|
Massopoda
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the Sauropoda, 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 primitive sauropodomorphs which preceded the sauropods, and are informally called prosauropods, 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 Myr, Ma) until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. History of study Early study Gigantic bones of sauropods have been known for thousands of years and become part of legends and cultures but the beginning of their scientific study was in the 1830s. Most of the early taxonomy was based on incomplete and disarti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massospondylidae
Massospondylidae is a family (biology), family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and AntarcticaHellert, Spencer M. "A New Basal Sauropodomorph from The Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica." Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,. Vol. 44. No. 5. 2012. during the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic periods. Several dinosaurs have been classified as massospondylids over the years. The largest cladistic analysis of early sauropodomorphs, which was presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, found ''Adeopapposaurus'', ''Coloradisaurus'', ''Glacialisaurus'', ''Massospondylus'', ''Leyesaurus'' and ''Lufengosaurus'' to be massospondylids. This result supports many previous analyses that tested fewer taxa. However, this analysis found the two recently described North American massopods, ''Sarahsaurus'' and ''Seitaad'', and the South African ''Ignavusaurus'' to nest outside Massospondylidae, as oppos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riojasauridae
Riojasauridae is an extinct family of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Period (late Carnian to Norian Ages). It contains the genera ''Riojasaurus'' and '' Eucnemesaurus''. The Riojasauridae is considered a stem taxon, and is defined as "the most inclusive clade containing ''Riojasaurus incertus'' but not '' Plateosaurus engelhardti'', '' Massospondylus carinatus'', or '' Anchisaurus polyzelus''". Geologic formations containing riojasaurid fossils include the Lower Elliot Formation of Orange Free State, South Africa (where fossils of ''Eucnemesaurus'' have been found), and the Los Colorados Formation, in La Rioja Province, Argentina (where fossils of ''Riojasaurus'' have been recovered). Evolutionary relationships The Riojasauridae are considered to be sauropodomorphs, but not sauropods themselves. This means that they were generally much smaller than the Sauropods of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, and members of this family may not have been obligate quadru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ignavusaurus
''Ignavusaurus'' is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic in what is now Lesotho. Its fossils were found in the Upper Elliot Formation which is probably Hettangian in age (around 200 million years ago). It was described on the basis of a partial, well preserved articulated skeleton. The type species, ''I. rachelis'', was described in 2010 by Spanish palaeontologist F. Knoll. Discovery The holotype was discovered in southern Lesotho near Ha Ralekoala. The fossils were discovered in a mostly articulated state, although the skull was badly damaged, having broken into more than 120 fragments. An unpublished 2002 Ph.D. dissertation referred to the remains, but they were not formally described for several years, and the find remained unpublished. In 2010, the fossils were described by F. Knoll of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC in Madrid as a new taxon, ''Ignavusaurus rachelis''. The fossils were brought to the National Museum o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonerasaurus
''Leonerasaurus'' is a basal (phylogenetics), basal genus of Sauropodomorpha, sauropodomorph dinosaur. Currently, there is only one species known, named ''L. taquetrensis'' by Diego Pol, Alberto Garrido and Ignacio A. Cerda in 2011 in paleontology, 2011. The fossil, an incomplete Juvenile (organism), subadult individual, was found in the Las Leoneras Formation in Argentina. This formation is probably Early Jurassic in age. ''Leonerasaurus'' was a small non-sauropod sauropodomorph, showing an unusual combination of basal and derived characters. This indicates that the evolution of early sauropodomorphs witnessed a great degree of convergent evolution. Discovery The fossils assigned to ''Leonerasaurus'' were found near Cañadón Las Leoneras (an affluent of the left margin of the Chubut river), southeast of Sierra de Taquetrén, Chubut Province, Central Patagonia, Argentina. This formation is probably early Jurassic in age, interpreted as Pliensbachian to Toarcian or late Sine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musankwa
