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Shanxia
''Shanxia'' (named after the Shanxi Province) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Shanxi Province that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian, ~99-71 Ma) in what is now the Huiquanpu Formation. ''Shanxia'' may possibly represent a junior synonym of ''Tianzhenosaurus'', an ankylosaurine also known from the Huiquanpu Formation of China. Discovery and naming In 1993, Messrs. Lu and Li of the Hebei Geological Survey discovered a partial ankylosaurid skeleton at a locality in the Shanxi Province and notified staff of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, who collected the material later that year. The holotype specimen, IVPP V11276, consists of a braincase, occiput, skull roof, ?quadratojugal, axis vertebra, cervical vertebrae, dorsal vertebrae, caudal vertebrae, humerus, fragment of ?ilium, femora and an osteoderm. The holotype skull is partially reconstructed with plaster to stabilise parts of the skull roof and to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tianzhenosaurus
''Tianzhenosaurus'' (meaning “Tianzhen County, Tianzhen lizard”) is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation of Shanxi Province, China. The genus contains two species, ''T. youngi'' (the type species) and ''T. chengi''. Some researchers have suggested that ''Tianzhenosaurus'' may represent a junior synonym of ''Saichania'', an ankylosaurine from the Barun Goyot Formation, Barun Goyot and Nemegt Formation, Nemegt formations. Discovery and naming In 1983, Pang Qiqing and Cheng Zhengwu discovered articulated cervical vertebrae of an ankylosaurid from the Shanxi Province. Numerous excavations at the site yielded more than 2,300 specimens belonging to sauropoda, sauropods, theropoda, theropods, ornithopoda, ornithopods and ankylosaurid specimens. The holotype specimen of ''Tianzhenosaurus youngi'', HBV-10001, consists of a partial skull. Two paratype specimens were assigned to this species: HBV-10002 (an incomplete mandible and HBV-10003 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minotaurasaurus
''Minotaurasaurus'' (meaning “Minos'-bull reptile”) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian stage, ~75-71 Ma) in what is now the Djadochta Formation. The type and only species, ''Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani'', is known from two skulls, a cervical vertebra and a cervical half ring. It was named and described in 2009 in paleontology, 2009 by Clifford Miles and Clark Miles. The first fossils of ''Minotaurasaurus'' were illegally exported out of Mongolia.It has been suggested to be a synonym of ''Tarchia'' but more recent publications consider it as a distinct genus. ''Minotaurasaurus'' was a medium-sized ankylosaurid, with an estimated length of 4.2 metres (13.8 feet), although it may have reached larger sizes as the type specimen represents an immature individual. Although not a lot of postcranial material is known, it would have had a tail club that may have been used for protection against predators o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankylosauridae
Ankylosauridae () is a family of armored dinosaurs within Ankylosauria, and is the sister group to Nodosauridae. The oldest known ankylosaurids date to around 122 million years ago and went extinct 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. These animals were mainly herbivorous and were obligate quadrupeds, with leaf-shaped teeth and robust, scute-covered bodies. Ankylosaurids possess a distinctly domed and short snout, wedge-shaped osteoderms on their skull, scutes along their torso, and a tail club. Ankylosauridae is exclusively known from the Northern Hemisphere, with specimens found in North America, Europe, and Asia. The first discoveries within this family were of the genus ''Ankylosaurus'', by Peter Kaiser and Barnum Brown in Montana in 1906. Brown went on to name Ankylosauridae and the subfamily Ankylosaurinae in 1908. Anatomy Ankylosaurids are stout, solidly built, armoured dinosaurs. They possess accessory ossifications on cranial bones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saichania
''Saichania'' (Mongolian meaning "beautiful one") is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Mongolia. The first fossils of ''Saichania'' were found in the early 1970s in Mongolia. In 1977 the type species ''Saichania chulsanensis'' was named. The description of this species has been based on limited fossil material; especially the rear of the animal is not well known. ''Saichania'' was more robustly built than other members of the Ankylosauridae, measuring in length and in body mass. Neck vertebrae, shoulder girdle, ribs and breast bones were fused or firmly connected. Its body was flat and low-slung, standing on four short legs. The forelimbs were very powerful. The head was protected by bulbous armour tiles. It could defend itself against predators like '' Tarbosaurus'' with a tail-club. On the torso keeled osteoderms were present. ''Saichania'' bit off plants in its desert habitat with a horny beak and processed them in its wide hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euoplocephalus
''Euoplocephalus'' ( ) is a genus of large herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaurs, living during the Late Cretaceous of Canada. It has only one named species, ''Euoplocephalus tutus''. The first fossil of ''Euoplocephalus'' was found in 1897 in Alberta. In 1902, it was named ''Stereocephalus'', but Stereocephalus, that name had already been given to an insect, so it was changed in 1910. Later, many more Ankylosauridae, ankylosaurid remains were found from the Campanian of North America and often made separate genera. In 1971, Walter Coombs concluded that they all belonged to ''Euoplocephalus'', which then make it one of the best-known dinosaurs. Recently, however, experts have come to the opposite conclusion, limiting the authentic finds of ''Euoplocephalus'' to about a dozen specimens. These include a number of almost complete skeletons, so nevertheless much is known about the build of the animal. ''Euoplocephalus'' reached in length and in body mass. Its body was low-slung and v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998 In Paleontology
