Prosauropod
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]   |
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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]   |
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Efraasia
''Efraasia'' (pronounced "E-FRAHS-ee-A") is a genus of basal (phylogenetics), basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germany. It was named in 1973 after Eberhard Fraas, who during the early twentieth century collected what were the original holotype, type specimens. The specimens were at first assigned to three already existing genera and so became divided among three separate species: ''Teratosaurus minor'', ''Sellosaurus fraasi'' and ''Paleosaurus diagnosticus''. In 2003 these were combined into a single valid species: ''Efraasia minor''. ''Efraasia'' was a lightly built, medium-sized sauropodomorph, about long. Discovery and naming ''Efraasia'' has had a complicated Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic history involving several genera and species. Material now known under ''Efraasia'' first came to light after Albert Burrer, ''Hofsteinmetzmeister'' ("Court ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Kholumolumo
''Kholumolumo'' (referring to a type of dragon the local Basuto associate with dinosaurs), formerly "Kholumolumosaurus" or "Thotobolosaurus", is an extinct genus of massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaur, which was closely related to '' Sarahsaurus'', from the lower Elliot Formation of Maphutseng, Lesotho. The type species, ''Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum'' was formally described in 2020. Discovery and naming In 1930, Samuel Motsoane, principal of the Paris Evangelical Mission School at Bethesda in Lesotho, found dispersed dinosaur bones. In 1955, he told this to the protestant missionary Paul Ellenberger. In September 1955, P. Ellenberger and his brother François Ellenberger uncovered a bonebed in the immediate vicinity of a refuse pile a few meters from native huts in the Village of Maphutseng, western Lesotho, in a layer of the Elliot Formation. The location was locally called the ''Thotobolo ea ‘Ma-Beata'', the "trash heap of Beata's mother". In November 1955, they were reinfor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guaibasauridae
Guaibasauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, known from fossil remains of late Triassic period formations in Brazil, Argentina and India. Classification The exact makeup and classification of the Guaibasauridae remain uncertain. The family was originally named by Jose Bonaparte and colleagues in 1999 to contain a single genus and species, '' Guaibasaurus candelariensis''. When the second specimen of ''Guaibasaurus'' was described from better remains in 2007, it became easier to compare it to other enigmatic early saurischians, which are often difficult to classify because they combine characteristics of the two major saurischian groups, Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha. Bonaparte and colleagues, in light of the information gained from this second specimen, found that the genus ''Saturnalia'' (which is anatomically very similar to ''Guaibasaurus'') could also be assigned to the Guaibasauridae, though they did not conduct a phylogenetic analysis or define Guaibasauri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pantydraco
''Pantydraco'' (where "panty-" is short for Pant-y-ffynnon, signifying ''hollow of the spring/well'' in Welsh, referring to the quarry at Bonvilston in South Wales where it was found) is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of the United Kingdom (Wales). It is based on a partial juvenile skeleton once thought to belong to ''Thecodontosaurus''. Only one valid species of ''Pantydraco'' is recognised: ''P. caducus.'' Description ''Pantydraco'' was of moderate build. The creature had a long tail that tapered towards the end and was broad at the hip joint. It had a pointed head with a strong jaw. The forelimbs of the dinosaur were developed for grasping while the hindlimbs were adapted for supporting the creature's body weight. The center of mass lies near the pelvic bone, suggesting the creature was bipedal. The forelimbs were shorter than the hindlimbs. The hands had three movable digits while the fourth digit was embedded. It had well-developed claw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gongxianosaurus
''Gongxianosaurus'' is a genus of basal sauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic Period (Sinemurian- Pliensbachian stage). The only species is ''Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis''. Based on four fragmentary to complete specimens found in the Ziliujing Formation, China ( Sichuan Province), it is one of the most completely known early sauropods. The skeleton is known in large part, missing both the hand and the majority of the skull. ''Gongxianosaurus'' was firstly named and described in a short note published in 1998; however, a comprehensive description has yet to be published. ''Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis'' was named for the place it was found, near the village Shibei in Gong County (珙县; Pinyin: Gǒng Xiàn). Description ''Gongxianosaurus'' may have reached in length. Like other sauropods, it moved quadrupedally (on four legs), as indicated by the elongated fore limbs that reached 70 to 75% of hind limb length. The pedal phalanges were short and robust, as typical for sa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thecodontosauridae
Thecodontosauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs that are part of the Bagualosauria, known from fossil remains found exclusively in the Magnesian Conglomerate of Bristol, England,Magnesian Conglomerate in the which dates back to the stage of the (although it could be as old as the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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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]   |
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Unaysauridae
Unaysauridae is a clade of basal sauropodomorphs from the Late Triassic of India and Brazil. Diagnosis and systematics Unaysauridae was defined by Müller ''et al.'' (2018) as the most inclusive clade including ''Unaysaurus tolentinoi'', but not '' Plateosaurus engelhardti'' nor '' Saltasaurus loricatus''. Members of Unaysauridae are diagnosed by a substantially expanded cranial part of the medial condyle of the astragalus, as well as a promaxillary fenestra. Unaysauridae is sister to Plateosauria, more derived than '' Nambalia'', ''Thecodontosaurus'' ISI R277, ''Pantydraco'', and ''Efraasia ''Efraasia'' (pronounced "E-FRAHS-ee-A") is a genus of basal (phylogenetics), basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germ ...''. ''Unaysaurus'' and ''Jaklapallisaurus'' had previously been assigned to Plateosauridae by prior authors. However, Beccari ''et al''. (20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |