Alvarezsaurus
''Alvarezsaurus'' (; "Alvarez's lizard") is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, living in Argentina approximately 86 - 83 million years ago. It was a small dinosaur, measuring long and weighing approximately . It was found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation and was named by paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1991 after the historian Don Gregorio Alvarez. The type species is ''A. calvoi''. Description ''Alvarezsaurus'' was a bipedal theropod. Like other lightweight theropods, it had a long tail, and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner. The most proximal elements of ''Alvarezsaurus'' caudal vertebrae exhibited ventrally sharp centra and the transerve processes of these vertebrae were sub-triangular and laterodistally directed, features seen in other alvarezsaurids like ''Shuvuuia''. Spinal processes were entirely absent or poorly developed, and each caudal vertebra supported short prezygapophyses. The scapula was visibly curved and proporti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alvarezsaurids
Alvarezsauridae is a family of small, long-legged dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, they are now thought to be an early diverging branch of maniraptoran theropods. Alvarezsaurids were highly specialized. They had tiny but stout forelimbs, with compact, bird-like hands. Their skeletons suggest that they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They had long, tube-shaped snouts filled with tiny teeth. They have been interpreted as myrmecophagous, adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites, with the short arms acting as effective digging instruments to break into nests. ''Alvarezsaurus'', the type genus of the family, was named for the historian Gregorio Álvarez. History of study Bonaparte (1991) described the first alvarezsaurid, ''Alvarezsaurus calvoi'', from an incomplete skeleton found in Patagonia, Argentina. Bonaparte also named a family, Alvarezsauridae, to contain it. He a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alvarezsauridae
Alvarezsauridae is a family of small, long-legged dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, they are now thought to be an early diverging branch of maniraptoran theropods. Alvarezsaurids were highly specialized. They had tiny but stout forelimbs, with compact, bird-like hands. Their skeletons suggest that they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They had long, tube-shaped snouts filled with tiny teeth. They have been interpreted as myrmecophagous, adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites, with the short arms acting as effective digging instruments to break into nests. ''Alvarezsaurus'', the type genus of the family, was named for the historian Gregorio Álvarez. History of study Bonaparte (1991) described the first alvarezsaurid, ''Alvarezsaurus calvoi'', from an incomplete skeleton found in Patagonia, Argentina. Bonaparte also named a family, Alvarezsauridae, to contain it. He a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alvarezsaurus Calvoi
''Alvarezsaurus'' (; "Alvarez's lizard") is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, living in Argentina approximately 86 - 83 million years ago. It was a small dinosaur, measuring long and weighing approximately . It was found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation and was named by paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1991 after the historian Don Gregorio Alvarez. The type species is ''A. calvoi''. Description ''Alvarezsaurus'' was a bipedal theropod. Like other lightweight theropods, it had a long tail, and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner. The most proximal elements of ''Alvarezsaurus'' caudal vertebrae exhibited ventrally sharp centra and the transerve processes of these vertebrae were sub-triangular and laterodistally directed, features seen in other alvarezsaurids like ''Shuvuuia''. Spinal processes were entirely absent or poorly developed, and each caudal vertebra supported short prezygapophyses. The scapula was visibly curved and proporti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alvarezsaurus Jaime Headden
''Alvarezsaurus'' (; "Alvarez's lizard") is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, living in Argentina approximately 86 - 83 million years ago. It was a small dinosaur, measuring long and weighing approximately . It was found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation and was named by paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1991 after the historian Don Gregorio Alvarez. The type species is ''A. calvoi''. Description ''Alvarezsaurus'' was a bipedal theropod. Like other lightweight theropods, it had a long tail, and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner. The most proximal elements of ''Alvarezsaurus'' caudal vertebrae exhibited ventrally sharp centra and the transerve processes of these vertebrae were sub-triangular and laterodistally directed, features seen in other alvarezsaurids like ''Shuvuuia''. Spinal processes were entirely absent or poorly developed, and each caudal vertebra supported short prezygapophyses. The scapula was visibly curved and proporti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Achillesaurus
''Achillesaurus'' is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Santonian-age Upper Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Rio Negro, Argentina. It was named in reference to Achilles' heel, because diagnostic features are found there for these animals. The genus was a relatively large, basal alvarezsaurid, and a contemporary of ''Alvarezsaurus''. ''Achillesaurus'' is based on MACN-PV-RN 1116, a partial skeleton including a sacral vertebra, four tail vertebrae, part of the left thighbone, shin and foot, and the left ilium. Agustín Martinelli and Ezequiel Vera, who described the specimen, performed a phylogenetic analysis and found their new genus to be an alvarezsaurid with an unresolved relationship to ''Alvarezsaurus'' and more derived alvarezsaurids. Makovicky, Apesteguía & Gianechini (2012) argued that ''Achillesaurus'' might actually be a junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
José Bonaparte
José Fernando Bonaparte (14 June 1928 – 18 February 2020) was an Argentine paleontologist who discovered a plethora of South American dinosaurs and mentored a new generation of Argentine paleontologists . One of the best-known Argentine paleontologists, he has been described by paleontologist Peter Dodson as "almost singlehandedly ... responsible for Argentina becoming the sixth country in the world in kinds of dinosaurs". Biography Bonaparte was the son of an Italian sailor, with no close connection to Napoleon's House of Bonaparte. He was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, and grew up in Mercedes, Buenos Aires. Despite a lack of formal training in paleontology, he started collecting fossils with many friends at an early age, and created a museum in their home town. He later became the curator of the National University of Tucumán, where he was named ''Doctor Honoris causa'' in 1976, and then in the late 1970s became a senior scientist at the Museo Argentino de Cienci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Bajo De La Carpa Formation
The Bajo de la Carpa Formation is a geologic formation of the Neuquén Basin that crops out in northern Patagonia, in the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, Argentina. It is the oldest of two formations belonging to the Río Colorado Subgroup within the Neuquén Group. Formerly, that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Bajo de la Carpa Formation was known as the Bajo de la Carpa Member.Sánchez ''et al.'', 2006 At its base, this formation conformably overlies the Plottier Formation of the older Río Neuquén Subgroup, and it is in turn overlain by the Anacleto Formation, the youngest and uppermost formation of the Neuquén Group. The Bajo de la Carpa Formation can reach in thickness in some locations, and consists mainly of sandstones of various colors, all of fluvial origin, with thin layers of mudstone and siltstone in between. Geological features such as geodes, chemical nodules, impressions of raindrops, and paleosols (fossil soils) are commonly found in this ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
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 Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and Ant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers in the west and deserts, tablelands and steppes to the east. Patagonia is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and many bodies of water that connect them, such as the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and the Drake Passage to the south. The Colorado and Barrancas rivers, which run from the Andes to the Atlantic, are commonly considered the northern limit of Argentine Patagonia. The archipelago of Tierra del Fuego is sometimes included as part of Patagonia. Most geographers and historians locate the northern limit of Chilean Patagonia at Huincul Fault, in Araucanía Region.Manuel Enrique Schilling; Richard WalterCarlson; AndrésTassara; Rommulo Vieira Conceição; Gustavo Walter Bertotto; ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Science (journal)
''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, is currently circulated weekly and has a subscriber base of around 130,000. Because institutional subscriptions and online access serve a larger audience, its estimated readership is over 400,000 people. ''Science'' is based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a second office in Cambridge, UK. Contents The major focus of the journal is publishing important original scientific research and research reviews, but ''Science'' also publishes science-related news, opinions on science policy and other matters of interest to scientists and others who are concerned with the wide implications of science and technology. Unlike most scientific journals, which focus on a specific field, ''Science'' and its rival ''Nature (journal), Nature'' c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Haplocheirus
''Haplocheirus'' is a genus of theropod dinosaur. Upon its description, it was considered the oldest alvarezsauroid, predating all other members by about 63 million years. This has subsequently been questioned. A 2019 study considered ''Haplocheirus'' a compsognathid instead of an alvarezsauroid, while a 2022 study considered it to have more similarities with ornithomimosaurs. ''Haplocheirus'' was described in 2010 from a fossil specimen found from the 160-million-year-old Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin of northwestern China. The type species is ''H. sollers'', meaning "simple-handed skillful one", referencing its hypothesized behavior of using its three-fingered hands for activities that other alvarezsauroids could not perform, such as catching prey. Description ''Haplocheirus'' had an enlarged thumb claw like alvarezsaurids, but also retained two other functional fingers, unlike alvarezsaurids, where only the thumb was significantly large and clawed. It had long l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |