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Theropod Trace Fossils
Theropoda (; from ancient Greek [wiktionary:θηρίον, , (''therion'') "wild beast"; wiktionary:πούς, , wiktionary:ποδός, (''pous, podos'') "foot"]) is one of the three major groups (Clade, clades) of Dinosaur, dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodomorpha. Theropods, both extant and extinct, are characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. They are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs, placing them closer to sauropodomorphs than to ornithischians. They were ancestrally carnivorous, although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores and omnivores. Members of the subgroup Coelurosauria and possibly some other or all theropods were covered in Feather, feathers. In the Jurassic, birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods, and are currently represented by about 11,000 living species, making theropods the only group of dinosaurs alive today. Theropods first appeared during the Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteropoda
Pteropoda (common name pteropods, from the Greek meaning "wing-foot") are specialized free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropods. Most live in the top 10 m of the ocean and are less than 1 cm long. The monophyly of Pteropoda is the subject of a lengthy debate; they have even been considered as paraphyletic with respect to cephalopods. Current consensus, guided by molecular studies, leans towards interpreting the group as monophyletic. Pteropoda encompasses the two clades Thecosomata, the sea butterflies, and Gymnosomata, the sea angels. The Thecosomata ( "case-body") have a shell, while the Gymnosomata ("naked body") do not. The two clades may or may not be sister taxa; if not, their similarity (in that they are both pelagic, small, and transparent, and both groups swim using wing-like flaps (parapodia) which protrude from their bodies) may reflect convergent adaptation to their particular lifestyle. Taxonomy The group Pteropod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyasasaurus
''Nyasasaurus'' (meaning " Lake Nyasa lizard") is an extinct genus of avemetatarsalian archosaur from the putatively Middle Triassic Manda Formation of Tanzania that may be the earliest known dinosaur. The type species ''Nyasasaurus parringtoni'' was first described in 1956 in the doctoral thesis of English paleontologist Alan J. Charig, but it was not formally described until 2013. Previously, the oldest record of dinosaurs was from Brazil and Argentina and dated back to the mid-late Carnian stage, about 233.23 to 231.4 million years ago. ''Nyasasaurus'' comes from a deposit conventionally considered Anisian in age, meaning that it would predate other early dinosaurs by about 12 million years. Some studies cast doubt on this age, suggesting that the deposits may actually be Carnian in age, which would considerably reduce this temporal gap. However, this claim has been heavily disputed, and more accurate dating methods are needed to resolve the debate. History of study In the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinostropheus
''Spinostropheus'' is a genus of carnivorous neotheropod theropod dinosaur that lived in the Middle Jurassic period and has been found in the Tiouraren Formation, Niger. The type and only species is ''S. gautieri''. History of discovery In 1959, Albert-Félix de Lapparent excavated fossils near Oued Timmersöi, west of In Tedreft in the Agadez desert. Among the finds were the remains of a theropod. In 1960, de Lapparent, based on these, named a second species of the genus ''Elaphrosaurus'', ''E. gautieri''. The specific name honours François Gautier, the discoverer of the type locality. In 2004, Paul Sereno, John Wilson and John Conrad named a separate genus: ''Spinostropheus''. The generic name is derived from Latin ''spina'', "spine", and Greek στροφεύς, ''stropheus'', "vertebra", and refers to the epipophyseal processes of the cervical vertebrae, which are prominent and dorso-ventrally flattened. The holotype, MNHN 1961-28, was found in a layer of the Tiour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinosaurus
''Sinosaurus'' (meaning "Chinese lizard") is an extinct genus of basal theropod dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian). Fossils of the animal have been found in the Lufeng Formation, in the Yunnan Province of China. The type species, ''S. triassicus'', was named by Chung Chieng Young in 1940. A second species, ''S. sinensis'', was originally assigned to ''Dilophosaurus'', but was later reassigned to ''Sinosaurus''. ''Sinosaurus'' is morphologically similar to ''Dilophosaurus'' including the presence of a similarly shaped cranial crest, though its precise taxonomic position is uncertain, and the two genera may not be closely related. Discovery and naming The composite term ''Sinosaurus'' comes from ''Sinae'', the Latin word for the Chinese, and the Greek word ' () meaning "lizard"; thus "Chinese lizard". The specific name, ''triassicus'', refers to the Triassic, the period that the fossils were originally thought to date from. ''Sinosaurus'' was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarcosaurus
''Sarcosaurus'' () is a genus of basal neotheropod dinosaur, roughly long. It lived in what is now England and maybe Ireland and Scotland during the Hettangian-Sinemurian stages of the Early Jurassic, about 199-196 million years ago. ''Sarcosaurus'' is one of the earliest known Jurassic theropods, and one of only a handful of theropod genera from this time period. Along with '' Dracoraptor hanigani'' it is one of the two described neotheropods from the lowermost Jurassic of the United Kingdom. Description The holotype is NHMUK PV R4840 a partial skeleton that includes a posterior dorsal vertebra, partial left and right ilia, that are fused to the proximal portion of the pubis, lacking the femoral head. The specimen shows some evidence of skeletal maturity, meaning it is not an early juvenile, but its exact ontogenetic stage cannot be ascertained. Referred specimens include the non mature NHMUK PV R3542 (holotype of ''Sarcosaurus andrewsi'') that includes a complete right tib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Notatesseraeraptor
