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Orthosuchus
''Orthosuchus'' (meaning "straight crocodile") is an extinct genus of protosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Early Jurassic, about 196 million years ago. It was first discovered in 1963 in the Red Beds Formation in the Qacha's Nek Province of Lesotho, southern Africa. The characteristics showed on its postcranial skeleton and the skull indicated that it is a Crocodyliform.Nash, Diane. "A Crocodile from the Upper Triassic of Lesotho." ''Journal of Zoology''. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 05 Mar. 2017. The finding is significant since some of the characteristics found on this specimen were believed to be absent until Jurassic. Description ''Orthosuchus'' has a body proportion similar to lizards, with a body length about 0.6 meters, and a flattened skull, a typical skull of crocodilian.Diane, Nash S. "The Morphology and Relationships of a Crocodilian, Orthosuchus Stormbergi, from the Upper Triassic of Lesotho." ''Annals of the South African Museum' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elliot Formation
The Elliot Formation is a geological formation and forms part of the Stormberg Group, the uppermost geological group that comprises the greater Karoo Supergroup. Outcrops of the Elliot Formation have been found in the northern Eastern Cape, southern Free State, and in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Outcrops and exposures are also found in several localities in Lesotho such as Qacha's Neck, Hill Top, Quthing, and near the capital, Maseru. The Elliot Formation is further divided into the lower (LEF) and upper (UEF) Elliot formations to differentiate significant sedimentological differences between these layers. The LEF is dominantly Late Triassic (Norian-Hettangian) in age while the UEF is mainly Early Jurassic (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian) and is tentatively regarded to preserve a continental record of the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in southern Africa. This geological formation is named after the town of Elliot in the Eastern Cape, and its stratotype locality i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodyliformes
Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseudosuchians to survive the K-Pg extinction event. In 1988, Michael J. Benton and James M. Clark argued that all traditional names for well-known groups of animals should be restricted to their crown clades, that is, used only for natural groups comprising all living members of any given lineage. This posed a problem for the crocodilians, because the name Crocodylia, while used in various ways by various scientists, had always included not only living crocodilians but many of their extinct ancestors known only from the fossil record.Benton, M.J. and Clark, J.M. (1988). "Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia." Pp. 295–338 in Benton, M.J. (ed.), ''The phylogeny and classification of the Tetrapods, volume 1''. Oxfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Notochampsa
''Notochampsa'' is an extinct genus of protosuchian crocodylomorph. Fossils have been found from the lower Clarens Formation of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa, dating back to the Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic. ''Notochampsa'' comes from a period of relative fossil scarcity, and is the youngest known occurrence of a crocodylomorph (and vertebrate body fossil) from the Karoo Basin of South Africa. Taxonomy The genus was named in a paper published in 1904 by Robert Broom. The type species was named ''N. istedana'', and a second species, named ''N. longipes'', was also described. Later in 1924, ''N. longipes'' was given its own genus, '' Erythrochampsa''. In that paper, Sidney Haughton created the family Notochampsidae for ''Notochampsa''. Notochampsa was later used to include other genera of protosuchians such as '' Dyoplax'', '' Pedeticosaurus'', ''Platyognathus'', and ''Protosuchus'', and later ''Microchampsa'' and '' Orthosuchus''. ''Notochampsa'' had also o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodyliform
Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseudosuchians to survive the K-Pg extinction event. In 1988, Michael J. Benton and James M. Clark argued that all traditional names for well-known groups of animals should be restricted to their crown clades, that is, used only for natural groups comprising all living members of any given lineage. This posed a problem for the crocodilians, because the name Crocodylia, while used in various ways by various scientists, had always included not only living crocodilians but many of their extinct ancestors known only from the fossil record.Benton, M.J. and Clark, J.M. (1988). "Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia." Pp. 295–338 in Benton, M.J. (ed.), ''The phylogeny and classification of the Tetrapods, volume 1''. Oxfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protosuchia
Protosuchia is a group of extinct Mesozoic crocodyliforms. They were small in size (~1 meter in length) and terrestrial. In phylogenetic terms, Protosuchia is considered an informal group because it is a grade of basal crocodyliforms, not a true clade. Classification Recent phylogenetic analyses have not supported Protosuchia as a natural group. However, two studies found a clade of Late Triassic-Early Jurassic animals:Pol D, Ji S-a, Clark JM, Chiappe LM. 2004. Basal crocodyliforms from the Lower Cretaceous Tugulu Group (Xinjiang, China), and the phylogenetic position of ''Edentosuchus''. ''Cretaceous Research'' 25: 603-622.Fiorelli LE, Calvo JO. 2007. The first "protosuchian" (Archosauria: Crocodyliformes) from the Cretaceous (Santonian) of Gondwana. ''Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro'' 65 (4): 417-459. *''Edentosuchus'' *''Hemiprotosuchus'' *''Orthosuchus'' *''Protosuchus'' Both of these studies also found a clade more closely related to ''Hsisosuchus'' and Mesoeu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protosuchidae
