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Armadillosuchus
''Armadillosuchus'' is an extinct genus of sphagesaurid crocodylomorph. It was described in February 2009 from the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian Adamantina Formation of the Bauru Basin in Brazil, dating to approximately 70 Ma. ''Armadillosuchus'' length was estimated on with an estimated body mass of . Sphagesaurids share a number of mammal-like features in their teeth and jaws, although they are unrelated to mammals. ''Armadillosuchus'' is especially mammal-like in that it had heavy body armor characterized by flexible bands and rigid shields that covered its back, less like the traditional osteoderms that line the backs of most crurotarsans and more like that of a modern armadillo (hence the genus name meaning "armadillo crocodile") or a glyptodont. Because of its unique morphology, it is believed to have had a terrestrial and quite possibly fossorial lifestyle. Features Armour plating Directly behind the skull of ''Armadillosuchus,'' protecting the neck, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armadillosuchus NT
''Armadillosuchus'' is an extinct genus of sphagesaurid crocodylomorph. It was described in February 2009 from the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian Adamantina Formation of the Bauru Basin in Brazil, dating to approximately 70 Ma. ''Armadillosuchus'' length was estimated on with an estimated body mass of . Sphagesaurids share a number of mammal-like features in their teeth and jaws, although they are unrelated to mammals. ''Armadillosuchus'' is especially mammal-like in that it had heavy body armor characterized by flexible bands and rigid shields that covered its back, less like the traditional osteoderms that line the backs of most crurotarsans and more like that of a modern armadillo (hence the genus name meaning "armadillo crocodile") or a glyptodont. Because of its unique morphology, it is believed to have had a terrestrial and quite possibly fossorial lifestyle. Features Armour plating Directly behind the skull of ''Armadillosuchus,'' protecting the neck, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphagesauridae
Sphagesauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodilians that evolved very mammal-like teeth and jaws.MARINHO, T.S. & CARVALHO, I.S. Revision of the Sphagesauridae KUHN, 1968 (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia). In: CARVALHO, I.S.; CASSAB, R.C.T.; SCHWANKE, C.; CARVALHO, M.A.; FERNANDES, A.C.S.; RODRIGUES, M.A.; CARVALHO, M.S.S.; ARAI, M.; OLIVEIRA, M.E.Q. (Orgs.). Paleontologia: Cenários de Vida. 1 ed. Rio de Janeiro: Interciência, 2007, v.1, p.589-599.Pol D. 2003. New remains of ''Sphagesaurus huenei'' (Crocodylomorpha: Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 23 (4): 817–831. Both ''Sphagesaurus'' and '' Adamantinasuchus'' are known from the Turonian to Santonian of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adamantina Formation
The Adamantina Formation is a geological formation in the Bauru Basin of western São Paulo state, in southeastern Brazil. Its strata date back to the Late Cretaceous epoch of the Cretaceous Period, during the Mesozoic Era. The formation is part of the Bauru Group in the northeastern Paraná Basin. Geology Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Adamantina Formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, South America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 600-604. . According to some studies, the Adamantina Formation dates from the Turonian to the Santonian stage (90-83.5 million years ago) of the late Cretaceous, other studies have found a much younger age - Campanian to Maastrichtian (83.5-66 million years ago) of the late Cretaceous. More recent studies lean into the latter category and an unpublished ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Campanian
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian spans the time from 83.6 (± 0.2) to 72.1 (± 0.2) million years ago. It is preceded by the Santonian and it is followed by the Maastrichtian. The Campanian was an age when a worldwide sea level rise covered many coastal areas. The morphology of some of these areas has been preserved: it is an unconformity beneath a cover of marine sedimentary rocks. Etymology The Campanian was introduced in scientific literature by Henri Coquand in 1857. It is named after the French village of Champagne in the department of Charente-Maritime. The original type locality was a series of outcrop near the village of Aubeterre-sur-Dronne in the same region. Definition The base of the Campanian Stage is defined as a place in the stratigraphic column wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, these two parts are the neurocranium and the viscerocranium ( facial skeleton) that includes the mandible as its largest bone. The skull forms the anterior-most portion of the skeleton and is a product of cephalisation—housing the brain, and several sensory structures such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In humans these sensory structures are part of the facial skeleton. Functions of the skull include protection of the brain, fixing the distance between the eyes to allow stereoscopic vision, and fixing the position of the ears to enable sound localisation of the direction and distance of sounds. In some animals, such as horned ungulates (mammals with hooves), the skull also has a defensive function by providing the mount (on the front ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burrow
