Stellasaurus Ancellae
''Stellasaurus'' (meaning "star lizard"; both in reference to the shape of its head ornamentation and as an homage to the song "Starman" by David Bowie) is a genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in Montana during the Late Cretaceous. The type and only species is ''Stellasaurus ancellae''. Its remains have been found in the Late Campanian age Two Medicine Formation, the same geological unit which its relatives ''Rubeosaurus'' (now seen as a synonym of ''Styracosaurus''), ''Einiosaurus'', and ''Achelousaurus'' were discovered in. Originally proposed as a distinct taxon in 1992, the specimens were later assigned to ''Rubeosaurus''. In 2020 a re-evaluation questioned the referral and named it as a distinct species in a new genus. The describers saw it as a transitional form between '' Styracosaurus albertensis'' and ''Einiosaurus'' on a single evolutionary line that led to ''Achelousaurus'' and ''Pachyrhinosaurus''. Description Like other ceratopsid dinosaurs, ''St ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and Ant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion. If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping. Initial attempts at classifying and ordering organisms (plants and animals) were set forth in Carl Linnaeus's Linnaean taxonomy, system in ''Systema Naturae'', 10th edition (1758), as well as an unpublished work by Bernard de Jussieu, Bernard and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. The idea of a unit-based system of biological classification was first mad ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Machairoceratops Cronusi
''Machairoceratops'' (meaning "bent sword horned face"), previously known as the "Wahweap centrosaurine B", is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wahweap Formation (late Campanian stage) of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, southern Utah, United States. Discovery It contains a single species, ''M. cronusi'', first described and named in 2016 by Eric K. Lund, Patrick M. O’Connor, Mark A. Loewen and Zubair A. Jinnah. The generic name is derived from Greek ''machairis'', meaning "bent sword", in reference to its unique frill ornamentation showing two forward curving horns on the frill's uppermost part, and Latinized Greek ''ceratops'', meaning "horned-face", which is a common suffix for ceratopsian genera names. The specific name ''cronusi'' refers to Cronus, a Greek god who deposed his father Uranus by castrating him with a sickle or scythe based on the mythology, and as such is shown carrying a curved bladed wea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sinoceratops Zhuchengensis
''Sinoceratops'' is an extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 73 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Shandong province in China. It was named in 2010 by Xu Xing ''et al.'' for three skulls from Zhucheng, China. The name of its type species ''Sinoceratops zhuchengensis'' means "Chinese horned face from Zhucheng", after the location of its discovery. ''Sinoceratops'' was a medium-sized, averagely-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore. It could grow up to an estimated in length and weigh up to . It was the first ceratopsid dinosaur discovered in China, and the only ceratopsid known from Asia. All other centrosaurines, and all chasmosaurines, are known from fossils discovered in North America, except for possibly ''Turanoceratops''. ''Sinoceratops'' is also significant because it is one of the largest known centrosaurines, and is much larger than any other known basal members of this group. ''Sinocer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wendiceratops Skull Diagram
''Wendiceratops'' is a genus of herbivorous centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Canada. Discovery In 2010, Canadian fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda found a centrosaurine bonebed in the Pinhorn Provincial Grazing Reserve south of the Milk River, County of Forty Mile No. 8, Alberta. In 2011, a team of the Royal Tyrrell Museum explored the site and began excavating fossils. Next year, a deep overburden was removed. In 2013 and 2014, numerous fossils were discovered. In 2015, paleontologists David Evans and Michael Ryan named and described the type species ''Wendiceratops pinhornensis''. The generic name combines a reference to Wendy Sloboda with a Latinised Greek ~ceratops, "horn face". The specific name refers to the provenance from the Pinhorn Reserve. ''Wendiceratops'' was the second ceratopsian discovered and named in 2015. The discovery of this new horned dinosaur species - starting from the ground in Alberta, through scientific study and restorati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wendiceratops Pinhornensis
''Wendiceratops'' is a genus of herbivorous centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Canada. Discovery In 2010, Canadian fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda found a centrosaurine bonebed in the Pinhorn Provincial Grazing Reserve south of the Milk River, County of Forty Mile No. 8, Alberta. In 2011, a team of the Royal Tyrrell Museum explored the site and began excavating fossils. Next year, a deep overburden was removed. In 2013 and 2014, numerous fossils were discovered. In 2015, paleontologists David Evans and Michael Ryan named and described the type species ''Wendiceratops pinhornensis''. The generic name combines a reference to Wendy Sloboda with a Latinised Greek ~ceratops, "horn face". The specific name refers to the provenance from the Pinhorn Reserve. ''Wendiceratops'' was the second ceratopsian discovered and named in 2015. The discovery of this new horned dinosaur species - starting from the ground in Alberta, through scientific study and restorati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Medusaceratops Lokii