''Notatesseraeraptor'' ("feature mosaic tile thief"; from the Latin "nota", feature; "tesserae", tiles used to make a mosaic, in reference to the mixture of features normally found on dilophosaurids and coelophysoids; and "raptor", thief) is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic of what is now Switzerland. It was found in the Gruhalde Member of the Klettgau Formation. It was an early member of Neotheropoda with affinities to ''Dilophosaurus'' and Averostra. The new genus and species ''Notatesseraeraptor frickensis'' was named by Marion Zahner and colleagues in 2019. Since 1961, at the clay pit of Gruhalde, exploited by Tonwerke Keller, numerous fossils of ''Plateosaurus'' have been found. At a somewhat higher layer, in the spring of 2006, amateur paleontologist Michael Fisher discovered the postcranial skeleton of a small theropod. In 2009, the skull was secured. The fossils were unearthed and prepared by Ben Pabst and team. Initially the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gojirasaurus
''Gojirasaurus'' (meaning "Godzilla lizard") is a genus of " coelophysoid" theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic of New Mexico. It is named after the giant monster movie character , and contains a single species, ''Gojirasaurus quayi''. Discovery ''Gojirasaurus quayi'' was described and named by Kenneth Carpenter in 1997 based on a partial skeleton, the holotype specimen UCM 47221, from Quay County, New Mexico. The holotype is an assortment of various postcranial bones, including a right scapula, right pubis, left tibia, left metatarsal V, four vertebral centra, a neural arch, and fragments of ribs and gastralia. In addition, a single large serrated tooth is associated with the postcranial material. The holotype is housed in the collections of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, in Boulder, Colorado. The specimen hails from purplish-grey mudstones of the Bull Canyon Formation (sometimes called the Cooper Canyon Formation), a major fossiliferou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dracovenator
''Dracovenator'' () is a genus of neotheropod dinosaur that lived approximately 201 to 199 million years ago during the early part of the Jurassic period in what is now South Africa. ''Dracovenator'' was a medium-sized, moderately built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore, that could grow up to an estimated in length and in body mass. Its type specimen was based on only a partial skull that was recovered. Discovery The type material BP/1/5243 for ''Dracovenator'' was discovered at the "Upper Drumbo Farm" locality in the upper Elliot Formation which is part of the Stormberg Group in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It was collected by James Kitching and Regent "Lucas" Huma in sandstone that was deposited during the Hettangian stage of the Jurassic period, approximately 201 to 199 million years ago. The paratype material BP/1/5278 (originally assigned to ''Syntarsus rhodesiensis'') was discovered in 1981, also at the Elliot Formation in pinkish-maroon silty mudstone that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dilophosaurus
''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 186 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserved were collected in 1942. The most complete specimen became the holotype of a new species in the genus ''Megalosaurus'', named ''M. wetherilli'' by Samuel P. Welles in 1954. Welles found a larger skeleton belonging to the same species in 1964. Realizing it bore crests on its skull, he assigned the species to the new genus ''Dilophosaurus'' in 1970, as ''Dilophosaurus wetherilli''. The genus name means "two-crested lizard", and the species name honors John Wetherill, a Navajo councilor. Further specimens have since been found, including an infant. Fossil footprints have also been attributed to the animal, including resting traces. Another species, ''Dilophosaurus sinensis'' from China, was named in 1993, but was later found to belon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryolophosaurus
''Cryolophosaurus'' ( or ; ) is a genus of large theropod dinosaur known from only a single species, ''Cryolophosaurus ellioti'', from the Early Jurassic of Antarctica. It was one of the largest theropods of the Early Jurassic, with the subadult, being estimated to have reached long and weighed . ''Cryolophosaurus'' was first excavated from Antarctica's Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian aged Hanson Formation, formerly the upper Falla Formation, by paleontologist Dr. William Hammer in 1991. It was the first carnivorous dinosaur to be discovered in Antarctica, and the first non-avian dinosaur from the continent to be officially named. The sediments in which its fossils were found have been dated at ~196 to 188 million years ago, representing the Early Jurassic Period. ''Cryolophosaurus'' is known from a skull, a femur and other material, all of which have caused its classification to vary greatly. The femur possesses many primitive characteristics that have classified ''Cryolophos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuandongocoelurus
''Chuandongocoelurus'' ( ) is a genus of carnivorous tetanuran theropod dinosaur from the Jurassic of China. Discovery and naming The type species ''Chuandongocoelurus primitivus'' was first described and named by Chinese paleontologist He Xinlu in 1984. The generic name combines references to the Chuandong in Sichuan Province and the theropod genus ''Coelurus'', itself named after the Greek κοῖλος, ', meaning "hollow" and οὐρά, ', meaning "tail". The specific name means "the primitive one" in Latin, a reference to the great age of the find. He assigned two partial skeletons to ''Chuandongocoelurus''. The holotype, a thighbone, is part of specimen CCG 20010. Vertebrae, pelvic bones and hindlimb elements, also catalogued under this inventory number, may belong to the same individual. The specimen has unfused neurocentral sutures in its vertebrae, meaning that the animal was immature at the time of death. The second specimen, CCG 20011, is a set of neck vertebrae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert T
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown, godlike" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin.Reaney & Wilson, 1997. ''Dictionary of English Surnames''. Oxford University Press. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe, the name entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