An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, and can be found in nearly every biome and among various biological interactions. Many animal species are known to form burrows. These species range from small invertebrates, such as the ''Corophium arenarium'', to very large vertebrate species such as the polar bear. Burrows can be constructed into a wide variety of substrates and can range in complexity from a simple tube a few centimeters long to a complex network of interconnecting tunnels and chambers hundreds or thousands of meters in total length; an example of the latter level of complexity, a well-developed burrow, would be a rabbit warren. Vertebrate burrows A large variety of vertebrates construct or use burrows in many t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omnivore
An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutrients and energy of the sources absorbed. Often, they have the ability to incorporate food sources such as algae, fungi, and bacteria into their diet. Omnivores come from diverse backgrounds that often independently evolved sophisticated consumption capabilities. For instance, dogs evolved from primarily carnivorous organisms ( Carnivora) while pigs evolved from primarily herbivorous organisms (Artiodactyla). Despite this, physical characteristics such as tooth morphology may be reliable indicators of diet in mammals, with such morphological adaptation having been observed in bears. The variety of different animals that are classified as omnivores can be placed into further sub-categories depending on their feeding behaviors. Frugivor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whereas armadillos have none. Structure Adult humans normally have eight incisors, two of each type. The types of incisor are: * maxillary central incisor (upper jaw, closest to the center of the lips) * maxillary lateral incisor (upper jaw, beside the maxillary central incisor) * mandibular central incisor (lower jaw, closest to the center of the lips) * mandibular lateral incisor (lower jaw, beside the mandibular central incisor) Children with a full set of deciduous teeth (primary teeth) also have eight incisors, named the same way as in permanent teeth. Young children may have from zero to eight incisors depending on the stage of their tooth eruption and tooth development. Typically, the mandibular central incisors erupt first, followed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canine Tooth
In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dog teeth, or (in the context of the upper jaw) fangs, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or vampire fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. They can appear more flattened however, causing them to resemble incisors and leading them to be called ''incisiform''. They developed and are used primarily for firmly holding food in order to tear it apart, and occasionally as weapons. They are often the largest teeth in a mammal's mouth. Individuals of most species that develop them normally have four, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower, separated within each jaw by incisors; humans and dogs are examples. In most species, canines are the anterior-most teeth in the maxillary bone. The four canines in humans are the two maxillary canines and the two mandibular canines. Details There are generally four canine teeth: two in the upper (maxillary) and two in the lower (mandibular) arch. A canine is placed laterally to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homodont
In anatomy, a heterodont (from Greek, meaning 'different teeth') is an animal which possesses more than a single tooth morphology. In vertebrates, heterodont pertains to animals where teeth are differentiated into different forms. For example, members of the Synapsida generally possess incisors, canines ("eyeteeth"), premolars, and molars. The presence of heterodont dentition is evidence of some degree of feeding and or hunting specialization in a species. In contrast, homodont or isodont dentition refers to a set of teeth that possess the same tooth morphology. In invertebrates, the term heterodont refers to a condition where teeth of differing sizes occur in the hinge plate, a part of the Bivalvia Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biva .... References See also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adaptive Radiation
In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic interactions or opens new environmental niches. Starting with a single ancestor, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of species exhibiting different morphological and physiological traits. The prototypical example of adaptive radiation is finch speciation on the Galapagos ("Darwin's finches"), but examples are known from around the world. Characteristics Four features can be used to identify an adaptive radiation: #A common ancestry of component species: specifically a ''recent'' ancestry. Note that this is not the same as a monophyly in which ''all'' descendants of a common ancestor are included. #A phenotype-environment correlation: a ''significant'' association between environments and the morp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant taxon, extant members of the order (biology), order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae) among other extinct taxa. Although they appear similar, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological family (biology), families. The gharial, with its narrow snout, is easier to distinguish, while Morphology (biology), morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head, with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
