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Cooper Canyon Formation
The Cooper Canyon Formation is a geological formation of Norian age in Texas and New Mexico.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004).Dinosaur distribution (Late Triassic, North America)" In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 518–521. . Type area of the formation is situated in Garza County, Texas. An equivalent formation in eastern New Mexico is named Bull Canyon Formation. Some researchers argue that the latter name should be abandoned. The formation consist of reddish siltstone and mudstone with lenses of sandstone and conglomerate. Thickness of the formation in the type area is 161.5 meters. It increases to the south, and in some places exceeds 200 m. The formation contains diverse fossils, including vertebrate remains. Vertebrate fauna Temnospondyls Allokotosaurs Archosaurs and related Procolophonomorphs Misc. See also * List of dinosaur-bearing rock forma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geological Formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by Abraham Gottlob Wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anaschisma
''Anaschisma'' is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl amphibians. These animals were part of the family called Metoposauridae, which filled the crocodile-like predatory niches in the late Triassic. It had large skull about long, and possibly reached long. It was an ambush hunter, snapping up anything small enough to fit in its huge jaws. It was very common during the Late Triassic (Norian age) in what is now the American Southwest. History of discovery ''Anaschisma'' was erected by Branson (1905) for two metoposaurid skulls from the Popo Agie Formation of Wyoming. The type species, ''A. browni'', was coined for the skull UC 447, while a second nominal species, ''A. brachygnatha'', was erected for the skull UC 448. Moodie (1908) considered ''A. brachygnatha'' a junior synonym of ''A. browni'', although Branson and Mehl (1929) retained the two species as distinct.Branson, E. B. & Mehl, M. G. 1929. Triassic amphibians from the Rocky Mountain region. The University of Missouri S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protoavis
''Protoavis'' (meaning "first bird") is a problematic taxon known from fragmentary remains from Late Triassic Norian stage deposits near Post, Texas. Much controversy remains over the animal, and there are many different interpretations of what ''Protoavis'' actually is. When it was first described, the fossils were described as being from a primitive bird which, if the identification is valid, would push back avian origins some 60-75 million years. The original describer of ''Protoavis texensis'', Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University, interpreted the type specimen to have come from a single animal, specifically a 35 cm tall bird that lived in what is now Texas, USA, around 210 million years ago. Though it existed far earlier than ''Archaeopteryx'', its skeletal structure is more bird-like. ''Protoavis'' has been reconstructed as a carnivorous bird that had teeth on the tip of its jaws and eyes located at the front of the skull, suggesting a nocturnal or crepuscular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Postosuchus
''Postosuchus'', meaning "Crocodile from Post", is an extinct genus of rauisuchid reptiles comprising two species, ''P. kirkpatricki'' and ''P. alisonae'', that lived in what is now North America during the Late Triassic. ''Postosuchus'' is a member of the clade Pseudosuchia, the lineage of archosaurs that includes modern crocodilians (the other main group of archosaurs is Avemetatarsalia, the lineage that includes non-avian dinosaurs and their descendants, birds). Its name refers to Post Quarry, a place in Texas where many fossils of the type species, ''P. kirkpatricki'', were found. It was one of the apex predators of its area during the Triassic, larger than the small dinosaur predators of its time (such as ''Coelophysis''). It was a hunter which probably preyed on large bulky herbivores like dicynodonts and many other creatures smaller than itself (such as early dinosaurs). The skeleton of ''Postosuchus'' is large and robust with a deep skull and a long tail. It was a large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleorhinus
''Paleorhinus'' (Greek: ''"Old Nose"'') is an extinct genus of widespread basal (phylogenetics), basal phytosaur known from the Late Triassic (late Carnian stage). The genus was named in 1904 based on the type species ''Paleorhinus bransoni'', which is known from Wyoming and Texas in the United States. Another valid species, ''Paleorhinus angustifrons'' from Bavaria, Germany, is also commonly referred to the genus. ''Paleorhinus'' had a length of about . ''Paleorhinus'' has had a complicated Taxonomy, taxonomic history involving frequent synonymy between diagnostic and undiagnostic material. This is mainly due to the fact that it is a quintessential basal phytosaur, mostly distinguished by a lack of specializations rather than unique traits. Historically, it was common practice to Lumpers and splitters, lump all basal phytosaurs into only one or two genera, rendering those genera Paraphyly, paraphyletic Evolutionary grade, evolutionary grades ancestral to later phytosaurs. More r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machaeroprosopus
''Machaeroprosopus'' is an extinct genus of mystriosuchin leptosuchomorph phytosaur from the Late Triassic of the southwestern United States. ''M. validus'', once thought to be the type species of ''Machaeroprosopus'', was named in 1916 on the basis of three complete skulls from Chinle Formation, Arizona. The skulls have been lost since the 1950s, and a line drawing in the original 1916 description is the only visual record of the specimen. Another species, ''M. andersoni'', was named in 1922 from New Mexico, and the species ''M. adamanensis'', ''M. gregorii'', ''M. lithodendrorum'', ''M. tenuis'', and ''M. zunii'' were named in 1930. Most species have been reassigned to the genera ''Smilosuchus'', ''Rutiodon'', or ''Phytosaurus''. Until recently, ''M. validus'' was considered to be the only species that has not been reassigned. Thus, ''Machaeroprosopus'' was considered to be a '' nomen dubium'' or "doubtful name" because of the lack of diagnostic specimens that can support its d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gojirasaurus
''Gojirasaurs'' (meaning "Godzilla lizard")K. Carpenter, 1997, "A giant coelophysoid (Ceratosauria) theropod from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA", ''Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen'' 205 (#2): 189-208 is genus of coelophysoid theropod dinosaur named after the giant monster movie character Gojira (the Hepburn romanized Japanese name for the monster Godzilla). Etymology The composite term ''Gojirasaurus'' is derived from the name of the giant Japanese movie monster "Gojira" (Godzilla) and the Greek word "" () meaning "lizard"; thus, "Godzilla lizard". In addition, a theropod dinosaur with the name ''Godzillasaurus'' exists in the Heisei era of ''Godzilla'' films, and in that continuity is explained to be the non mutated form of Godzilla. "Gojira" was selected as a reference to the great size of this theropod, which exceeded that of its Triassic counterparts. The specific name ''quayi'', is a reference to Quay County, New Mexico, where the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromomeron
''Dromomeron'' (meaning "running femur") is a genus of lagerpetid avemetatarsalian which lived around 220 to 211.9 ± 0.7 million years ago. The genus contains species known from Late Triassic-age rocks of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Argentina. It is described as most closely related to the earlier '' Lagerpeton'' of Argentina, but was found among remains of true dinosaurs like '' Chindesaurus'', indicating that the first dinosaurs did not immediately replace related groups. Based on the study of the overlapping material of ''Dromomeron'' and '' Tawa hallae'', Christopher Bennett proposed that the two taxa were conspecific, forming a single growth series of ''Dromomeron''. However, noting prominent differences between their femurs which cannot be attributed to variation with age, Rodrigo Muller rejected this proposal in 2017. He further noted that, while ''D. romeri'' is known from juveniles only, it shares many traits in common with ''D. gigas'', which is kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doswellia
''Doswellia'' is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Late Triassic of North America. It is the most notable member of the family Doswelliidae, related to the proterochampsids. ''Doswellia'' was a low and heavily built carnivore which lived during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic. It possesses many unusual features including a wide, flattened head with narrow jaws and a box-like rib cage surrounded by many rows of bony plates. The type species ''Doswellia kaltenbachi'' was named in 1980 from fossils found within the Vinita member of the Doswell Formation (formerly known as the Falling Creek Formation) in Virginia. The formation, which is found in the Taylorsville Basin, is part of the larger Newark Supergroup. ''Doswellia'' is named after Doswell, the town from which much of the taxon's remains have been found. A second species, ''D. sixmilensis,'' was described in 2012 from the Bluewater Creek Formation of the Chinle Group in New Mexico; however, this species was sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmatosuchus
''Desmatosuchus'' (, from Greek δεσμός ''desmos'' 'link' + σοῦχος ''soûkhos'' 'crocodile') is an extinct genus of archosaur belonging to the Order Aetosauria. It lived during the Late Triassic. Description ''Desmatosuchus'' was a large quadrupedal reptile upwards of to in lengthvon Baczko, M. B., Desojo, J. B., Gower, D. J., Ridgely, R., Bona, P., & Witmer, L. M. (2021)New digital braincase endocasts of two species of Desmatosuchus and neurocranial diversity within Aetosauria (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) The Anatomical Record, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24798 and in weight. Its vertebral column had amphicoelus centra and 3 sacral vertebrae. This archosaur's most distinguishing anatomical characteristics were its scapulae which possessed large acromion processes commonly referred to as "shoulder spikes". The forelimbs were much shorter than the hindlimbs, with humeri less than two-thirds the length of the femurs. The pelvic girdle consisted of a long pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coelophysis
''Coelophysis'' ( traditionally; or , as heard more commonly in recent decades) is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 228 to 201.3 million years ago during the latter part of the Triassic Period from the Carnian and Rhaetian faunal stages in what is now the southwestern United States. ''Megapnosaurus'' was once considered a species within this genus,Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Jurassic, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 535–536. but this interpretation has been challenged since 2017 and the genus ''Megapnosaurus'' is now considered valid. ''Coelophysis'' was a small, slenderly-built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore that could grow up to long. It is one of the earliest known dinosaur genera. Scattered material representing similar animals has been found worldwide in some Late Tria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chindesaurus
''Chindesaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of basal saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic (213-210 million years ago) of the southwestern United States. It is known from a single species, ''C. bryansmalli'', based on a partial skeleton recovered from Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The original specimen was nicknamed "Gertie", and generated much publicity for the park upon its discovery in 1984 and airlift out of the park in 1985. Other fragmentary referred specimens have been found in Late Triassic sediments throughout Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, but these may not belong to the genus. ''Chindesaurus'' was a bipedal carnivore, approximately as large as a wolf.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2011 Appendix./ref> ''Chindesaurus'''s classification is debated, and various papers have had different conclusions on its affinities. Its fossils were originally believed to belong to " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
