|
Allosaurus
''Allosaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian ages). The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to this genus were described in 1877 by Othniel C. Marsh. The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard", alluding to its lightweight , which Marsh believed were unique. The genus has a very complicated taxonomy and includes at least three valid species, the best known of which is ''A. fragilis''. The bulk of ''Allosaurus'' remains come from North America's Morrison Formation, with material also known from the Alcobaça Formation and Lourinhã Formation in Portugal. It was known for over half of the 20th century as '' Antrodemus'', but a study of the abundant remains from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry returned the name "''Allosaurus''" to prominence. As one of the first well-known theropod dinosaurs, it has long attracted attention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry
Jurassic National Monument, at the site of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found, is a paleontological site located near Cleveland, Utah, in the San Rafael Swell, a part of the Stratum, geological layers known as the Morrison Formation. Well over 15,000 bones have been excavated from this Jurassic excavation site and there are many thousands more awaiting excavation and study. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in October 1965. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 12, 2019, named it as a List of national monuments of the United States, national monument. All of these bones, belonging to different species, are found disarticulated and indistinctly mixed together. It was hypothesized by Peter Dodson in 1980 that this strong concentration of mixed fossilized bones was due to a "predator trap", ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antrodemus
''Antrodemus'' ("chamber bodied") is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic, probably the Morrison Formation, of Middle Park, Colorado. It contains one species, ''Antrodemus valens'', first described and named as a species of '' Poekilopleuron'' by Joseph Leidy in 1870. Discovery and species The first described fossil specimen was a bone obtained secondhand by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden in 1869 (original discoverer unknown). It came from Middle Park, near Granby, Colorado, probably from Morrison Formation rocks. Hayden reported that several similar fossils had been identified as petrified horse hooves. Hayden sent his specimen to Joseph Leidy, who identified it as half of a tail vertebra, and tentatively assigned it to the European dinosaur genus '' Poekilopleuron'' as ''Poicilopleuron'' ic''valens'', based on the shared presence of a large medullary cavity. He identified the presence of trabeculae in ''P''. ''valens'' as a distinguishing character from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2024 In Archosaur Paleontology
This article records new taxa of every kind of fossil archosaur that are scheduled to be Species description, described during 2024, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to the paleontology of archosaurs published in 2024. Pseudosuchians New pseudosuchian taxa General pseudosuchian research * Evidence of the impact of function on the evolution of the lower jaw morphology in crocodile-line archosaurs is presented by Rawson ''et al.'' (2024). * A review of studies on the thermometabolism of crocodile-line archosaurs from the preceding 20 years is published by Faure-Brac (2024). * Sennikov (2024) interprets Ornithosuchidae, ornithosuchids as macrophagous predators with specialized jaw apparatus, and notes analogs between them and saber-toothed therapsids (including mammals). * A study on the locomotion of ''Riojasuchus, Riojasuchus tenuisceps'' is published by von Baczko ''et al.'' (2024), who reconstruct ''R. tenuisceps'' as having an erect posture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epanterias
''Epanterias'' is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the Tithonian age Upper Jurassic upper Morrison Formation of Garden Park, Colorado. It was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1878. The type species is ''Epanterias amplexus''. This genus is based on what is now AMNH 5767, parts of three vertebrae, a coracoid, and a metatarsal. Although Cope thought it was a sauropod, it was later shown to be a theropod. Gregory S. Paul reassessed the material as pertaining to a large species of ''Allosaurus'' in 1988 (which he classified as ''Allosaurus amplexus''). Other authors have gone further and considered ''E. amplexus'' as simply a large individual of ''Allosaurus fragilis''. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul and Kenneth Carpenter noted that the ''E. amplexus'' specimen comes from higher in the Morrison Formation than the type specimen of ''Allosaurus fragilis'', and is therefore "probably a different taxon". They also considered its holotype specimen not diagnostic and classified it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lourinhã Formation
The Lourinhã Formation () is a fossil-rich geological formation in western Portugal, named for the municipality of Lourinhã. The formation is mostly Late Jurassic in age (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian), with the top of the formation extending into the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian). It is notable for containing a fauna especially similar to that of the Morrison Formation in the United States and a lesser extent to the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. There are also similarities to the nearby Villar del Arzobispo Formation and Alcobaça Formation. Besides the fossil bones, Lourinhã Formation is well known for the fossil tracks and fossilized dinosaur eggs. The Lourinhã Formation includes several lithostratigraphic units, such as Praia da Amoreira-Porto Novo Members, Praia Azul Member, the Santa Rita Member, and the Assenta Member. The stratigraphy of the formation is complex and controversial, with the constituent member beds belonging to the formation varying between different autho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theropoda
