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Karabastau Svita
The Karabastau Formation ( kk, Qarabastaý svıtasy) is a geological formation and lagerstätte in the Karatau Mountains of southern Kazakhstan whose strata date to the Middle to Late Jurassic. It is an important locality for insect fossils that has been studied since the early 20th century, alongside the rarer remains of vertebrates, including pterosaurs, salamanders, lizards and crocodiles.Barrett, P.M., Butler, R.J., Edwards, N.P., & Milner, A.R. Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas. p61-107. in Flugsaurier: Pterosaur papers in honour of Peter Wellnhofer. 2008. Hone, D.W.E., and Buffetaut, E. (eds). Zitteliana B, 28. 264p/ref> Lithology and depositional environment The primary lithology consists of 1 mm thick varve laminations of claystone, with a dark part and a light dolomitic part, which probably correspond to a wet and dry season respectively, alongside rare, several cm thick sandstone interbeds. These were deposited within an ancient freshwater paleol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karaurus Sharovi
''Karaurus'' (meaning ''head-tail'') is an extinct genus of stem-group salamander (Caudata) from the Middle to Late Jurassic (Callovian–Kimmeridgian) Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. It is one of the oldest salamanders known. ''Karaurus'' was large for a Jurassic salamander, about long, and very similar anatomically to modern salamanders. ''Karaurus'' is thought to have fed using suction feeding via the enlargement of the buccal cavity on small fish and invertebrates, with the well developed palatal dentition (teeth on the roof of the mouth) and marginal teeth helping to grasp prey. ''Karaurus'' is thought to form a clade with ''Kokartus'' from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Kyrgyzstan, and ''Marmorerpeton'' from the Bathonian of Britain, together forming the Karauridae, which are closely related to crown salamanders. Like other members of Karauridae, ''Karaurus'' is neotenic Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, . ''Magnesian limestone'' is an obsolete and poorly-defined term used variously for dolomite, for limes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sordes
''Sordes'' was a small pterosaur from the late Jurassic ( Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian) Karabastau Svita of Kazakhstan. This genus was named in 1971 by Aleksandr Grigorevich Sharov. The type species is ''Sordes pilosus''. The genus name is Latin for "filth" or "scum"; but Sharov translates it as "", which means "devil" or "evil spirit", so the intended translation is "hairy devil" (the specific name is Latin for "hairy"; despite ''sordes'' being feminine, it has not yet been emended to ''pilosa''). Discovery ''Sordes'' is based on the holotype PIN 2585/3, which consists of a crushed relatively complete skeleton on a slab. It was found in the 1960s at the foothills of the Karatau in Kazakhstan. Sharov had already referred a paratype or second specimen: PIN 2470/1, again a fairly complete skeleton on a slab. By 2003 another six specimens had been discovered. Description ''Sordes'' had a 0.63 m (2 ft) wingspan. The wings were relatively short. ''Sordes'' had, according t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramacellodidae
Paramacellodidae is an extinct family of lizards that first appeared in the Middle Jurassic around 170 million years ago (Ma) and became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous around 66 Ma. It was one of the earliest groups of lizards to have undergone an evolutionary radiation, with members found across the supercontinent Laurasia. The phylogenetic relationships and constituent species of Paramacellodidae are uncertain. Many studies regard them to be scincomorphs, a large group that includes skinks and their closest extinct relatives, and possibly also to Cordyoidea, a group that includes spinytail lizards and relatives. Like modern skinks, paramacelloidids had rectangular bony plates called osteoderms covering most of their bodies, including their backs, undersides, and tails. They also had short and robust limbs. Paramacellodids are distinguished from other lizards by the combination two traits in their dentition, the teeth are labiolingually expanded at their bases, and the to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharovisaurus
''Sharovisaurus'' is an extinct genus of scincomorph lizard from the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan. It belongs to an extinct family of Mesozoic lizards called Paramacellodidae, which existed across most of Laurasia during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. The type and only species is ''Sharovisaurus karatauensis'', named in 1984 on the basis of a nearly complete articulated skeleton from the Oxfordian-aged Karabastau Formation. The back and tail of the skeleton are covered in rectangular-shaped bony plates called osteoderms, which have a similar arrangement to those of modern skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...s. At in length from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail, ''Sharovisaurus'' was one of the largest paramacellodids. Like other paramacello ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Praeornis
''Praeornis'' is a dubious genus of early avialan or bird-like dinosaur, named on the basis of a single feather discovered in the Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan by Sharov in 1971. A second specimen was discovered in 2010 by Dzik et al. The feathers of ''Praeornis'' likely represent modified tail feathers used for display or balance, similar to those found in some other early avialans. The feathers of ''Praeornis'' are unique thanks to their extremely thick central quill (rachis) and stiffened barbs. History In 1978, Rautian officially named the feather (cataloged as specimen PIN 2585/32) ''Praeornis sharovi''. He believed it belonged to a bird more primitive than ''Archaeopteryx'', and assigned it to its own subclass (Praeornithes), order (Praeornithiformes) and family (Praeornithidae). However, in 1986, Bock published a paper arguing that the "feather" was in fact the leaf of a cycad. This opinion was followed by Doludenko and colleagues in 1990, who noted that it was simil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders rarely have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults. This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost lim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karaurus
''Karaurus'' (meaning ''head-tail'') is an extinct genus of stem-group salamander (Caudata) from the Middle to Late Jurassic (Callovian–Kimmeridgian) Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. It is one of the oldest salamanders known. ''Karaurus'' was large for a Jurassic salamander, about long, and very similar anatomically to modern salamanders. ''Karaurus'' is thought to have fed using suction feeding via the enlargement of the buccal cavity on small fish and invertebrates, with the well developed palatal dentition (teeth on the roof of the mouth) and marginal teeth helping to grasp prey. ''Karaurus'' is thought to form a clade with ''Kokartus'' from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Kyrgyzstan, and ''Marmorerpeton'' from the Bathonian of Britain, together forming the Karauridae, which are closely related to crown salamanders. Like other members of Karauridae, ''Karaurus'' is neotenic Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylomorph
Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. During Mesozoic and early Cenozoic times, crocodylomorphs were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. The earliest and most primitive crocodylomorphs are represented by " sphenosuchians", a paraphyletic assemblage containing small-bodied forms with elongated limbs that walked upright, which represents the ancestral morphology of Crocodylomorpha. These forms persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, Crocodylomorphs morphologically diversified into numerous niches, including into the aquatic and marine realms. Evolutionary history When their extinct species and stem group are examined, the crocodylian lineage (clade Pseudosuchia, formerly Crurotarsi) proves to have been a very diverse and adaptive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atoposauridae
Atoposauridae is a Family (biology), family of crocodile-line archosaurs belonging to Neosuchia. The majority of the family are known from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous marine deposits in France, Portugal, and Bavaria in southern Germany. The discovery of the genus ''Aprosuchus'', however, extends the duration of the lineage to the end of the Cretaceous in Romania. Classification Phylogeny Cladogram modified from Buscalioni and Sanz (1988) and Buscalioni and Sanz (1990): References Late Jurassic crocodylomorphs Taxa named by Paul Gervais Prehistoric reptile families {{paleo-archosaur-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karatausuchus
''Karatausuchus'' is an extinct genus of atoposaurid crocodylomorph. It is known from a single specimen discovered in the Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian - Kimmeridgian) Karabastau Svita from the vicinity of Mikhailovka in the Karatau Mountains of southern Kazakhstan. The type specimen is PIN 25858/1, a complete but poorly preserved juvenile skeleton with some possible soft tissue preservation. It is notable for having over 90 teeth, but its other anatomical details are difficult to discern. The length of this individual is estimated at . ''Karatausuchus'' was described in 1976 by Mikhail Efimov, and the type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ... is ''K. sharovi''. References Late Jurassic reptiles of Asia Late Jurassic crocodylomorphs Pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coccolepis Aniscowitchi
''Coccolepis'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish in the family Coccolepididae. Originally including most species within the family, it is now restricted to two species from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The holotype of ''C. bucklandi'', designated and described by Louis Agassiz, was thought to be lost but was later rediscovered in Neuchâtel. Some species originally referred to ''Coccolepis'' were later reallocated to other genera: *''Coccolepis groeberi'' Bordas, 1943 → '' Condorlepis groeberi'' (Bordas, 1943) *''Coccolepis andrewsi'' Woodward, 1891 → '' Morrolepis andrewsi'' (Woodward, 1891) *''Coccolepis aniscowitchi'' Gorizdor-Kulczycka, 1926 → '' Morrolepis aniscowitchi'' (Gorizdor-Kulczycka, 1926) *''Coccolepis macroptera'' Traquair, 1911 → '' Barbalepis macroptera'' (Traquair, 1911) See also * Prehistoric fish * List of prehistoric bony fish A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: Peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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