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Erlhaz Formation
The Elrhaz Formation is a geological formation in Niger, central Africa. Its strata date back to the Early Cretaceous, about 125 to 112 million years ago. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, alongside those of multiple species of crocodyliformes. Gadoufaoua Gadoufaoua (Tuareg for "the place where camels fear to go") is a site within the Elrhaz Formation (located at ) in the Tenere desert of Niger known for its extensive fossil graveyard. It is where remains of ''Sarcosuchus imperator'', popularly known as SuperCroc, were found (by Paul Sereno in 1997, for example), including vertebrae, limb bones, armor plates, jaws, and a nearly complete skull. Gadoufaoua is very hot and dry. However, it is supposed that millions of years ago, Gadoufaoua had trees, plants and wide rivers. The river covered the remains of dead animals, the fossilized remains of which were protected by the drying rivers over millions of years. Vertebrate pa ... [...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] |
Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. One of his most widely publicized discoveries is that of a nearly complete specimen of ''Sarcosuchus imperator'' — popularly known as SuperCroc — at Gadoufaoua in the Tenere desert of Niger. Biography Youth and education The son of a mail carrier and an art teacher at Prairie Elementary, Sereno grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Naperville Central High School. He was then educated at Northern Illinois University (B.S., Biological Sciences, 1979) and Columbia University (M.A., Vertebrate Paleontology, 1981; M. Phil., Geological Sciences, 1981; Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 1987). Career Sereno was named one of ''People'' magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People (1997). Ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoceratodus Forsteri Cologne Zoo
''Neoceratodus'' is a genus of lungfish in the family Neoceratodontidae. The extant Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri'') is the only surviving member of this genus, but it was formerly much more widespread, being distributed throughout Africa, Australia, and South America. Species were also much more diverse in body plan; for example, the Cretaceous species ''Neoceratodus africanus'' was a gigantic species that coexisted with ''Spinosaurus'' in what is now the Kem Kem Formation of Morocco. The earliest fossils from this genus are of ''Neoceratodus potkooroki'' from the mid Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) Griman Creek Formation of Australia, remains from the Late Jurassic of Uruguay assigned to this genus probably do not belong to the genus. Species The following species are currently classified in this genus: * †''Neoceratodus africanus'' * †''Neoceratodus eyrensis'' * ''Neoceratodus forsteri'' (Queensland lungfish) *†''Neoceratodus potkooroki'' * †''Neocerato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dipnomorpha
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the order Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed internal skeleton. Lungfish represent the closest living relatives of the tetrapods. Today there are only six known species of lungfish, living in Africa, South America, and Australia. The fossil record shows that lungfish were abundant since the Triassic. While vicariance would suggest this represents an ancient distribution limited to the Mesozoic supercontinent Gondwana, the fossil record suggests advanced lungfish had a widespread freshwater distribution and the current distribution of modern lungfish species reflects extinction of many lineages subsequent to the breakup of Pangaea, Gondwana and Laurasia. Lungfish have historically been referred to as salamanderfish, but th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoceratodus Africanus
''Neoceratodus'' is a genus of lungfish in the family Neoceratodontidae. The extant Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri'') is the only surviving member of this genus, but it was formerly much more widespread, being distributed throughout Africa, Australia, and South America. Species were also much more diverse in body plan; for example, the Cretaceous species '' Neoceratodus africanus'' was a gigantic species that coexisted with ''Spinosaurus'' in what is now the Kem Kem Formation of Morocco. The earliest fossils from this genus are of ''Neoceratodus potkooroki'' from the mid Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) Griman Creek Formation of Australia, remains from the Late Jurassic of Uruguay assigned to this genus probably do not belong to the genus. Species The following species are currently classified in this genus: * †'' Neoceratodus africanus'' * †''Neoceratodus eyrensis'' * ''Neoceratodus forsteri'' (Queensland lungfish) *†''Neoceratodus potkooroki'' * †''Neocer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoceratodus
''Neoceratodus'' is a genus of lungfish in the family Neoceratodontidae. The extant Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri'') is the only surviving member of this genus, but it was formerly much more widespread, being distributed throughout Africa, Australia, and South America. Species were also much more diverse in body plan; for example, the Cretaceous species '' Neoceratodus africanus'' was a gigantic species that coexisted with ''Spinosaurus'' in what is now the Kem Kem Formation of Morocco. The earliest fossils from this genus are of ''Neoceratodus potkooroki'' from the mid Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) Griman Creek Formation of Australia, remains from the Late Jurassic of Uruguay assigned to this genus probably do not belong to the genus. Species The following species are currently classified in this genus: * †'' Neoceratodus africanus'' * †'' Neoceratodus eyrensis'' * ''Neoceratodus forsteri'' (Queensland lungfish) *†'' Neoceratodus potkooroki'' * †'' Neo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mawsonia (fish)
''Mawsonia'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric coelacanth fish. It is the amongst the largest of all coelacanths, with one quadrate specimen (DGM 1.048-P) possibly belonging to an individual measuring in length. It lived in freshwater and brackish environments from the latest Jurassic to the mid-Cretaceous ( Tithonian to Cenomanian stages, about 152 to 96 million years ago) of South America, eastern North America, and Africa. ''Mawsonia'' was first described by British paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward in 1907.''Mawsonia'' at Fossilworks.org Description [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarcopterygii
Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass including amphibians, sauropsids (reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (with mammals being the only extant group), evolved from certain sarcopterygians; under a cladistic view, tetrapods are themselves considered a subgroup within Sarcopterygii. The known extant non-tetrapod sarcopterygians include two species of coelacanths and six species of lungfishes. Characteristics Early lobe-finned fishes are bony fish with fleshy, lobed, paired fins, which are joined to the body by a single bone. The fins of lobe-finned fishes differ from those of all other fish in that each is borne on a fleshy, lobelike, scaly stalk extending from the body. The scales of sarcopterygians are true scaloids, consisting of lamellar bone sur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybodus Model
''Hybodus'' (from el, ύβος , 'crooked' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') is an extinct genus of hybodont, a group of shark-like elasmobranchs that lived from the Late Devonian to the end of the Cretaceous. Species closely related to the type species ''Hybodus reticulatus'' lived during the Early Jurassic epoch. Numerous species have been assigned to ''Hybodus'' spanning a large period of time, and it is currently considered a wastebasket taxon that is 'broadly polyphyletic' and requires reexamination. The first fossilized teeth from ''Hybodus'' were found in England around 1845; since then teeth (and dorsal spines) have been recovered from Europe. During the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, the hybodonts were especially successful and could be found in shallow seas around the world. For reasons that are not fully understood, the hybodonts became extinct near the end of the Late Cretaceous period. Description ''Hybodus'' species grew to about in length. It was not very ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybodus
''Hybodus'' (from el, ύβος , 'crooked' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') is an extinct genus of hybodont, a group of shark-like elasmobranchs that lived from the Late Devonian to the end of the Cretaceous. Species closely related to the type species ''Hybodus reticulatus'' lived during the Early Jurassic epoch. Numerous species have been assigned to ''Hybodus'' spanning a large period of time, and it is currently considered a wastebasket taxon that is 'broadly polyphyletic' and requires reexamination. The first fossilized teeth from ''Hybodus'' were found in England around 1845; since then teeth (and dorsal spines) have been recovered from Europe. During the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, the hybodonts were especially successful and could be found in shallow seas around the world. For reasons that are not fully understood, the hybodonts became extinct near the end of the Late Cretaceous period. Description ''Hybodus'' species grew to about in length. It was not ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chondrichthyes
Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes that have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fishes'', which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. Chondrichthyes are jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, and a heart with its chambers in series. Extant chondrichthyes range in size from the 10 cm (3.9 in) finless sleeper ray to the 10 m (32 ft) whale shark. The class is divided into two subclasses: Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) and Holocephali ( chimaeras, sometimes called ghost sharks, which are sometimes separated into their own class). Within the infraphylum Gnathostomata, cartilaginous fishes are distinct from all other jawed vertebrates. Anatomy Skeleton The skeleton is cartilaginous. The notochord is gradually replaced by a vertebral column during development, except in Holocephali, where the notochord stays intact. In some deepwat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