Protosuchidae was a family of crocodylomorph reptiles from the Late Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods. They were closely related to the Gobiosuchidae. Distribution Triassic protosuchids are known from Lesotho, Argentina, and Arizona. Jurassic protosuchids are known from Nova Scotia, Poland, South Africa, and Arizona. Cretaceous protosuchids are known from China. Ecology Protosuchids were carnivores. An unnamed species of protosuchids known only from teeth was an herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp .... See also * Protosuchia References Terrestrial crocodylomorphs Triassic crocodylomorpha Jurassic reptiles Cretaceous reptiles Late Triassic first appearances Early Cretaceous extinctions Prehistoric reptile families {{paleo-a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.3 ± 2 Ma and 190.8 ± 1.5 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, 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 wines. The base of the Sinemurian Stage is at the first appearance of the ammonite genera '' Vermiceras'' and ''Metophioceras'' in the stratigraphic record. A global reference profile ( GSSP or golden s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stormberg Group
The Stormberg Group is one of the four geological groups that comprises the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. It is the uppermost geological group representing the final phase of preserved sedimentation of the Karoo Basin. The Stormberg Group rocks are considered to range between Lower Triassic ( Olenekian) to Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian) in age. These estimates are based on means of geological dating including stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlations, and palynological analyses. Background Sediment deposition of the Stormberg Group took place in a terrestrial environment that was seasonally arid. The depositional environment in the lower sections of the Stormberg was similar to that of the Katberg Formation. Both places feature coarser-grained sandstones that lack fining-upward sequences, thus pointing to an alluvial fan and braided river environment. The depositional environment changes towards the centre of the Stormberg as mudstones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barnum Brown
Barnum Brown (February 12, 1873 – February 5, 1963), commonly referred to as Mr. Bones, was an American paleontologist. Named after the circus showman P. T. Barnum, he discovered the first documented remains of ''Tyrannosaurus'' during a career that made him one of the most famous fossil hunters working from the late Victorian era into the early 20th century. Fossil dinosaur expeditions Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Brown traversed the country bargaining and trading for fossils. His field was not limited to dinosaurs. He was known to collect or obtain anything of possible scientific value. Often, he simply sent money to have fossils shipped to the AMNH, and any new specimen of interest often resulted in a flurry of letters between the discoverer and Brown. After working a handful of years in Wyoming for AMNH in the late 1890s, Brown led an expedition to the Hell Creek Formation of southeastern Montana. There, in 1902, he discovered and excava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protosuchus
''Protosuchus'' is an extinct genus of carnivorous crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic. The name ''Protosuchus'' means "first crocodile", and is among the earliest animals that resemble crocodilians. ''Protosuchus'' was about in length and about in weight. As an early crocodilian relative, its skull featured more crocodilian characteristics than its earlier ancestors; it had short jaws that broadened out at the base of the skull, providing a large surface to which its jaw muscles could attach. This increased the maximum gape of the animal's mouth and the force with which the jaws could be closed. The dentition of the animal also resembled modern crocodiles, including the teeth in the lower jaw that fitted into notches on either side of the upper jaw when the mouth was closed. It also possessed a powerful tail which later developed into a propulsion mechanism through water in its descendants. The body was covered and reinforced by osteoderms in a double row along the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biochronology Of The Crocodylomorpha
In paleontology, biochronology is the correlation in time of biological events using fossils. In its strict sense, it refers to the use of assemblages of fossils that are not tied to stratigraphic sections (in contrast to biostratigraphy, where they are). Collections of land mammal ages have been defined for every continent except Antarctica, and most are correlated with each other indirectly through known evolutionary lineages. A combination of argon–argon dating and magnetic stratigraphy allows a direct temporal comparison of terrestrial events with climate variations and mass extinctions. Comparison with biostratigraphy In sedimentary rocks, fossils are the only widely applicable tool for time correlation. Evolution leaves a record of progressive change, sequential and nonrepeating. A rock unit has a characteristic assemblage of fossils, independent of its lithology. Thus, the fossils can be used to compare the ages of different rock units. The basic unit of biochronol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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