Flora Lycophytes Lycophyte research *Wesley Wehr, Wehr (1998) reports, without description, ''Selaginella'' species Selaginella, spikemoss fossils occurring in the Eocene Okanagan Highlands Klondike Mountain Formation. Angiosperms Fungi Fungal research *Currah, Stockey, & LePage (1998) describe the a Phyllachorales, phyllachoralean "tar spot" parasitizing ''Uhlia'' palm leaves, and host for a hyperparasitic Pleosporales, pleosporalean fungus. They note them to be one of the first occurrences of hyperparasitic relationships in the fossil record. Arthropods Newly named crustaceans Newly named insects Brachiopods Molluscs Bivalves Echinoderms Amphibians newly named anurans Archosauromorpha Dinosaurs * A paper in the journal ''Nature (journal), Nature'' is published by Karen Chin and others announcing the 1995 in paleontology, earlier discovery of a "king-sized coprolite" attributed to ''Tyrannosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex''. * ''Lourinhasaurus'' gastroliths d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huiquanpu Formation
The Huiquanpu Formation () is a geological formation in Shanxi and Hebei provinces, China, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous period. It predominantly consists of purple-red mudstone, with subordinate grey-white sandy conglomerates. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, Asia)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 593-600. . Fossil content Dinosaurs Ornithopods Sauropods Theropods Thyreophorans See also * List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations This list of dinosaur-bearing rock formations is a list of geologic formations in which dinosaur fossils have been documented. * List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils * List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur trace fossils ** ... References {{Reflist Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankylosaurinae
Ankylosaurinae is a subfamily of ankylosaurid dinosaurs, existing from the Early Cretaceous about 105 million years ago until the end of the Late Cretaceous, about 66 mya. Many genera are included in the clade, such as '' Ankylosaurus'', ''Pinacosaurus'', '' Euoplocephalus'', and '' Saichania''. Features Ankylosaurinae is formally defined in the ''PhyloCode'' as "the largest clade containing '' Ankylosaurus magniventris'', but not '' Shamosaurus scutatus''". The tribe Ankylosaurini is defined in the ''PhyloCode'' as "the largest clade containing '' Ankylosaurus magniventris'', but not '' Pinacosaurus grangeri'' and '' Saichania chulsanensis''". Diagnostic features of ankylosaurines include the nuchal shelf that obscures the occiput in dorsal view, and the quadrate condyle which is obscured lightly by the quadratojugal boss. Phylogeny The following cladogram is based on the 50% majority rule phylogenetic analysis In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evoluti ... [...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] |
Nodosauridae
Nodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs known from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous periods in what is now Asia, Europe, North America, and possibly South America. While traditionally regarded as a monophyletic clade as the sister taxon to the Ankylosauridae, some analyses recover it as a paraphyletic grade leading to the ankylosaurids. Description Nodosaurids, like their sister group the ankylosaurids, were heavily armored dinosaurs adorned with rows of bony armor nodules and spines (osteoderms), which were covered in keratin sheaths. Ankylosaurians were small- to large-sized, heavily built, quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs, possessing small, leaf-shaped teeth. Unlike ankylosaurids, nodosaurids lacked mace-like tail clubs and instead had more flexible tail tips. Many nodosaurids had spikes projecting outward from their shoulders. One particularly well-preserved nodosaurid "mummy", the holotype of '' Borealopelta markmitchelli'', preserves a nearly comple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nemegt Formation
The Nemegt Formation (also known as Nemegtskaya Svita) is a geological formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, dating to the Late Cretaceous. The formation consists of river channel sediments and contains fossils of fish, turtles, crocodilians, and a diverse fauna of dinosaurs, including birds. Description The Nemegt Formation is composed of mudstones and sandstones that were deposited by ancient lakes, streams, and flood plains. The Altan Uul locality was described by Michael Novacek as "a canyon carved out of a very rich series of sedimentary rocks" with "steep cliffs and narrow washes". The climate associated with it was wetter than when preceding formations were deposited; there seems to have existed at least some degree of forest cover as indicated by petrified fossil trunks. When examined, the rock facies of the upper section consist of braided meanders, and oxbow lakes. Alteration of sediment grades indicates frequent hydrodynamic condition changes (seasonal rain). Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synapomorphy
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel Phenotypic trait, character or character state that has evolution, evolved from its ancestral form (or Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy, plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxon, taxa and is therefore Hypothesis#Scientific hypothesis, hypothesized to have evolved in their most recent common ancestor. ) In cladistics, synapomorphy implies Homology (biology), homology. Examples of apomorphy are the presence of Terrestrial locomotion#Posture, erect gait, fur, Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles, 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 Terrestrial locomotion#Posture, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
