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Coelurid
Coeluridae is a historically unnatural group of generally small, carnivorous dinosaurs from the late Jurassic Period. For many years, any small Jurassic or Cretaceous theropod that did not belong to one of the more specialized families recognized at the time was classified with the coelurids, creating a confusing array of 'coelurid' theropods that were not closely related. Although they have been traditionally included in this family, there is no evidence that any of these primitive coelurosaurs form a natural group with ''Coelurus'', the namesake of Coeluridae, to the exclusion of other traditional coelurosaur groups. Classification Before the use of phylogenetic analyses, Coeluridae and Coelurosauria were taxonomic wastebaskets used for small theropods that did not belong to other groups; thus, they accumulated many dubious genera. As late as the 1980s, popular books recognized over a dozen "coelurids", including such disparate forms as the noasaurid ''Laevisuchus'' and the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coelurus
''Coelurus'' ( ) is a genus of coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period (mid-late Kimmeridgian faunal stage, 155–152 million years ago). The name means "hollow tail", referring to its hollow tail vertebrae (Greek κοῖλος, ''koilos'' = hollow + οὐρά, ''oura'' = tail). Although its name is linked to one of the main divisions of theropods (Coelurosauria), it has historically been poorly understood, and sometimes confused with its better-known contemporary ''Ornitholestes''. Like many dinosaurs studied in the early years of paleontology, it has had a confusing taxonomic history, with several species being named and later transferred to other genera or abandoned. Only one species is currently recognized as valid: the type species, ''C. fragilis'', described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879. It is known from one partial skeleton found in the Morrison Formation of Wyoming, United States. It was a small bipedal carnivore with elongate legs. Description ''C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrannosauroidea
Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent beginning in the Jurassic Period. By the end of the Cretaceous Period, tyrannosauroids were the dominant large predators in the Northern Hemisphere, culminating in the gigantic ''Tyrannosaurus''. Fossils of tyrannosauroids have been recovered on what are now the continents of North America, Europe and Asia, with fragmentary remains possibly attributable to tyrannosaurs also known from South America and Australia. Tyrannosauroids were bipedal carnivores, as were most theropods, and were characterized by numerous synapomorphy, skeletal features, especially of the skull and pelvis. Early in their existence, tyrannosauroids were small predators with long, three-fingered forelimbs. Late Cretaceous genera became much larger, including some of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinosauropteryx
''Sinosauropteryx'' (meaning "Chinese reptilian wing", ) is a compsognathid dinosaur. Described in 1996, it was the first dinosaur taxon outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. It was covered with a coat of very simple filament-like feathers. Structures that indicate colouration have also been preserved in some of its feathers, which makes ''Sinosauropteryx'' the first non-avialian dinosaurs where colouration has been determined. The colouration includes a reddish and light banded tail. Some contention has arisen with an alternative interpretation of the filamentous impression as remains of collagen fibres, but this has not been widely accepted. ''Sinosauropteryx'' was a small theropod with an unusually long tail and short arms. The longest known specimen reaches up to in length, with an estimated weight of It was a close relative of the similar but older genus ''Compsognathus'', both genera belonging to the family Compsog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among his legacies are the discovery or description of dozens of new species and theories on the origins of birds. Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education thanks to the generosity of his wealthy uncle George Peabody. After graduating from Yale College in 1860 he travelled the world, studying anatomy, mineralogy and geology. He obtained a teaching position at Yale upon his return. From the 1870s to 1890s, he competed with rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in a period of frenzied Western American expeditions known as the Bone Wars. Marsh's greatest legacy is the collection of Mesozoic reptiles, Cretaceous birds, and Mesozoic and Tertiary mammals that now constitute the backbone of the collections of Yale's Peabo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanycolagreus
''Tanycolagreus'' is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod from the Late Jurassic of North America. Discovery and naming In 1995 Western Paleontological Laboratories, Inc. uncovered the partial skeleton of a small theropod at the Bone Cabin Quarry West locality, Albany County, Wyoming, from the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, dating to the Oxfordian-Tithonian. At first the find was considered to be a specimen of '' Coelurus'' but subsequent study indicated it represented a species new to science, that in 2001 was announced to be named ''Tanycolagreus topwilsoni''. It was actually named and described by Kenneth Carpenter, Clifford Miles and Karen Cloward in 2005. The etymology of the generic name ''Tanycolagreus'', suggested by Ben Creisler, is based upon the greater length of its forelimbs and hindlimbs compared to ''Coelurus''. It is derived from the Greek prefix τανυ~, ''tany''~: 'long, stretched out', κῶλον, ''kolon'': 'limb' and ἀγρεύς, ''agreus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microvenator
