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Riojasauridae
Riojasauridae is an extinct family of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Period (late Carnian to Norian Ages). It contains the genera '' Riojasaurus'' and '' Eucnemesaurus''. The Riojasauridae is considered a stem taxon, and is defined as "the most inclusive clade containing ''Riojasaurus incertus'' but not ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'', ''Massospondylus carinatus'', or '' Anchisaurus polyzelus''". Geologic formations containing riojasaurid fossils include the Lower Elliot Formation of Orange Free State, South Africa (where fossils of ''Eucnemesaurus'' have been found), and the Los Colorados Formation, in La Rioja Province, Argentina (where fossils of ''Riojasaurus'' have been recovered). Evolutionary relationships The Riojasauridae are considered to be sauropodomorphs, but not sauropods themselves. This means that they were generally much smaller than the Sauropods of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, and members of this family may not have been obligate quadru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateosauria
Plateosauria is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs which lived during the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. The name Plateosauria was first coined by Gustav Tornier in 1913. The name afterwards fell out of use until the 1980s. Classification Plateosauria is a node-based taxon. In 1998, Paul Sereno defined Plateosauria as the last common ancestor of ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'' and ''Massospondylus carinatus'', and its descendants. Peter Galton and Paul Upchurch in 2004 used a different definition: the last common ancestor of ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'' and '' Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis'', and its descendants. In their cladistic analysis the Plateosauria belonged to the Prosauropoda, and included the Plateosauridae subgroup. In Galton's and Upchurch's study also '' Coloradisaurus'', ''Euskelosaurus'', '' Jingshanosaurus'', ''Massospondylus'', ''Mussaurus'', ''Sellosaurus'', and ''Yunnanosaurus'' proved to be plateosaurians. However, recent cladistic analyses suggest that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya; their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,700 living species, are among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massopoda
Massopoda is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs which lived during the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous epochs. It was named by paleontologist Adam M. Yates of the University of the Witwatersrand in 2007. Massopoda is a stem-based taxon, defined as all animals more closely related to ''Saltasaurus loricatus'' than to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti''. The name Massopoda, ; , is also contraction of Massospondylidae and Sauropoda, two disparate taxa in the clade. Classification Yates assigned the Massopoda to Plateosauria. Within the clade, he assigned the families Massospondylidae (which includes the relatively well-known dinosaur ''Massospondylus'') and Riojasauridae (which includes ''Riojasaurus'') as well as the Sauropoda. The following is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucnemesaurus
''Eucnemesaurus'' (; meaning "good tibia lizard", for its robust tibiae) is a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur genus usually considered to be a synonym of ''Euskelosaurus''. Recent study by Yates (2006), however, indicates that it is valid and the same animal as putative "giant herrerasaurid" ''Aliwalia''. ''Eucnemesaurus'' was named in 1920 by Egbert Cornelis Nicolaas van Hoepen. The type species is ''Eucnemesaurus fortis''. The specific name means "strong" in Latin. It is based on holotype TrM 119, a partial skeleton including vertebrae, part of a pubis, a femur, and two tibiae. The remains were found by Van Hoepen in the late Carnian- early Norian-age Upper Triassic Lower Elliot Formation of the Slabberts district, Orange Free State, South Africa. Yates assigned the genus to the new family Riojasauridae, with '' Riojasaurus'', usually regarded as a melanorosaurid. ''Aliwalia'' Fossil material now assigned to ''Eucnemesaurus'' was once placed in a separate genus and speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropodomorph
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The ''prosauropods,'' which preceded the sauropods, were smaller and were often able to walk on two legs. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic (approximately 230 Ma) until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. Description Sauropodomorphs were adapted to browsing higher than any other contemporary herbivore, giving them access to high tree foliage. This feeding strategy is supported by many of their defining characteristics, such as: a light, tiny skull on the end of a long neck (with ten or more elongated cervical vertebrae) a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massospondylidae
Massospondylidae is a family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and AntarcticaHellert, Spencer M. "A New Basal Sauropodomorph from The Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica." Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,. Vol. 44. No. 5. 2012. during the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic periods. Several dinosaurs have been classified as massospondylids over the years. The largest cladistic analysis of early sauropodomorphs, which was presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, found '' Adeopapposaurus'', '' Coloradisaurus'', '' Glacialisaurus'', ''Massospondylus'', '' Leyesaurus'' and ''Lufengosaurus'' to be massospondylids. This result supports many previous analyses that tested fewer taxa. However, this analysis found the two recently described North American massopods, ''Sarahsaurus'' and '' Seitaad'', and the South African '' Ignavusaurus'' to nest outside Massospondylidae, as opposed to som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateosaurus Engelhardti
''Plateosaurus'' (probably meaning "broad lizard", often mistranslated as "flat lizard") is a genus of Plateosauridae, plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic Period (geology), period, around 214 to 204 timeline of the evolutionary history of life, million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. ''Plateosaurus'' is a basal (phylogenetics), basal (early) sauropodomorpha, sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called prosauropoda, "prosauropod". The type species is ''Plateosaurus trossingensis''; before 2019, that honor was given to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'', but it was ruled as undiagnostic (i.e. indistinguishable from other dinosaurs) by the ICZN. Currently, there are three valid species; in addition to ''P. trossingensis'', ''P. longiceps'' and ''P. gracilis'' are also known. However, others have been assigned in the past, and there is no broad consensus on the species Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plateosaurid dinosaurs. Similarly, there are a plethor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massospondylus Carinatus
''Massospondylus'' ( ; from Greek, (massōn, "longer") and (spondylos, "vertebra")) is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. (Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages, ca. 200–183 million years ago). It was described by Sir Richard Owen in 1854 from remains discovered in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named. Fossils have since been found at other locations in South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. Material from Arizona's Kayenta Formation, India, and Argentina has been assigned to the genus at various times, but the Arizonan and Argentinian material are now assigned to other genera. The type species is ''M. carinatus''; seven other species have been named during the past 150 years, but only ''M. kaalae'' is still considered valid. Early sauropodomorph systematics have undergone numerous revisions during the last several years, and many scientists disagree where exactly ''Massospondylus'' lies on the dinosaur evolutionar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riojasaurus
''Riojasaurus'' (meaning "Rioja lizard") was a herbivorous sauropodomorph dinosaur named after La Rioja Province in Argentina where it was found in the Los Colorados Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin by José Bonaparte. It lived during the Late Triassic (Norian stage) and grew to about long."Riojasaurus." In: Dodson, Peter & Britt, Brooks & Carpenter, Kenneth & Forster, Catherine A. & Gillette, David D. & Norell, Mark A. & Olshevsky, George & Parrish, J. Michael & Weishampel, David B. ''The Age of Dinosaurs''. Publications International, LTD. p. 41. . ''Riojasaurus'' is the only known riojasaurid to live in South America. Description ''Riojasaurus'' had a heavy body, bulky legs, and a long neck and tail. Its leg bones were dense and massive for an early sauropodomorph. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at and its weight at . By contrast, its vertebrae were lightened by hollow cavities, and unlike most early sauropodomorphs, ''Riojasaurus'' had fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jingshanosaurus
''Jingshanosaurus'' (meaning "Jingshan lizard") is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the early Jurassic period 201.3 million years ago that went extinct 199.3 million years ago in the Hettangian Age. Its maximum weight was around 4.3 t with an adult femur length of 845 mm. ''Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis'' grew to be 5 meters (16.4 ft) long. History of discovery Its fossils, a nearly complete skeleton including the skull, were found near the town of Jingshan ("Golden Hill"), Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, China, from which the name derives. First described in 1995, the type species is ''J. xinwaensis'', formalized by Zhang and Yang.Y. Zhang, and Z. Yang. (1995). ''A new complete osteology of Prosauropoda in Lufeng Basin, Yunnan, China''. Yunnan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Kunming, China 1-100. hinese/ref> Fossil remains of ''Jingshanosaurus'' had been exhibited in museums several years prior to the formal naming. A complete skeleton and skull of ''Jin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchisauria
Anchisauria is an extinct clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs that lived from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. The name Anchisauria was first used Haekel and defined by Galton and Upchurch in the second edition of ''The Dinosauria''. It is a node-based taxon containing the most recent common ancestor of '' Anchisaurus polyzelus'' and ''Melanorosaurus readi'', and all its descendants. Galton and Upchurch assigned a family of dinosaurs to the Anchisauria: the Melanorosauridae. The more common prosauropods ''Plateosaurus'' and ''Massospondylus'' were placed in the sister clade Plateosauria. However, research has since indicated that ''Anchisaurus'' is closer to sauropods than traditional prosauropods; thus, Anchisauria would by definition also include Sauropoda. The following cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same taxonomic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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