''Medusaceratops'' is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Judith River Formation (middle Campanian stage) of Montana, northern United States. It contains a single species, ''Medusaceratops lokii''.Ryan, Michael J.; Russell, Anthony P., and Hartman, Scott. (2010). "A New Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid from the Judith River Formation, Montana", In: Michael J. Ryan, Brenda J. Chinnery-Allgeier, and David A. Eberth (eds), ''New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium'', Indiana University Press, 656 pp. . Discovery The known material of ''Medusaceratops'' came from a bonebed in the badlands on the west side of Kennedy Coulee adjacent to the Milk River, in the Milk River Natural Area, near Havre, Hill County of Montana. The material was first reported by Sweeney and Boyden (1993), who considered it to represent the southernmost occurrence of '' Styracosaurus albertensis'', based on misidentifie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Xenoceratops Foremostensis
''Xenoceratops'' (meaning "alien horned face") is a genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian stage), and is known to have lived in what is currently Alberta, Canada. The genus has one known species, ''Xenoceratops foremostensis''. Its remains were discovered in the Foremost Formation. Discovery In 1958, Wann Langston, Jr. excavated skull fragments from the Foremost Formation near Foremost, Alberta. The formation is very poorly understood in regards to dinosaur fauna; aside from teeth, only hadrosaur skeletons and the pachycephalosaurid '' Colepiocephale'' have been reported. Langston stored the fragments in cabinets at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Around 2003, David C. Evans and Michael J. Ryan became curious about the specimens, and more thorough investigation was conducted in 2009. They discovered it to be a new species and genus, and it was described in 2012 by Ryan, Evans, and Kieran M. Shepherd. At the time of di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Centrosaurinae
Centrosaurinae (from the Greek, meaning "pointed lizards") is a subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs, a group of large quadrupedal ornithischians. Centrosaurine fossil remains are known primarily from the northern region of Laramidia (modern day Alberta, Montana, and Alaska) but isolated taxa have been found in China and Utah as well. Defining features of centrosaurines include a large nasal horn, short supratemporal horns, and an ornamented frill projecting from the back of the skull. With the exception of ''Centrosaurus apertus'', all adult centrosaurines have spike-like ornaments midway up the skull. Morphometric analysis shows that centrosaurines differ from other ceratopsian groups in skull, snout, and frill shapes. There is evidence to suggest that male centrosaurines had an extended period of adolescence, and sexual ornamentation did not appear until adulthood. Centrosaurinae was named by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in 1915, with ''Centrosaurus'' as the type genus. The cen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Two Medicine Formation Centrosaurine Evolution
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultures. Evolution Arabic digit The digit used in the modern Western world to represent the number 2 traces its roots back to the Indic Brahmic script, where "2" was written as two horizontal lines. The modern Chinese and Japanese languages (and Korean Hanja) still use this method. The Gupta script rotated the two lines 45 degrees, making them diagonal. The top line was sometimes also shortened and had its bottom end curve towards the center of the bottom line. In the Nagari script, the top line was written more like a curve connecting to the bottom line. In the Arabic Ghubar writing, the bottom line was completely vertical, and the digit looked like a dotless closing question mark. Restoring the bottom line to its original horizon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supraorbital Ornamentation Of Stellasaurus
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Supraorbital refers to the region immediately above the eye sockets, where in humans the eyebrows are located. It denotes several anatomical features, such as: * Supraorbital artery * Supraorbital foramen *Supraorbital gland *Supraorbital nerve *Supraorbital ridge *Supraorbital vein The supraorbital vein is a vein of the forehead. It communicates with the frontal branch of the superficial temporal vein. It passes through the supraorbital notch, and merges with the angular vein to form the superior ophthalmic vein. The supra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jack Horner (paleontologist)
John Robert (‘Jack’) Horner (born June 15, 1946) is an American paleontologist most famous for describing ''Maiasaura'', providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. In addition to his paleontological discoveries, Horner served as the technical advisor for the first five '' Jurassic Park'' films, had a cameo appearance in '' Jurassic World'', and served as a partial inspiration for one of the lead characters of the franchise, Dr. Alan Grant. Horner studied at the University of Montana, although he did not complete his degree due to undiagnosed dyslexia, and was awarded a Doctorate in Science ''honoris causa''. He retired from Montana State University on July 1, 2016, although he claims to have been pushed out of the Museum of the Rockies after having married an undergraduate student and now teaches as a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. Biography Horner was born and raised near Shelby, Montana. He was eight years old when he fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |