|
Theropods
Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of 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 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 Carnian age of the late Triassic period ... [...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] |
Coelophysis
''Coelophysis'' ( Traditional English pronunciation of Latin, traditionally; or , as heard more commonly in recent decades) is a genus of coelophysid Theropoda, theropod dinosaur that lived Approximation, approximately 215 to 201.4 million years ago during the Late Triassic Period (geology), period from the middle Norian to Rhaetian age in what is now the southwestern United States. ''Megapnosaurus'' was once considered to be a species within this genus, but this interpretation has been challenged and the genus ''Megapnosaurus'' is now considered valid. ''Coelophysis'' was a small, slenderly built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore that could grow up to long. It is one of the earliest known dinosaur genera. Scattered material representing similar animals has been found worldwide in some Late Triassic and Early Jurassic formations. The type species ''C. bauri'', originally given to the genus ''Coelurus'' by Edward Drinker Cope in 1887, was described by the latter in 1889. T ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
Irritator
''Irritator'' is a genus of Spinosauridae, spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the Albian Geological stage, stage of the Early Cretaceous Geological period, Period, about 113 to 110 million years ago. It is known from a nearly complete skull found in the Romualdo Formation of the Araripe Basin. Fossil dealers had acquired this skull and sold it to the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. In 1996 in paleontology, 1996, the specimen became the holotype of the type species ''Irritator challengeri''. The genus name comes from the word "irritation", reflecting the feelings of paleontologists who found the skull had been heavily damaged and altered by the collectors. The species name is a homage to the fictional character Professor Challenger from Arthur Conan Doyle's novels. Some paleontologists regard ''Angaturama limai''—known from a snout tip that was described a few weeks later also in 1996—as a potential junior synonym of ''Irritator''. Both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eodromaeus
''Eodromaeus'' (meaning "dawn runner") is an extinct genus of probable basal (phylogenetics), basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Argentina. Like many other of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it hails from the Carnian-age (~230 Ma) Ischigualasto Formation, within the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of northwestern Argentina. Upon its discovery, it was argued to be one of the oldest true theropods, supplanting its contemporary ''Eoraptor'', which was reinterpreted as a basal sauropodomorph.Martínez et al., 2011 Discovery Fossils from ''Eodromaeus'' were first discovered in 1996 by Argentinean paleontologist Ricardo N. Martinez and Earthwatch Institute, Earthwatch volunteer Jim Murphy, and it was first believed that the fossils were a new species of ''Eoraptor''. However, as the researchers started to take a closer look at the fossils, they found that it had many skeletal features which were absent in ''Eoraptor'', and they understood that it came from a new genus. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Struthiomimus
''Struthiomimus'', meaning "ostrich-mimic" (from the Greek στρούθειος/''stroutheios'', or "of the ostrich", and μῖμος/''mimos'', meaning "mimic" or "imitator"), is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous of North America. Ornithomimids were long-legged, bipedal, ostrich-like dinosaurs with toothless beaks. The type species, ''Struthiomimus altus'', is one of the more common, smaller dinosaurs found in Dinosaur Provincial Park; their overall abundance—in addition to their toothless beak—suggests that these animals were mainly herbivorous or (more likely) omnivorous, rather than purely carnivorous. Similar to the modern extant ostriches, emus, and rheas (among other birds), ornithomimid dinosaurs likely lived as opportunistic omnivores, supplementing a largely plant-based diet with a variety of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, invertebrates, and anything else they could fit into their mouth, as they foraged. History of discovery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tawa Hallae
''Tawa'' (named after the Hopi word for the Puebloan sun god) is a genus of possible basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic period. The fossil remains of ''Tawa hallae'', the type and only species were found in the Hayden Quarry of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, US. Its discovery alongside the relatives of ''Coelophysis ''and ''Herrerasaurus'' supports the hypothesis that the earliest dinosaurs arose in Gondwana during the early Late Triassic period in what is now South America, and radiated from there around the globe. The specific name honours Ruth Hall, founder of the Ghost Ranch Museum of Paleontology. Description ''Tawa'' was estimated to have been long as an adult, with a weight of . ''Tawa'' preserves characters that can be associated with different dinosaur taxa. Its skull morphology resembles that of coelophysoids and the ilium approximates that of a herrerasaurid. Like the coelophysoids, ''Tawa'' has a kink in its upper jaws, between the maxilla and the premax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alwalkeria
''Alwalkeria'' (; "for Alick Walker") is an extinct genus of basal saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic Lower Maleri Formation of India. Discovery and naming ''Alwalkeria'' was originally named ''Walkeria maleriensis'' by Sankar Chatterjee in 1987, in honor of British paleontologist Alick Walker. However, since the original generic name was found to be preoccupied by a bryozoan, the name ''Alwalkeria'' was created in 1994 by Chatterjee and Ben Creisler: the specific name ''maleriensis'' is a reference to the Lower Maleri Formation, in southern India, where its fossils were found. In 2005, Rauhut and Remes found ''Alwalkeria'' to be a chimera, with the anterior skull referable to a crurotarsan, and the vertebrae referable to various other ancient reptiles including Prolacertiformes; the femur and the astragalus are clearly dinosaurian, however, with the latter possessing saurischian characteristics. In 2011, Novas and colleagues argued that ''Alwalkeria'' remains va ... [...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] |
