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Lower Maleri Formation
The Lower Maleri Formation is a sedimentary geological formation, rock formation found in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India. It is the lowermost member of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin. It is of late Carnian to early Norian age (Upper Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs, including the basal (phylogenetics), basal saurischian (possible theropod) ''Alwalkeria''.Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.525–527 Vertebrate fauna cf. ''Angistorhinus'' and cf. ''Typothorax'' have also been recovered from it.Novas et al, 2011Kutty et al., 2007 Correlations The formation has been correlated with the Molteno Formation (Karoo Basin) and Pebbly Arkose Formation of Africa, the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in Brazil, the Ischigualasto Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of Argentina and the lowermost Chinle Formation of North America.Novas et al., 2011, p.343 See also * List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations References Bibliograph ... [...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] |
Theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally carnivorous, although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores and omnivores. Theropods first appeared during the Carnian age of the late Triassic period 231.4 million years ago ( Ma) and included all the large terrestrial carnivores from the Early Jurassic until at least the close of the Cretaceous, about 66 Ma. In the Jurassic, birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods, and are today represented by about 10,500 living species. Biology Diet and teeth Theropods exhibit a wide range of diets, from insectivores to herbivores and carnivores. Strict carnivory has always been considered the ancestral diet for theropods as a group, and a wider variety of diets was historically considered a characteri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malerisaurus BW
''Malerisaurus'' is an extinct genus of archosauromorph known from Andhra Pradesh of India and Texas of the USA. Description ''Malerisaurus'' was a medium-sized archosauromorph which averaged 1.2 meters in length. ''Malerisaurus'' is known from the holotype ISIR 150, two articulated and almost complete skeletons which were discovered as the presumable gastric contents of two skeletons of ''Parasuchus hislopi''. It was collected from the Lower Maleri Formation, dating to the late Carnian or early Norian stage of the Late Triassic. ''Malerisaurus robinsonae'' was a small archosauromorph, probably capable of climbing trees and swimming. The skull has some adaptations to a carnivorous diet, but is nevertheless unspecialised and probably more of an insectivore. ''Malerisaurus'', seen as a diapsid skull, shows primitive and advanced facies in its unossified laterosphenoid, absence of antorbital and mandibular fenestrae, gracile form, primitive girdles, elongated cervicals and abse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malerisaurus
''Malerisaurus'' is an extinct genus of archosauromorph known from Andhra Pradesh of India and Texas of the USA. Description ''Malerisaurus'' was a medium-sized archosauromorph which averaged 1.2 meters in length. ''Malerisaurus'' is known from the holotype ISIR 150, two articulated and almost complete skeletons which were discovered as the presumable gastric contents of two skeletons of ''Parasuchus hislopi''. It was collected from the Lower Maleri Formation, dating to the late Carnian or early Norian stage of the Late Triassic. ''Malerisaurus robinsonae'' was a small archosauromorph, probably capable of climbing trees and swimming. The skull has some adaptations to a carnivorous diet, but is nevertheless unspecialised and probably more of an insectivore. ''Malerisaurus'', seen as a diapsid skull, shows primitive and advanced facies in its unossified laterosphenoid, absence of antorbital and mandibular fenestrae, gracile form, primitive girdles, elongated cervicals and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paradapedon 1DB
''Hyperodapedon'' is a genus of rhynchosaurs (beaked, archosaur-like reptiles) from the Triassic, Late Triassic period (Carnian stage). Fossils of the genus have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. Its first discovery and naming was found by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1859. ''Hyperodapedon'' was a herbivore that used its beaked premaxilla and hindlimbs to dig for plants in dry land. Description ''Hyperodapedon'' was a heavily built, stocky, animal. ''H. gordoni'' had total length around with skull length of to , but largest species, ''H. huxleyi'' had lower jaw about and skull length is estimated about . Apart from its beak, it had several rows of heavy teeth on each side of the upper jaw, and a single row on each side of the lower jaw, creating a powerful chopping action when it ate. It is believed to have been herbivorous, feeding mainly on seed ferns, and died out when these plants became extinct at Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, the end of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperodapedon
''Hyperodapedon'' is a genus of rhynchosaurs (beaked, archosaur-like reptiles) from the Triassic, Late Triassic period (Carnian stage). Fossils of the genus have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. Its first discovery and naming was found by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1859. ''Hyperodapedon'' was a herbivore that used its beaked premaxilla and hindlimbs to dig for plants in dry land. Description ''Hyperodapedon'' was a heavily built, stocky, animal. ''H. gordoni'' had total length around with skull length of to , but largest species, ''H. huxleyi'' had lower jaw about and skull length is estimated about . Apart from its beak, it had several rows of heavy teeth on each side of the upper jaw, and a single row on each side of the lower jaw, creating a powerful chopping action when it ate. It is believed to have been herbivorous, feeding mainly on seed ferns, and died out when these plants became extinct at Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, the end of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exaeretodon BW
