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Mesosuchus
''Mesosuchus'' ("middle crocodile") is an extinct genus of basal Rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic (early Anisian stage) deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5882, a partial skeleton, and from the paratypes SAM 6046, SAM 6536, SAM 7416 and SAM 7701 from the ''Aliwal North Euparkeria site''. ''Mesosuchus'' is quite small, spanning around 30 cm in length. ''Mesosuchus'' was discovered and named by David Meredith Seares Watson in 1912. Fossil discovery SAM 5882, the holotype for ''Mesosuchus'', consists of a partial rostrum, palate, braincase, lower jaws, sections of articulated presacral vertebral column, nine articulated caudal vertebrae, portions of scapula and pelvic girdle, and partial forelimb and hindlimbs. SAM 6046, one of the paratypes of ''Mesosuchus'', consists of an incomplete right maxilla, an articulated series of the last ten presacrals, both sacrals, and first six caudals, partial forelimbs, left and right pelvic g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhynchosaur
Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs first appeared in the Middle Triassic or possibly the Early Triassic, before becoming abundant and globally distributed during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic. Description Rhynchosaurs were herbivores, and at times abundant (in some fossil localities accounting for 40 to 60% of specimens found), with stocky bodies and a powerful beak. Early primitive forms, like ''Mesosuchus'' and '' Howesia'', were generally small and more typically lizard-like in build, and had skulls rather similar to the early diapsid ''Youngina'', except for the beak and a few other features. Later and more advanced genera grew to medium to medium large size, up to two meters in length. The skull in these forms were short, broad, and triangular, becoming muc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynognathus Assemblage Zone
The ''Cynognathus'' Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod biozone utilized in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. It is equivalent to the Burgersdorp Formation, the youngest lithostratigraphic formation in the Beaufort Group, which is part of the fossiliferous and geologically important Karoo Supergroup. The '' Cynognathus'' Assemblage Zone is the youngest of the eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be late Early Triassic (Olenekian) to early Middle Triassic (Anisian) in age (around 247 Ma). The name of the biozone refers to '' Cynognathus crateronotus'', a large and carnivorous cynodont therapsid which occurs throughout the entire biozone. History The first fossils to be found in the Beaufort Group rocks that encompass the current eight biozones were discovered by Andrew Geddes Bain in 1856. However, it was not until 1892 that it was observed that the geological strata of the Beaufort Group could be differentiated based on their fossil taxa. The initial undert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burgersdorp Formation
The ''Cynognathus'' Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod biozone utilized in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. It is equivalent to the Burgersdorp Formation, the youngest lithostratigraphic formation in the Beaufort Group, which is part of the fossiliferous and geologically important Karoo Supergroup. The ''Cynognathus'' Assemblage Zone is the youngest of the eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be late Early Triassic (Olenekian) to early Middle Triassic (Anisian) in age (around 247 Ma). The name of the biozone refers to '' Cynognathus crateronotus'', a large and carnivorous cynodont therapsid which occurs throughout the entire biozone. History The first fossils to be found in the Beaufort Group rocks that encompass the current eight biozones were discovered by Andrew Geddes Bain in 1856. However, it was not until 1892 that it was observed that the geological strata of the Beaufort Group could be differentiated based on their fossil taxa. The initial underta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Triassic
In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Early Triassic Epoch and followed by the Late Triassic Epoch. The Middle Triassic is divided into the Anisian and Ladinian ages or stages. Formerly the middle series in the Triassic was also known as Muschelkalk. This name is now only used for a specific unit of rock strata with approximately Middle Triassic age, found in western Europe. Middle Triassic fauna Following the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the most devastating of all mass-extinctions, life recovered slowly. In the Middle Triassic, many groups of organisms reached higher diversity again, such as the marine reptiles (e.g. ichthyosaurs, sauropterygians, thallatosaurs), ray-finned fish and many invertebrate groups like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autapomorphy
In phylogenetics, an autapomorphy is a distinctive feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon. That is, it is found only in one taxon, but not found in any others or outgroup taxa, not even those most closely related to the focal taxon (which may be a species, family or in general any clade). It can therefore be considered an apomorphy in relation to a single taxon. The word ''autapomorphy'', first introduced in 1950 by German entomologist Willi Hennig, is derived from the Greek words αὐτός, ''autos'' "self"; ἀπό, ''apo'' "away from"; and μορφή, ''morphḗ'' = "shape". Discussion Because autapomorphies are only present in a single taxon, they do not convey information about relationship. Therefore, autapomorphies are not useful to infer phylogenetic relationships. However, autapomorphy, like synapomorphy and plesiomorphy is a relative concept depending on the taxon in question. An autapomorphy at a given level may well be a synapomorphy at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Broom
Robert Broom FRS FRSE (30 November 1866 6 April 1951) was a British- South African doctor and palaeontologist. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1895 and received his DSc in 1905 from the University of Glasgow. From 1903 to 1910, he was professor of zoology and geology at Victoria College, Stellenbosch, South Africa, and subsequently he became keeper of vertebrate palaeontology at the South African Museum, Cape Town. Life Broom was born at 66 Back Sneddon Street in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the son of John Broom, a designer of calico prints and Paisley shawls, and Agnes Hunter Shearer. In 1893, he married Mary Baird Baillie, his childhood sweetheart. In his medical studies at the University of Glasgow Broom specialised in obstetrics. After graduating in 1895 he travelled to Australia, supporting himself by practising medicine. He settled in South Africa in 1897, just prior to the South African War. From 1903 to 1910, he was professor of Zoology and Geolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithosuchus
''Ornithosuchus'' (meaning "bird crocodile") is an extinct genus of pseudosuchians from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Lossiemouth Sandstone of Scotland. It was originally thought to be the ancestor to the carnosaurian dinosaurs (such as ''Allosaurus''). However, it is now known to be more closely related to crocodilians than to dinosaurs. Description Despite this relationship to crocodiles, ''Ornithosuchus'' was able to walk on its hind legs, like many dinosaurs. However, it probably spent most of its time on all fours, only moving bipedally when it needed to run rapidly. Its skull also resembled those of theropod dinosaurs, but more primitive features included the presence of five toes on each foot and a double row of armoured plates along the animal's back. ''Ornithosuchus'' has traditionally been estimated at a length of about around . Classification A single species of ''Ornithosuchus'' is recognized, ''O. woodwardi''. ''Ornithosuchus taylori'' is a synonym.M. Belén von ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythrosuchus
''Erythrosuchus'' (from el, ἐρυθρός , 'red' and el, σοῦχος , 'crocodile') is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Triassic of South Africa. Remains have been found from the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the Karoo of South Africa. In the Late Triassic, the ecological niche left by ''Erythrosuchus'' was filled by archosaurs like ''Saurosuchus'' and ''Postosuchus''. Description ''Erythrosuchus'' was the largest predator of its time, and was around long. It walked on all fours and had limbs which were positioned semi-vertically under its body, unlike the more sprawling gait of most earlier reptiles. Its head was large and theropod-like, reaching a length of , and had sharp, conical teeth. ''Erythrosuchus'' was the largest erythrosuchid, but apart from its size, was largely similar in appearance to other related genera. It had a large head and comparatively short neck. One of the few distinguishing features of ''Erythrosuchus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proterosuchus
''Proterosuchus'' is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles that lived during the Early Triassic. It contains three valid species: the type species ''P. fergusi'' and the referred species ''P. alexanderi'' and ''P. goweri''. All three species lived in what is now South Africa. The genus was named in 1903 by the South African paleontologist Robert Broom. The well-known genus ''Chasmatosaurus'' is a junior synonym of ''Proterosuchus''. ''Proterosuchus'' was a mid-sized quadrupedal reptile with a sprawling stance that could reach a length of up to . It had a large head and distinctively hooked snout. It was a predator, which may have hunted prey such as ''Lystrosaurus''. The lifestyle of ''Proterosuchus'' remains debated; it may have been terrestrial or it may have been a semiaquatic ambush predator similar to modern crocodiles. ''Proterosuchus'' is one of the earliest members of the clade Archosauriformes, which also includes crocodilians, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs, includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological change, form of words and, by extension, the origin and evolution of their semantic meaning across time. It is a subfield of historical linguistics, and draws upon comparative semantics, Morphology_(linguistics), morphology, semiotics, and phonetics. For languages with a long recorded history, written history, etymologists make use of texts, and texts about the language, to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods, how they developed in Semantics, meaning and Phonological change, form, or when and how they Loanword, entered the language. Etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about forms that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analyzing related ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Brown (palaeontologist)
Alfred Brown aka Gogga Brown (26 April 1834 Cirencester - 29 June 1920 Aliwal North) was an English-born South African palaeontologist, archaeologist and naturalist whose contributions to science were considerable. Brown discovered 21 new species of fossil reptiles and dinosaurs, a large number of which were described by Robert Broom and Harry Seeley. The defunct genus '' Browniella'' and some ten fossil species were named in his honour. Brown's fossils included 7 new species of Triassic fishes, some found by other collectors, three of which were named after him. Brown published a solitary article on his finds - "The Dicynodon", appearing in the Cape Monthly Magazine (2nd series, 1874, Vol. 9, pp. 83–89). Despite having had no formal training in palaeontology, archaeology or natural history, Brown possessed an enquiring and orderly mind. Alfred Brown was born on 26 April 1834 in Cirencester, England. Very little is known of Brown's early years. Though he kept a detailed j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captorhinus Aguti
''Captorhinus'' (from el, καπτō , 'to gulp down' and el, ῥῑνός , 'nose') is an extinct genus of captorhinid reptiles that lived during the Permian period. Its remains are known from Oklahoma, Texas, Europe, India, the Pedra de Fogo Formation, Parnaíba Basin, Brazil and the Madumabisa Mudstone, Zambia. Description While there are several forms of ''Captorhinus'', there are three main species that are the best known. The previously mentioned ''Captorhinus aguti'' is the type species of ''Captorhinus'', but there is also a fair amount of material collected on ''Captorhinus magnus'' and ''Captorhinus laticeps''. The most distinguishable trait of ''Captorhinus'' is its namesake: the hooking of the snout from prominent ventral angulation of the premaxillary process. Other notable characteristics include the dorsally positioned alary process of the jugal on the medial surface and flushed with the orbital margin, the retroarticular process longer anteroposteriorly th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