''Microvenator'' (meaning "small hunter") is a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation in what is now south central Montana. ''Microvenator'' was an oviraptorosaurian theropod. The holotype fossil is an incomplete skeleton, most likely a juvenile with a length of , and consequently, the adult size remains uncertain. ''Microvenator celer'' is primitive and may be the "sister taxon to all other oviraptorosaurs."Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) dinosaurs from Montana. pp. 42–57 in D. H. Tanke and K. Carpenter (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana. Discovery Barnum Brown collected the type specimen (AMNH 3041) in 1933 by a field party working for the American Museum of Natural History and he erroneously included ''Deinonychus'' teeth with the specimen. Because of this, Brown informally dubbed it "Megadontosaurus" ("big-toothed lizard"), Brown made illustrations of it, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic 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 spawning of the Atlantic Ocean. However, at this time, the Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow. Life forms of the epoch This epoch is well known for many famous types of dinosau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oviraptorosauria
Oviraptorosaurs ("egg thief lizards") are a group of feathered maniraptoran dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot-like skulls, with or without bony crests atop the head. They ranged in size from ''Caudipteryx'', which was the size of a turkey, to the 8-meter-long, 1.4-ton ''Gigantoraptor''. The group (along with all maniraptoran dinosaurs) is close to the ancestry of birds. Some researchers such as Maryanska ''et al'' (2002) and Osmólska ''et al.'' (2004) have proposed that they may represent primitive flightless birds.Osmólska, Halszka, Currie, Philip J., Brasbold, Rinchen (2004) "The Dinosauria" Weishampel, Dodson, Osmólska. "Chapter 8 Oviraptorosauria" University of California Press. The most complete oviraptorosaur specimens have been found in Asia. The North American oviraptorosaur record is sparse.Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coelophysidae
Coelophysidae is a family of primitive carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. Most species were relatively small in size. The family flourished in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods, and has been found on numerous continents. Many members of Coelophysidae are characterized by long, slender skulls and light skeletons built for speed. One member genus, ''Coelophysis'', displays the earliest known furcula in a dinosaur. Under Cladistics, cladistic analysis, Coelophysidae was first defined by Paul Sereno in 1998 as the most recent common ancestor of ''Coelophysis, Coelophysis bauri'' and ''Procompsognathus, Procompsognathus triassicus'', and all of that common ancestor's descendants. However, Tykoski (2005) has advocated for the definition to change to include the additional taxa of Coelophysis kayentakatae, "Syntarsus" ''kayentakatae'' and ''Segisaurus halli''. Coelophysidae is part of the superfamily Coelophysoidea, which in turn is a subset of the larger Neotheropoda clade. As p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladistic
Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived characteristics ( synapomorphies'')'' that are not present in more distant groups and ancestors. However, from an empirical perspective, common ancestors are inferences based on a cladistic hypothesis of relationships of taxa whose character states can be observed. Theoretically, a last common ancestor and all its descendants constitute a (minimal) clade. Importantly, all descendants stay in their overarching ancestral clade. For example, if the terms ''worms'' or ''fishes'' were used within a ''strict'' cladistic framework, these terms would include humans. Many of these terms are normally used paraphyletically, outside of cladistics, e.g. as a 'grade', which are fruitless to precisely delineate, especially when including extinct species. R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirischia
''Mirischia'' is a small (two meter-long) genus of compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the Albian stage ( Early Cretaceous Period) of Brazil. Discovery and naming In 2000 David Martill and Eberhard Frey reported the find of a small dinosaur fossil present in a chalk nodule, illegally acquired by the German Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe from an illegal Brazilian fossil dealer who had indicated the piece had been uncovered in the Chapada do Araripe, specifically at Araripina, Pernambuco. In 2004 the type species ''Mirischia asymmetrica'' was named and described by Martill, Frey and Darren Naish. The generic name combines the Latin ''mirus'', 'wonderful', with "ischia", the Latinised plural of Greek ἴσχιον, ''ischion'', 'hip joint'. The specific name ''asymmetrica'' refers to the fact that in the specimen the left ischium differs from its right counterpart. The holotype, SMNK 2349 PAL, has its probable provenance in the Romualdo Formation of the Santana G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compsognathus
''Compsognathus'' (; Greek ''kompsos''/κομψός; "elegant", "refined" or "dainty", and ''gnathos''/γνάθος; "jaw") is a genus of small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Members of its single species ''Compsognathus longipes'' could grow to around the size of a turkey. They lived about 150 million years ago, during the Tithonian age of the late Jurassic period, in what is now Europe. Paleontologists have found two well-preserved fossils, one in Germany in the 1850s and the second in France more than a century later. Today, ''C. longipes'' is the only recognized species, although the larger specimen discovered in France in the 1970s was once thought to belong to a separate species and named ''C. corallestris''. Many presentations still describe ''Compsognathus'' as "chicken-sized" dinosaurs because of the size of the German specimen, which is now believed to be a juvenile. ''Compsognathus longipes'' is one of the few dinosaur species whose diet is known with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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