelosaurus
''Thescelosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of Ornithischia, ornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (geology), period in western North America. It was named and described in 1913 by the Paleontology, paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore; the type species is ''T. neglectus''. Two other species, ''T. garbanii'' and ''T. assiniboiensis'', were named in 1976 and 2011, respectively. Additional species have been suggested but are currently not accepted. ''Thescelosaurus'' is the eponymous member of its family, the Thescelosauridae. Thescelosaurids are either considered to be basal (phylogenetics), basal ("primitive") ornithopods, or are placed outside of this group within the broader group Neornithischia. Adult ''Thescelosaurus'' would have measured roughly long and probably weighed . It biped, moved on two legs, and its body was counter-balanced by its long tail, which made up half of the body length and was stiffened by rod-like ossified tendons. The animal had a long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talenkauen
''Talenkauen'' is a genus of Basal (phylogenetics), basal iguanodont dinosaur from the Campanian or Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous Cerro Fortaleza Formation, formerly known as the Pari Aike Formation of Patagonian Lake Viedma, in the Magallanes Basin, Austral Basin of Santa Cruz Province (Argentina), Santa Cruz, Argentina. It is holotype, based on Museo Padre Molina, MPM-10001A, a partial articulated skeleton missing the rear part of the skull, the tail, and the hands. The type species, type and only species is ''Talenkauen santacrucensis''. Discovery and naming One among a string of discoveries of ornithopods in South America, following taxa such as ''Gasparinisaura'' and ''Anabisetia'', the specimen that would become ''Talenkauen'' was collected in February 2000 and would later be described and named in a short 2004 paper by Fernando E. Novas and colleagues. It was discovered on Los Hornos Hill on the coast of Viedma Lake, in the Santa Cruz Province (Argentina), Sant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hadrosauridae
Hadrosaurids (), also hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includes genera such as '' Edmontosaurus'' and '' Parasaurolophus'', was a common group of herbivores during the Late Cretaceous Period. Hadrosaurids are descendants of the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaurs and had a similar body layout. Hadrosaurs were among the most dominant herbivores during the Late Cretaceous in Asia and North America, and during the close of the Cretaceous several lineages dispersed into Europe, Africa, and South America. Like other ornithischians, hadrosaurids had a predentary bone and a pubic bone which was positioned backwards in the pelvis. Unlike more primitive iguanodonts, the teeth of hadrosaurids are stacked into complex structures known as dental batteries, which acted as e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (). They represent one of the most successful groups of herbivorous dinosaurs during the Cretaceous. The most primitive members of the group were bipedal and relatively small-sized, while advanced members of the subgroup Iguanodontia became quadrupedal and developed large body size. 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 worldwide. History of research In 1870, Thomas Henry Huxley listed Iguanodontidae (coined by Edward Drinker Cope a year earlier) as one of his three famil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macrogryphosaurus Scale
''Macrogryphosaurus'' (meaning "big enigmatic lizard") is a genus of elasmarian dinosaur from the Coniacian age Upper Cretaceous Sierra Barrosa Formation (Neuquén Group) of Argentina in Patagonia. It was described by Jorge Calvo and colleagues in 2007, with ''M. gondwanicus'' as the type species, type and only species. Discovery and naming In May 1999, during field work at Mari Menuco Lake, Argentina (sixty kilometres northwest of Neuquén) conducted by the National University of Comahue, an articulated, nearly complete dinosaur skeleton was discovered and excavated. It was brought to the attention of the palaeontologists by young boy Rafael Moyano, who had discovered it. Originally reported to hail from the Portezuelo Formation of the Neuquén Group, its locality was later revised to be in the Sierra Barrosa Formation of the same geologic group. This unit is dated to the Coniacian Age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous. Noted for bony plates on its thorax, it was identified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion, especially in the context of rank-based (" Linnaean") nomenclature (much less so under phylogenetic nomenclature). If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping. Initial attempts at classifying and ordering organisms (plants and animals) were presumably set forth in prehistoric times by hunter-gatherers, as suggested by the fairly sophisticated folk taxonomies. Much later, Aristotle, and later st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostratigraphy (lithologic stratigraphy), biostratigraphy (biologic stratigraphy), and chronostratigraphy (stratigraphy by age). Historical development Catholic priest Nicholas Steno established the theoretical basis for stratigraphy when he introduced the law of superposition, the principle of original horizontality and the principle of lateral continuity in a 1669 work on the fossilization of organic remains in layers of sediment. The first practical large-scale application of stratigraphy was by William Smith in the 1790s and early 19th century. Known as the "Father of English geology", Smith recognized the significance of strata or rock layering and the importance of fossil markers for correlating strata; he created the first geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plottier Formation
The Plottier Formation is a geologic formation that outcrops in the Argentine Patagonian provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén. It is the younger of two formations belonging to the Río Neuquén Subgroup within the Neuquén Group of the Neuquén Basin, with the oldest rocks dating from the late Coniacian and its youngest maybe from the very start of the Santonian. Formerly, that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Plottier Formation was known as the Plottier Member.Sánchez ''et al.'', 2006 Description A section near the Neuquén City airport, north of the town of Plottier, is the type locality of the Plottier Formation. At its base, this formation grades into the Portezuelo Formation, and it is in turn overlain conformably by the Bajo de la Carpa Formation, a unit of the Río Colorado Subgroup. The Plottier Formation is the thinnest formation within the Neuquén Group, with a maximum thickness of only . It is differentiated from the underlying Portezuelo Formation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