''Musankwa'' is an extinct genus of massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Norian) Pebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. The genus contains a single species, ''M. sanyatiensis'', known from a partial leg. ''Musankwa'' represents the fourth dinosaur genus to be named from Zimbabwe. Discovery and naming The ''Musankwa'' holotype specimen, NHMZ 2521, was discovered in March 2018 by Paul Barrett in sediments of the Pebbly Arkose Formation of the Upper Karoo Group (Spurwing East Palaeosol site) on the shoreline of Spurwing Island in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. The specimen consists of an articulated partial right leg, including the femur, tibia, and astragalus, in addition to associated unidentifiable bone fragments. A fragment of the distal end of the fibula was also found in the field but lost during collection and preparation before its description. The ''Musankwa'' fossil material was mentioned in a 2020 review of the Upper Karoo Group's geology and paleontol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarahsaurus
''Sarahsaurus'' is a genus of basal (phylogenetics), basal sauropodomorph dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now northeastern Arizona, United States. Discovery and naming All specimens of ''Sarahsaurus'' were collected from the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation near Gold Spring, Arizona. The genus is based on a nearly complete and articulated (with bones still connected to each other) skeleton with a fragmentary and disarticulated skull (holotype, specimen number TMM 43646-2). In addition, a partial skeleton (specimen number TMM 43646-3) as well as a nearly complete skull (specimen number Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, MCZ 8893) was assigned to the genus. The latter specimen was originally referred to as ''Massospondylus'' sp. The complete skull is crushed and split horizontally, separating the skull roof from the palate; this split was caused by periodic swelling and shrinkage of the surrounding clay after deposition (geology), burial. While ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateosauridae
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''). '' Gresslyosaurus'' is alternatively considered its own genus or a synonym of ''Plateosaurus''. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lessemsaurus
''Lessemsaurus'' is an extinct genus of sauropodiform dinosaur belonging to Lessemsauridae. Naming and description The type species, ''L. sauropoides'', was formally described by José Fernando Bonaparte in 1999 in honor of Don Lessem, a writer of popular science books. It was found in the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in La Rioja Province, Argentina.Weishampel, David B; ''et al.'', 2004. "Dinosaur distribution (Late Triassic, South America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 527–528. . It was discovered in strata dating to the Norian stage, around 210 million years ago. It is estimated to have reached long and weighed over , possibly up to , in maximum body mass. Classification A cladogram after Pol, Garrido & Cerda, 2011, illustrates a possible placing of ''Lessemsaurus'' and '' Antetonitrus'' in Sauropodomorpha: In 2018, Ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blikanasaurus
''Blikanasaurus'' is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the late Triassic of South Africa. The generic name ''Blikanasaurus'' is derived from Greek, meaning "lizard from Blikana". The species name ''cromptoni'' is taken from the surname of A.W. "Fuzz" Crompton, an American paleontologist who led numerous field expeditions in Elliot Formation outcrop localities in South Africa. ''Blikanasaurus'' is only known from partial hindlimb bones that were recovered from the lower Elliot Formation (LEF) in the Eastern Cape. History of discovery ''Blikanasaurus'' was first discovered by a partial hindlimb (epipodium and pes) found in the lower Elliot Formation (LEF) at the foot of Blikana mountain in Herschel, Eastern Cape of South Africa in . In the early 2000s, a second specimen - consisting of only a right metatarsal - was recovered from lower Elliot Formation deposits on the farm, Damplaats, in Ladybrand of the eastern Free State. A possible ilium that has been attributed to ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuxiongosaurus
''Chuxiongosaurus'' (meaning "Chuxiong lizard") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic Period. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Lower Lufeng Formation, Yunnan Province, southern China. Identified from the holotype CMY LT9401 a nearly complete skull (including a lower jaw) with some similarities to ''Thecodontosaurus'', it was described as the "first basal sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of China," more basal than '' Anchisaurus''. It was named by Lü Junchang, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Li Tianguang and Zhong Shimin in 2010, and the type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ... is ''Chuxiongosaurus lufengensis''. It is a possible junior synonym of '' Jingshanosaurus''. References Massopoda Dinosa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateosaurus
''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 Her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