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] |
2020 In Archosaur Paleontology
This article records new taxa of fossil archosaurs of every kind binomial nomenclature, described during the year 2020, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of archosaurs that occurred in 2020. Pseudosuchians New pseudosuchian taxa Pseudosuchian research * A study on the skeletal anatomy and bone histology of ''Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum'', based on data from two new specimens, is published by Lecuona, Desojo & Cerda (2020). * Redescription of the anatomy of the postcranial skeleton of ''Riojasuchus tenuisceps'', and a study on the phylogenetic affinities of Ornithosuchidae, ornithosuchids, is published by von Baczko, Desojo & Ponce (2020). * Description of a new Erpetosuchidae, erpetosuchid specimen from the Upper Triassic Lossiemouth Sandstone (Scotland, United Kingdom) and a review of the anatomy, taxonomy and systematics of other erpetosuchid specimens from the Lossiemouth Sandstone (all previously referred to ''Erpetosuchus'') is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcobaça Formation
The Alcobaça Formation, previously known as the Guimarota Formation and also known as the Consolação Unit, is a geological Formation (geology), formation in Portugal. It dates back to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic. It is an important source of information on the diversity of Late Jurassic mammals. Many of the fossils were collected from the now disused and flooded Camadas de Guimarota coal mine. Vertebrate paleofauna Dinosaur eggs are geographically located in Lisbon District, Portugal. Dinosaur tracks are geographically located in Leiria District, Portugal. Chondrichthyes Osteichthyes Amphibians Albanerpetontidae, Albanerpetontids are one of the most numerous faunal components of the Guimarota mine with around 9000 isolated remains, including parts of the skull and limbs. Remains of indeterminate salamanders and frogs are also present but far rarer. Choristoderes Ornithischians Indeterminate euornithopod remains located in Lisbon District. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1878 In Paleontology
Arthropods Newly named arachnids Newly named insects Archosauromorphs O. W. Lucas recovers more material which would be referred to ''Laelaps trihedrodon'' from Morrison Formation strata near Garden Park, Colorado."Introduction," Chure (2001) page 11. Newly named pseudosuchians Newly named dinosaurs Plesiosaurs Newly named plesiosaurs Synapsids Non-mammalian Footnotes References * {{cite book , last=Chure , first=Daniel J. , year=2001 , chapter=On the type and referred material of ''Laelaps trihedrodon'' Cope 1877 (Dinosauria: Theropoda) , editor=Tanke, Darren , editor2=Carpenter, Kenneth , title=Mesozoic Vertebrate Life , publisher=Indiana University Press , location=Bloomington and Indianapolis , page10–18 , isbn=0-253-33907-3 , url=https://archive.org/details/mesozoicvertebra0000unse/page/10 1870s in paleontology 1878 in science, Paleontology, 1878 In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1877 In Paleontology
Arthropods Newly named crustaceans Newly named insects Fish Non-dinosaurian reptiles Dinosaurs ''Laelaps trihedrodon'', Cope criticizes ''Dryptosaurus'' O. W. Lucas collected the first remains of what would later in the year be named ''Laelaps trihedrodon'' from Quarry I of the Saurian Hill at Garden Park, Colorado."Introduction," Chure (2001) page 11. Edward Drinker Cope would describe the material later in the year in a short paper titled "On a carnivorous dinosaurian from the Dakota beds of Colorado."Cope (1887) pages 805-806. The "Dakota beds" he references are actually Morrison Formation strata. Cope claims to have a skeleton of unspecified completeness on which to establish the new species, but only describes a partial dentary which has 5 successional teeth, 2 functional teeth, and one tooth missing from its socket. All of the preceding material has since been lost to science with the exception of 5 broken, partial tooth crowns."Description of 5780," Chure (2001) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone and is light gray, greenish gray, or red. Most of the fossils occur in the green siltstone beds and lower sandstones, relics of the rivers and floodplains of the Jurassic period. It is centered in Wyoming and Colorado, with outcrops in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho. Equivalent rocks under different names are found in Canada. It covers an area of 1.5 million square kilometers (600,000 square miles), although only a tiny fraction is exposed and accessible to geologists and paleontologists. Over 75% is still buried under the prairie to the east, and much of its western paleogeographic extent was eroded during exhuma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age. In the past, ''Malm'' was also used to indicate the unit of geological time, but this usage is now discouraged to make a clear distinction between lithostratigraphic and geochronologic/chronostratigraphic units. Subdivisions The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three (faunal) stages of Upper Jurassic rock: Paleogeography During the Late Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. The result of this break-up was the emergence of the Atlantic Ocean, which initially was relatively narrow. Life forms This epoch is well known for many famous types of d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
