2009 In Archosaur Paleontology
The year 2009 in Archosaur paleontology was eventful. Archosaurs include the only living dinosaur group — birds — and the reptile crocodilians, plus all extinct dinosaurs, extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosaur paleontology is the scientific study of those animals, especially as they existed before the Holocene Epoch began about 11,700 years ago. The year 2009 in paleontology included various significant developments regarding archosaurs. This article records new taxa of fossil archosaurs of every kind that have been binomial nomenclature, described during the year 2009, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of archosaurs that occurred in the year 2009. Crurotarsans * Non-avian dinosaurs Research * A new study on theropod furculae is published. * A "detailed description of the skull and mandible of the Chinese cerapodan ornithischian dinosaur ''Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis''" is published. * * * * * * * * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Archosaurs
Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and extinct relatives of crocodilians. Modern paleontologists define Archosauria as a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians, and all of its descendants. The base of Archosauria splits into two clades: Pseudosuchia, which includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives, and Avemetatarsalia, which includes birds and their extinct relatives (such as non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs). Older definitions of the group Archosauria rely on shared morphological characteristics, such as an antorbital fenestra in the skull, serrated teeth, and an upright stance. Some extinct reptiles, such as proterosuchids and euparkeriids, possessed these features yet originate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peirosauridae
Peirosauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Cretaceous period. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms that evolved a rather dog-like form, and were terrestrial carnivores. It was phylogenetically defined in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of ''Peirosaurus'' and Lomasuchinae and all of its descendants. Lomasuchinae is a subfamily of peirosaurids that includes the genus ''Lomasuchus''. Lomasuchinae was defined in the same 2004 study as the most recent common ancestor of ''Lomasuchus'' and Mahajangasuchini and all of its descendants. Mahajangasuchini, also constructed in the study, was defined as the most recent common ancestor of ''Mahajangasuchus'' and ''Uberabasuchus'' and all of its descendants. However, all more recent phylogenetic analyses placed ''Mahajangasuchus'' within its own family, Mahajangasuchidae, along with the newly named ''Kaprosuchus''. Genera The following list of genera follows Martinelli ''et al.'', 2012 unless ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mahajangasuchidae
Mahajangasuchidae is an extinct family of notosuchian crocodyliforms. It currently contains two genera, '' Mahajangasuchus'' and '' Kaprosuchus'', both of which lived during the Late Cretaceous in Gondwana. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing ''Mahajangasuchus insignis'' but not ''Notosuchus terrestris'', '' Simosuchus clarki'', '' Araripesuchus gomesii'', ''Baurusuchus pachecoi'', '' Peirosaurus torminni'', '' Goniopholis crassidens'', '' Pholidosaurus schaumbergensis'', or ''Crocodylus niloticus''. Phylogenetically, Mahajangasuchidae is placed just outside pholidosaurids and more derived neosuchians. Defining characters of the family include fused nasals, a jaw articulation below the posterior maxillary tooth row, a deep mandibular symphysis that is oriented anterodorsally, and the formation of a hornlike posterodorsal process from the squamosal and parietal (which is much more pronounced in ''Kaprosuchus''). Phylogeny Cladogram showing the phylogenetic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Echkar Formation
The Echkar Formation is a geological formation comprising sandstones and claystones in the Agadez Region of Niger, central Africa. Description Its strata date back to the Late Albian to Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian stages, about 100-95 million years ago). Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 571-573. . Fossil content In Abangarit-Tamesna at .org Vertebrates See ...
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Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. One of his most widely publicized discoveries is that of a nearly complete specimen of ''Sarcosuchus imperator'' — popularly known as SuperCroc — at Gadoufaoua in the Tenere desert of Niger. Biography Youth and education The son of a mail carrier and an art teacher at Prairie Elementary, Sereno grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Naperville Central High School. He was then educated at Northern Illinois University (B.S., Biological Sciences, 1979) and Columbia University (M.A., Vertebrate Paleontology, 1981; M. Phil., Geological Sciences, 1981; Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 1987). Career Sereno was named one of ''People'' magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People (1997). Ser ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kaprosuchus
''Kaprosuchus'' is an extinct genus of mahajangasuchid crocodyliform. It is known from a single nearly complete skull collected from the Upper Cretaceous Echkar Formation of Niger. The name means "boar crocodile" from the Greek , ''kapros'' ("boar") and , ''soukhos'' ("crocodile") in reference to its unusually large caniniform teeth which resemble those of a boar. It has been nicknamed "BoarCroc" by Paul Sereno and Hans Larsson, who first described the genus in a monograph published in ''ZooKeys'' in 2009 along with other Saharan crocodyliformes such as ''Anatosuchus'' and ''Laganosuchus''. The type species is ''K. saharicus''. Description ''Kaprosuchus'' is known from a nearly complete skull 507 mm in length in which the lower jaw measured 603 mm long. The original description estimated the entire animal to be in length,National Geographic. November 2009. p. 140-141 although newer estimates lowered this to around 4 meters (13.1 ft). It possesses three sets of tusk- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ctenosauriscidae
