|
Litargosuchus Leptorhynchus
''Litargosuchus'' is a sphenosuchian crocodylomorph, a basal member of the crocodylomorph clade from the Early Jurassic of South Africa. Its genus name ''Litargosuchus'' is derived from Greek meaning "fast running crocodile" and its species name ''leptorhynchus'' refers to its gracile snout. ''Litargosuchus'', along with all of South Africa's crocodylomorph taxa, are confined to the upper Elliot Formation (UEF) in South Africa. History of discovery In 1988 James Kitching found the holotype fossil of ''Litargosuchus'' in a field expedition in Eagles Crag, a farm near Barkly East in the Eastern Cape. The material recovered consisted of a near-complete skull with its mandible and several bones belonging to the postcranial skeleton. At the time, Kitching was the director of the Evolutionary Studies Institute (previously the Bernard Price Institute) of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Kitching brought the holotype fossil back to the institute where he descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma (million years ago), and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic 174.1 Ma. Certain rocks of marine origin of this age in Europe are called "Lias Group, Lias" and that name was used for the period, as well, in 19th-century geology. In southern Germany rocks of this age are called Black Jurassic. Origin of the name Lias There are two possible origins for the name Lias: the first reason is it was taken by a geologist from an England, English quarryman's dialect pronunciation of the word "layers"; secondly, sloops from north Cornwall, Cornish ports such as Bude would sail across the Bristol Channel to the Vale of Glamorgan to load up with rock from coastal limestone quarries (lias limestone from S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England and some from Scotland and Ireland. Since South Africa's early years, many Xhosas believed in Africanism and figures such as Walter Rubusana believed that the rights of Xhosa people and Africans in general, could not be protected unless Africans mobilized and worked together. As a result, the Eastern Cape is home to many anti-apartheid leaders such as Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant taxon, extant members of the order (biology), order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae) among other extinct taxa. Although they appear similar, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological family (biology), families. The gharial, with its narrow snout, is easier to distinguish, while Morphology (biology), morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head, with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.3 ± 2 Ma and 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian and is followed by the Pliensbachian. In Europe the Sinemurian age, together with the Hettangian age, saw the deposition of the lower Lias, in Great Britain known as the Blue Lias. Stratigraphic definitions The Sinemurian Stage was defined and introduced into scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide d'Orbigny in 1842. It takes its name from the French town of Semur-en-Auxois, near Dijon. The calcareous soil formed from the Jurassic limestone of the region is in part responsible for the character of the classic Sancerre wines. The base of the Sinemurian Stage is at the first appearance of the ammonite genera ''Vermiceras'' and '' Metophioceras'' in the stratigraphic record. A global reference profile ( GSSP or golden spike) for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphenosuchia
Sphenosuchia is a suborder of basal crocodylomorphs that first appeared in the Triassic and occurred into the Middle Jurassic. Most were small, gracile animals with an erect limb posture. They are now thought to be ancestral to crocodyliforms, a group which includes all living crocodilians. Stratigraphic range The earliest known members of the group (i.e. '' Hesperosuchus'') are early Norian in age, found in the Blue Mesa Member of the Chinle Formation. Only one sphenosuchian is currently known from the Middle Jurassic, ''Junggarsuchus'', from the Junggar Basin (Shishugou Formation) of China during either the Bathonian or the Callovian (~165 Ma) age,Clark, J.M., ''et al.'' (2004A Middle Jurassic 'sphenosuchian' from China and the origin of the crocodylian skull''Nature'' 430:1021-1024. and the Hallopodidae are known from the Late Jurassic of North America. Phylogeny The monophyly of the group is debated, although several synapomorphies characterize the clade, including extreme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodyliformes
Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseudosuchians to survive the K-Pg extinction event. In 1988, Michael J. Benton and James M. Clark argued that all traditional names for well-known groups of animals should be restricted to their crown clades, that is, used only for natural groups comprising all living members of any given lineage. This posed a problem for the crocodilians, because the name Crocodylia, while used in various ways by various scientists, had always included not only living crocodilians but many of their extinct ancestors known only from the fossil record.Benton, M.J. and Clark, J.M. (1988). "Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia." Pp. 295–338 in Benton, M.J. (ed.), ''The phylogeny and classification of the Tetrapods, volume 1''. Oxford: Cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barkly East, South Africa - Panoramio (1)
Barkly may refer to : Places Australia Northern Territory * Barkly Tableland, one of the five regions in the Northern Territory * Barkly Highway, a national highway of both Queensland and Northern Territory * Electoral division of Barkly, a rural electorate * Barkly Region, a local government area Queensland * Barkly, Queensland, an outback locality within the City of Mount Isa Victoria * Barkly, Victoria, a town in the Pyrenees Shire South Africa * Barkly East, a South Africa town * Barkly West, Northern Cape, a town in South Africa Other * Henry Barkly (1815–1898), a British politician and colonial governor * Anne Maria Barkly (1837-1892) botanist and governor's 2nd wife * West Barkly languages, a small language family See also *Barkley (other) Barkley may refer to: People *Barkley (surname), people with this name Places * Barkley, Delaware, an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States *Barkley Township, Jasper County, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotypic Taxon
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. In contrast, an oligotypic taxon contains more than one but only a very few subordinate taxa. Examples Just as the term ''monotypic'' is used to describe a taxon including only one subdivision, the contained taxon can also be referred to as monotypic within the higher-level taxon, e.g. a genus monotypic within a family. Some examples of monotypic groups are: Plants * In the order Amborellales, there is only one family, Amborellaceae and there is only one genus, '' Amborella'', and in this genus there is only one species, namely ''Amborella trichopoda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedeticosaurus
''Pedeticosaurus'' is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph from the Clarens Formation (Early Jurassic) of South Africa. The type species ''Pedeticosaurus leviseuri'' was named by Egbert Cornelis Nicolaas van Hoepen in 1915 on the basis of a mold of a mostly complete skeleton found in a quarry near Rosendal, Free State. The mold preserves most of the right half of the skeleton including the skull, ribs, dorsal vertebrae, forelimbs and hindlimbs, but not the tail. It is currently housed in the National Museum in Bloemfontein and cataloged as NMQR606. Taxonomy Van Hoepen originally established a new family for ''Pedeticosaurus'' called Pedeticosauridae, which he thought was closely related to the family Ornithosuchidae. In later years ''Pedeticosaurus'' was interpreted as either a member of Sphenosuchia or Protosuchia, both of which are groups of small-bodied Jurassic crocodylomorphs. Paleontologist A. D. Walker erected a new group called Pedeticosauria in 1968, which he named after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demographia, the Johannesburg–Pretoria urban area (combined because of strong transport links that make commuting feasible) is the 26th-largest in the world in terms of population, with 14,167,000 inhabitants. It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills and is the centre of large-scale gold and diamond trade. The city was established in 1886 following the discovery of gold on what had been a farm. Due to the extremely large gold de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of The Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university has its roots in the mining industry, as do Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand in general. Founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley, it is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation. The university has an enrolment of 40,259 students as of 2018, of which approximately 20 percent live on campus in the university's 17 residences. 63 percent of the university's total enrolment is for Undergraduate education, undergraduate study, with 35 percent being Postgraduate education, postgraduate and the remaining 2 percent being Occasional Students. The 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) places Wits University, with its overall score, as the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Litargosuchus Leptorhynchus")
