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Skybalonyx
''Skybalonyx'' is an extinct genus of drepanosaur from the Chinle Formation in the Late Triassic. The type and only known species is ''Skybalonyx skapter'', meaning "digging dung claw" from Ancient Greek. ''Skybalonyx'' is only known from numerous specimens of the enlarged claw on its second finger, characteristic of other derived drepanosaurids. However, ''Skybalonyx'' is unique compared to other drepanosaurs because its enlarged claw is wider than it is tall, and it is not as deep compared to those of the contemporary '' Drepanosaurus'' or '' Ancistronychus''. Functional analyses of its claws compared to other drepanosaurs and various living animals indicates that ''Skybalonyx'' (as well as ''Ancistronychus'') used its large claw for digging underground, perhaps even for burrowing. This contrasts with the inferred lifestyle of other drepanosaurids (including ''Drepanosaurus''), which were arboreal. Reports published in October 2020 indicate its remains were discovered by gradu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepanosaur
Drepanosaurs (members of the clade Drepanosauromorpha) are a group of extinct reptiles that lived between the Carnian and Rhaetian stages of the late Triassic Period, approximately between 230 and 210 million years ago. The various species of drepanosaurid were characterized by specialized grasping limbs and often prehensile tails, adaptions for arboreal (tree-dwelling) and fossorial (digging) lifestyles, with some having also been suggested to be aquatic. Fossils of drepanosaurs have been found in Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Utah, England, and northern Italy. The name is taken from the family's namesake genus '' Drepanosaurus'', which means "sickle lizard," a reference to their strongly curved claws. Description Drepanosaurs are notable for their distinctive, triangular skulls, which resemble the skulls of birds. Some drepanosaurs, such as '' Avicranium,'' had pointed, toothless, bird-like beaks. This similarity to birds may have led to the misattribution of what ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepanosaurs
Drepanosaurs (members of the clade Drepanosauromorpha) are a group of extinct reptiles that lived between the Carnian and Rhaetian stages of the late Triassic Period, approximately between 230 and 210 million years ago. The various species of drepanosaurid were characterized by specialized grasping limbs and often prehensile tails, adaptions for arboreal (tree-dwelling) and fossorial (digging) lifestyles, with some having also been suggested to be aquatic. Fossils of drepanosaurs have been found in Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Utah, England, and northern Italy. The name is taken from the family's namesake genus '' Drepanosaurus'', which means "sickle lizard," a reference to their strongly curved claws. Description Drepanosaurs are notable for their distinctive, triangular skulls, which resemble the skulls of birds. Some drepanosaurs, such as ''Avicranium,'' had pointed, toothless, bird-like beaks. This similarity to birds may have led to the misattribution of what may be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. The corresponding series (stratigraphy), series of rock beds is known as the Upper Triassic. The Late Triassic is divided into the Carnian, Norian and Rhaetian Geologic time scale, Ages. Many of the first dinosaurs evolved during the Late Triassic, including ''Plateosaurus'', ''Coelophysis'', and ''Eoraptor''. The Triassic–Jurassic extinction event began during this epoch and is one of the five major mass extinction events of the Earth. Etymology The Triassic was named in 1834 by Friedrich August von Namoh, Friedrich von Alberti, after a succession of three distinct rock layers (Greek meaning 'triad') that are widespread in southern Germany: the lower Buntsandstein (colourful sandstone'')'', t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2020 In Paleontology
Plants Sponges Cnidarians New taxa Research * Revision of tabulate-like fossils from before the latest Middle Ordovician is published by Elias, Lee & Pratt (2020), who reject the interpretation of these fossils as true tabulate corals. * Drake, Whitelegge & Jacobs (2020) report the first recovery, sequencing, and identification of fossil biomineral proteins from a Pleistocene fossil invertebrate (the stony coral '' Orbicella annularis''). Arthropods Bryozoans Brachiopods New taxa Research * A study on the mode of life of Paleozoic strophomenatans is published by Stanley (2020), who argues that nearly all strophomenatans lived infaunally. * A study on the paleobiogeography of Early−Middle Devonian (Pragian−Eifelian) brachiopods from West Gondwana, aiming to determine any potential controls that may have driven bioregionalization, is published by Penn-Clarke & Harper (2020). * A study on the phylogenetic relationships and ecomorphologic diversification of Mesozo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. More than 99% of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryote globally, and possibly many times more if microorganisms, like bacteria, are included. Notable extinct animal species include non-avian dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, dod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. '' Panthera leo'' (lion) and '' Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In New Mexico, it is often raised to the status of a geological group, the Chinle Group. Some authors have controversially considered the Chinle to be synonymous to the Dockum Group of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. The Chinle Formation is part of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and the southern section of the Interior Plains.GEOLEX database entry for Chinle USGS (viewed 19 March 2006) A probable separate depositional basin within the Chinle is found in northwestern Colorado and northeas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type Species
In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen(s). Article 67.1 A similar concept is used for suprageneric groups and called a type genus. In botanical nomenclature, these terms have no formal standing under the code of nomenclature, but are sometimes borrowed from zoological nomenclature. In botany, the type of a genus name is a specimen (or, rarely, an illustration) which is also the type of a species name. The species name that has that type can also be referred to as the type of the genus name. Names of genus and family ranks, the various subdivisions of those ranks, and some higher-rank names based on genus names, have such types. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic period (), and the Classical period (). Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language. From the Hellenistic period (), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek, which is regarded as a separate historical stage, although its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek. There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek developed into Koi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepanosaurus
''Drepanosaurus'' (; "sickle lizard") is a genus of arboreal (tree-dwelling) reptile that lived during the Triassic Period. It is a member of the Drepanosauridae, a group of diapsid reptiles known for their prehensile tails. ''Drepanosaurus'' was probably an insectivore, and lived in a coastal environment in what is now modern day Italy, as well as in a streamside environment in the midwestern United States. Description ''Drepanosaurus'' is known to have a huge claw on the "index finger" (digit II) of each hand along with the tail claw. The skull of ''Drepanosaurus'' has never been found and is still unknown; however, the skull of ''Drepanosaurus'' was likely similar to other drepanosaurs, such as ''Megalancosaurus''. ''Megalancosaurus skull was approximately the same size as its enlarged claws, and had a bird-like jaw and head shape. The forelimb of ''Drepanosaurus'' is highly modified compared to other vertebrates. Its ulna was modified into a robust, crescent-shaped site f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancistronychus
''Ancistronychus'' is an extinct genus of drepanosaur from the Late Triassic Petrified Forest National Park in the Chinle Formation of Arizona. The type and only known species is ''Ancistronychus paradoxus'', from Ancient Greek to mean "unexpected fishhook claw" due to its characteristic hooked shape. ''Ancistorhynchus'' is only known from a collection of isolated large claws from its second fingers, a distinctive trait of other derived drepanosaurs. ''Ancistorhynchus'' is characteristic amongst drepanosaurs by the strongly hooked shape of its claw, which is shorter in height and broader than those of ''Drepanosaurus'', and is flat at its tip. The claw is also cleft at its tip, a trait found in living animals that use their claws for digging, such as moles and pangolins Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Mani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journal Of Vertebrate Paleontology
The ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1980 by Jiri Zidek (University of Oklahoma). It covers all aspects of vertebrate paleontology, including vertebrate origins, evolution, functional morphology, taxonomy, biostratigraphy, paleoecology, paleobiogeography, and paleoanthropology. The journal is published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. According to ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2017 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ... of 2.190. References External links * Paleontology journals Publications established in 1980 Quarterly journals English-language journals Taylor & Francis academic journals {{paleontolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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