Ctenosauriscidae is an extinct family (biology), family of pseudosuchian archosaurs within the clade Poposauroidea. Ctenosauriscids existed in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America during the Early Triassic to the Middle Triassic period (latest Olenekian to Anisian stages). All species had large "sails" on their backs. Ctenosauriscids are among some of the earliest archosaurs and represent the first global radiation of the group. Genera Phylogeny Ctenosauriscidae was named by Oskar Kuhn in 1964 in paleontology, 1964 to include the genus ''Ctenosauriscus''. It is a stem-based taxon defined by Richard J. Butler, Stephen L. Brusatte, Mike Reich, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Rainer R. Schoch and Jahn J. Hornung in 2011 as "the most inclusive clade containing ''Ctenosauriscus koeneni'' but not ''Poposaurus gracilis'', ''Effigia okeeffeae'', ''Postosuchus kirkpatricki'', ''Crocodylus niloticus'', ''Ornithosuchus longidens'', or ''Aetosaurus ferratus''". The cladograms below follows a 2011 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manda Beds
The Manda Formation (also known as the Manda Beds) is a Middle Triassic (Anisian?) or possibly Late Triassic (Carnian?) geologic formation in Tanzania. It preserves fossils of many terrestrial vertebrates from the Triassic, including some of the earliest dinosauromorph archosaurs. The formation is often considered to be Anisian in age according to general tetrapod biochronology hypotheses and correlations to the ''Cynognathus'' Assemblage Zone of South Africa. However, some recent studies cast doubt to this age, suggesting that parts deposits may actually be younger (Carnian) in age. History of study One of the first to study rocks of the Manda Formation was British geologist G. M. Stockley. In 1932, Stockley explored the geology of the Ruhuhu Basin in Tanzania. He called a series of layers dating from the Late Carboniferous to the Middle Triassic the Songea Series and divided it into eight units labelled K1-K8. Stockley was also the first to describe fossils from these rocks, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hypselorhachis
''Hypselorhachis'' is a genus of extinct reptile, possibly a ctenosauriscid archosaur related to ''Ctenosauriscus''. It lived during the Triassic Period. It is currently known only from a single vertebra found from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds in Tanzania. The vertebra is preserved in reasonably good condition, as although the tall neural spine is chipped in several places it is not broken despite being quite slender, only around 20 mm thick transversely. The type species is ''H. mirabilis'', mentioned but never fully described by English paleontologist Alan J. Charig. ''Hypselorhachis'' was assigned to the Ctenosauriscidae, a group of sail-backed archosaurs, in 1988.Carroll, R.L. (1988). ''Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution''. W.H. Freeman and Company It was formally described by Richard J. Butler and co-workers in 2009. The name means 'wonderful high spine', from the Latin 'mirabilis' 'wonderful' and the Greek 'ὑπσελος', 'high' and 'ῥαχις' 'spine' or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Duerosuchus
''Duerosuchus'' is an extinct genus of crocodilian. Remains have been found from Corrales del Vino in Zamora, Spain, and are middle Eocene in age (about 40 million years old). ''Duerosuchus'' is known from a single skull that is incomplete but otherwise well preserved, as well as a lower jaw, some osteoderms, and possibly some vertebrae. ''Duerosuchus'' is a basal crocodilian thought to be closely related to brevirostrine, or short snouted crocodilians, such as alligatoroids. However, the genus was not initially included in a phylogenetic study and its position within Crocodilia was uncertain, until a 2021 study recovered ''Duerosuchus'' within the family Planocraniidae. Discovery Remains of ''Duerosuchus'' were unearthed by an excavation team from the University of Salamanca. The remains were discovered by Luis Alonso Andrés and his son Luis Alonso Santiago, two amateur paleontologists. The genus was first described by Andrés and Santiago in 2009 and was named after the Due ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alcântara Formation
The Alcântara Formation is a geological formation in northeastern Brazil whose strata date back to the Cenomanian of the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger 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 .... Fossil content Dinosaurs Pterosauria Crocodylomorphs Turtles Squamates Fish References {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcantara Formation Geologic formations of Brazil Upper Cretaceous Series of South America Cretaceous Brazil Cenomanian Stage Sandstone formations Shale formations Conglomerate formations Shallow marine deposits Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of South America Paleontology in Brazil Formations ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coringasuchus
''Coringasuchus'' is a genus of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliform, perhaps a notosuchian. It is known from fossils including cranial material discovered in rocks of the early Cenomanian-age Upper Cretaceous Alcântara Formation, Cajual Island, northeastern Brazil. ''Coringasuchus'' was described by Alexander Kellner and colleagues in 2009. The 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 ... is ''C. anisodontis''. References Ziphosuchians Terrestrial crocodylomorphs Cenomanian life Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs of South America Cretaceous Brazil Fossils of Brazil Fossil taxa described in 2009 Taxa named by Alexander Kellner Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera {{paleo-archosaur-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |