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Jehol Biota
The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms – the ecosystem – of northeastern China between 133 and 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. These deposits are composed of layers of tephra and sediment. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series of North Korea.Li, Quanguo, Gao, Ke-qin (2007). "Lower Cretaceous vertebrate fauna from the Sinuiju basin, North Korea as evidence of geographic extension of the Jehol Biota into the Korean Peninsula". ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 27, supplement to number (3). pp.106A. The ecosystem in the Lower Cretaceous was dominated by wetlands and numerous lakes (not rivers, deltas, or marine habitats). Rainfall was seasonal, alternating between semiarid and Mesic habitat, mesic conditions. The climate was temperate. The Jehol ecosystem was interrupted periodically by ash eruptions from volcanoes to the west. The word "Jehol" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huajiying Formation
The Huajiying Formation is a geological formation in Hebei, People's Republic of China. Known for its fossils including feathered dinosaurs, the age of the formation is uncertain. It may represent an early portion of the Jehol Biota, dating to somewhere in the early Cretaceous or late Jurassic periods. It may correlate with the early Cretaceous Dadianzi Formation and parts of the Yixian Formation, with an age range between 140 and 122 Ma ago.Wang, X., O’Connor, J.K., Zhao, B., Chiappe, L.M., Gao, C. and Cheng, X. (2010). "New species of Enantiornithes (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Qiaotou Formation in Northern Hebei, China." ''Acta Geologica Sinica'', 84(2): 247-256. It contains the Qiaotou Member, sometimes treated as a distinct formation. Age and stratigraphy The Huajiying Formation contains the following members, in order from youngest to oldest: * 5th Volcanic Member * Guohedao Sedimentary Member * 4th Volcanic Member * Nianzigou Sedimentary Member * 3rd Volcanic Member ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Therizinosaur
Therizinosaurs (once called segnosaurs) were large herbivorous Theropoda, theropod dinosaurs whose fossils have been found across the Early Cretaceous, Early to Late Cretaceous deposits in Asia and North America. Various features of the forelimbs, skull and pelvis unite these finds as both theropods and maniraptorans, close relatives to birds. The name of the representative genus, ''Therizinosaurus'', is derived from the Ancient Greek , Greek (, 'to reap' or 'scythe')Translated paper and (, 'lizard'). The older representative, ''Segnosaurus'', is derived from the Latin ('slow') and the Greek . History of research [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia ( or ; Greek: "horned faces") is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, ''Yinlong downsi'', lived between 161.2 and 155.7 million years ago.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> The last ceratopsian species, ''Triceratops prorsus'', became extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, . ''Triceratops'' is by far the best-known ceratopsian to the general public. It is traditional for ceratopsian genus names to end in "''-ceratops''", although this is not always the case. One of the first named genera was ''Ceratops'' itself, which lent its name to the group, although it is considered a ''nomen dubium'' today as its fossil remains have no distinguishing characte ... [...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] |
Dendrorhynchoides
''Dendrorhynchoides'' was a genus of anurognathid pterosaur containing only the holotype species ''D. curvidentatus'' that is known from the Middle Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Qinglong, northern Hebei Province, China. The genus was first named '' Dendrorhynchus'' in 1998 by Ji Shu'an and Ji Qiang, but that name proved to be preoccupied by a parasitic protozoan named in 1920 by David Keilin. It was therefore renamed in 1999. The type species is ''Dendrorhynchoides curvidentatus''. The genus name is derived from Greek ''dendron'', "tree" and ''rhynkhos'', "snout" in reference to it being assumed a tree-dweller and presumed a close relative of ''Rhamphorhynchus''. The specific name means "curved-toothed" in Latin. A second species, ''D. mutoudengensis'', was described in 2012, and moved to a new genus ''Luopterus'' in 2020. Discovery and naming The genus is based on holotype GMV2128, a fossil originally discovered around 1995 and obtained by science from illegal fossil deale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. There were two major types of pterosaurs. Basal pterosaurs (also called 'non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs' or 'rhamphorhynchoids') were smaller animals with fully toothed jaws and, typically, long tails. Their wide wing membranes probably included and connected the hind legs. On the ground, they would have had an awkward sprawling posture, but the anatomy of their joints and strong claws would have made them effective climbers, and some may have even lived in trees. Basal pterosaurs were insectiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anurognathid
Anurognathidae is a family of small, short-tailed pterosaurs that lived in Europe, Asia, and possibly North America during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Five genera are known: ''Anurognathus'', from the Late Jurassic of Germany; ''Jeholopterus'', from the Middle to Late Jurassic of China; ''Dendrorhynchoides'', from the Middle Jurassic of China; ''Batrachognathus'', from the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan; and ''Vesperopterylus'', from the Early Cretaceous of China. Bennett (2007) suggested that the holotype of ''Mesadactylus'', BYU 2024, a synsacrum, belonged to an anurognathid, though this affinity has been questioned by other authors. ''Mesadactylus'' is from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of the United States. Indeterminate anurognathid remains have also been reported from the Middle Jurassic Bakhar Svita of Mongolia and the Early Cretaceous of North Korea. Classification A family Anurognathidae was named in 1928 by Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (as the subfa ... [...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] |
Compsognathid
Compsognathidae is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs. Compsognathids were small carnivores, generally conservative in form, hailing from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. The bird-like features of these species, along with other dinosaurs such as '' Archaeopteryx'' inspired the idea for the connection between dinosaur reptiles and modern-day avian species. Compsognathid fossils preserve diverse integument — skin impressions are known from four genera commonly placed in the group, ''Compsognathus'', ''Sinosauropteryx'', '' Sinocalliopteryx'', and ''Juravenator''.Xu, Xing. "Palaeontology: Scales, feathers and dinosaurs." ''Nature'' 440.7082 (2006): 287-288. While the latter three show evidence of a covering of some of the earliest primitive feathers over much of the body, ''Juravenator'' and ''Compsognathus'' also show evidence of scales on the tail or hind legs. '' Ubirajara'', described in 2020, had elaborate integumentary structures on its back and shoulders sup ... [...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] |
Turgai Sea
The Turgai Sea, also known as the Turgay Sea, Turgai Strait, Obik Sea, Ural Sea or West Siberian Sea, was a large shallow body of salt water (an epicontinental or epeiric sea) during the Mesozoic through Cenozoic Eras. It extended north of the present-day Caspian Sea to the "paleo-Arctic" region, and was in existence from the Middle Jurassic to Oligocene, approximately 160 to 29 million years ago. The Turgai Sea was not absolutely continuous throughout this entire era, though it was a persistent and predominating feature in its region; it "fragmented southern Europe and southwestern Asia into many large islands, and separated Europe from Asia." The division of the Eurasian landmass by the Turgai Sea had the effect of isolating animal populations. One of the better known groups are the ceratopsian dinosaurs during the Cretaceous Period, which were restricted to Asia and western North America that were connected for much of the era. The existence of the Turgai Sea also restricted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