''Exaeretodon'' is an extinct genus of fairly large, low-slung traversodontid cynodonts from the southern parts of Pangea. Four species are known, from various formations. ''E. argentinus'' is from the Carnian-age (Late Triassic) Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. ''E. major'' and ''E. riograndensis'' are from the Carnian-age portion of the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil. ''E. statisticae'' is from the Carnian-age Lower Maleri Formation of India. Description This genus was an herbivore up to long, with a specialized grinding action when feeding. An analysis of the size of the bones of calves collected in Paleorrota concluded that the mother ''Exaeretodon'' had one or two calves, for one pregnancy. Taxonomy When he first named the species, Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte mentioned several features that distinguish it from all other traverso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exaeretodon
''Exaeretodon'' is an extinct genus of fairly large, low-slung traversodontid cynodonts from the southern parts of Pangea. Four species are known, from various formations. ''E. argentinus'' is from the Carnian-age (Late Triassic) Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. ''E. major'' and ''E. riograndensis'' are from the Carnian-age portion of the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil. ''E. statisticae'' is from the Carnian-age Lower Maleri Formation of India. Description This genus was an herbivore up to long, with a specialized grinding action when feeding. An analysis of the size of the bones of calves collected in Paleorrota concluded that the mother ''Exaeretodon'' had one or two calves, for one pregnancy. Taxonomy When he first named the species, Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte mentioned several features that distinguish it from all other traverso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temnospondyl
Temnospondyli (from Greek language, Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order (biology), order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered Labyrinthodontia, primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. A few species continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found on every continent. During about 210 million years of evolutionary history, they adapted to a wide range of habitats, including freshwater, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments. Their life history is well understood, with fossils known from the larval stage, metamorphosis, and maturity. Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are considered amphibians, many had cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panthasaurus
''Panthasaurus'' is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl amphibian belonging to the family Metoposauridae that lived in India during the Late Triassic (Norian) of central India. It contains one species, ''Panthasaurus maleriensis'' from the Lower Maleri Formation of India. Taxonomy ''Metoposaurus maleriensis'' was coined by Chowdbury (1965) for metoposaurid remains from the Maleri Formation in the Pranhita–Godavari Basin of eastern India. Later, Hunt (1993) transferred the species to the genus '' Buettneria'', which was followed by Sulej (2002). In a paper published in 2018, Chakravorti and Sengupta concluded that specimens of ''Metoposaurus maleriensis'' formed a morphospace and morphotype distinct from metoposaurids found in Laurasia. They erected a new genus, ''Panthasaurus'', for ''M. maleriensis''. See also * Triassic–Jurassic extinction event * Timeline of paleontology Timeline of paleontology Antiquity – 16th century * 6th century B.C. — The pre-Socrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alwalkeria Maleriensis
''Alwalkeria'' (; "for Alick Walker") is a genus partly based on basal saurischian dinosaur remains from the Late Triassic, living in India. A thighbone found indicates a small bipedal form. It has been seen as a chimera. Etymology This taxon was originally named ''Walkeria maleriensis'' by Sankar Chatterjee in 1987, in honor of British paleontologist Alick Walker. However, since the original generic name was found to be preoccupied by a bryozoan, the name ''Alwalkeria'' was created in 1994 by Chatterjee and Ben Creisler. The specific name ''maleriensis'' is a reference to the Maleri Formation, in southern India, where its fossils were found. Description The only known specimen, holotype ISI R306 is incomplete and consists of parts of the front ends of the upper and lower jaws, 28 incomplete vertebrae from all parts of the spinal column, most of a femur, and an astragalus (ankle bone). The partial skull is about 4 centimeters long (1.5 in). Although material of ''Alw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 69,963 species described. Vertebrates comprise such groups as the following: * jawless fish, which include hagfish and lampreys * jawed vertebrates, which include: ** cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and ratfish) ** bony vertebrates, which include: *** ray-fins (the majority of living bony fish) *** lobe-fins, which include: **** coelacanths and lungfish **** tetrapods (limbed vertebrates) Extant vertebrates range in size from the frog species ''Paedophryne amauensis'', at as little as , to the blue whale, at up to . Vertebrates make up less than five percent of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack vertebral columns. The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfish, which do no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
