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Shanxia Tianzhenensis
Shanxia (named after the Shanxi Province) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Shanxi Province that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian- Campanian, ~99-71 Ma) in what is now the Huiquanpu Formation. ''Shanxia'' may possibly represent a junior synonym of '' Tianzhenosaurus'', an ankylosaurine also known from the Huiquanpu Formation of China. Discovery and naming In 1993, Messrs. Lu and Li of the Hebei Geological Survey discovered a partial ankylosaurid skeleton at a locality in the Shanxi Province and notified staff of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, who collected the material later that year. The holotype specimen, IVPP V11276, consists of a braincase, occiput, skull roof, ?quadratojugal, axis vertebra, cervical vertebrae, dorsal vertebrae, caudal vertebrae, humerus, fragment of ?ilium, femora and an osteoderm. The holotype skull is partially reconstructed with plaster to stabilise parts of the skull roof and to att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Euoplocephalus
''Euoplocephalus'' ( ) is a genus of very large, herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaurs, living during the Late Cretaceous of Canada. It has only one named species, ''Euoplocephalus tutus''. The first fossil of ''Euoplocephalus'' was found in 1897 in Alberta. In 1902, it was named ''Stereocephalus'', but that name had already been given to an insect, so it was changed in 1910. Later, many more ankylosaurid remains were found from the Campanian of North America and often made separate genera. In 1971, Walter Coombs concluded that they all belonged to ''Euoplocephalus'' which then would be one of the best-known dinosaurs. Recently however, experts have come to the opposite conclusion, limiting the authentic finds of ''Euoplocephalus'' to about a dozen specimens. These include a number of almost complete skeletons, so much is nevertheless known about the build of the animal. ''Euoplocephalus'' reached in length and in body mass. Its body was low-slung and very flat and wide, standin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huayangosaurus Taibaii
''Huayangosaurus'' is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The name derives from "Huayang" (華陽), an alternate name for Sichuan (the province where it was discovered), and "saurus", meaning "lizard". It lived during the Bathonian to Callovian stages, around 165 million years ago, some 20 million years before its famous relative, ''Stegosaurus'' appeared in North America. At only approximately long, it was also much smaller than its famous cousin. Found in the Lower Shaximiao Formation, ''Huayangosaurus'' shared the local Middle Jurassic landscape with the sauropods ''Shunosaurus'', ''Datousaurus'', ''Omeisaurus'' and ''Protognathosaurus'', the ornithopod ''Xiaosaurus'' and the carnivorous ''Gasosaurus''. Description Like other stegosaurians, ''Huayangosaurus'' was a quadrupedal herbivore with a small skull and a spiked tail. Like its more famous relative, ''Stegosaurus'', ''Huayangosaurus'' bore the distinctive double row of plates that chara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minotaurasaurus
''Minotaurasaurus'' (meaning “Minos'-bull reptile”) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian stage, ~75-71 Ma) in what is now the Djadochta Formation. The type and only species, ''Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani'', is known from two skulls, a cervical vertebra and a cervical half ring. It was named and described in 2009 by Clifford Miles and Clark Miles. The first fossils of ''Minotaurasaurus'' were illegally exported out of Mongolia. It has been suggested to be a synonym of ''Tarchia'' but more recent publications consider it as a distinct genus. ''Minotaurasaurus'' was a medium-sized ankylosaurid, with an estimated length of 4.2 metres (13.8 feet), although it may have reached larger sizes as the type specimen represents an immature individual. Although not a lot of postcranial material is known, it would have had a tail club that may have been used for protection against predators or interspecific comba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crichtonpelta
''Crichtonpelta'' is a genus of extinct herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian) of China. Discovery and naming In 2007, Lü Junchang, Ji Qiang, Gao Yubo and Li Zhixin named and described a second species of ''Crichtonsaurus'': ''Crichtonsaurus benxiensis''. The specific name refers to the Benxi Geological Museum. The holotype, BXGMV0012, is a skull found near Beipiao in a layer of the Sunjiawan Formation probably dating from the early Cenomanian (~99–95 Ma). Specimen BXGMV0012-1, a skeleton lacking the skull, discovered in the same quarry as the holotype, was referred to the species. Furthermore, a skeleton with skull, displayed by the Sihetun Fossil Museum as a ''Crichtonsaurus bohlini'' specimen, was in 2014 referred to ''Crichtonpelta''. In 2017, a fourth specimen was described, from the same quarry as the holotype, G20090034, consisting of a skull lacking the front snout.YANG Jingtao, YOU Hailu, XIE Li & ZHOU Hongrui, 2017, "A New Spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maleevus
''Maleevus'' (named in honour of Evgeny Maleev) is an extinct genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous, around 90 million years ago (possibly 98-83 Ma), of Mongolia. Discovery and naming Between 1946 and 1949, Soviet-Mongolian expeditions uncovered fossils at Shiregin Gashun. In 1952, Soviet palaeontologist Evgenii Aleksandrovich Maleev named some ankylosaurian bone fragments as a new species of '' Syrmosaurus'': ''Syrmosaurus disparoserratus''. The specific name refers to the unequal serrations on the teeth.Maleev E.A., 1952, "Новый анқилосавр из вернего мела Монголии", ''Doklady Akademii Nauk, SSSR'' 87: 273-276 The holotype, PIN 554/I, was found in a layer of the Bayan Shireh Formation dating from the Cenomanian-Santonian. It consists of two upper jawbones, left and right maxillae. Maleev erroneously assumed these represented the lower jaws. Referred was specimen PIN 554/2-1, the rear of the skull of another indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talarurus
''Talarurus'' ( ; meaning "basket tail" or "wicker tail") is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about 96 million to 89 million years ago. The first remains of ''Talarurus'' were discovered in 1948 and later described by the Russian paleontologist Evgeny Maleev with the type species ''T. plicatospineus''. It is known from multiple yet sparse specimens, making it one of the most well known ankylosaurines, along with ''Pinacosaurus''. Elements from the specimens consists of various bones from the body; five skulls have been discovered and assigned to the genus, although the first two were very fragmented. It was a medium-sized, heavily built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to long and weighed about , nearly a ton. Like other ankylosaurs it had heavy armour and a club on its tail, limiting its speed. ''Talarurus'' is classified as a member of the Ankylosauria, in the Ankylosaurinae, a group of derived a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarchia
''Tarchia'' (meaning "brainy one") is a genus of herbivorous ankylosauridae, ankylosaurid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Discovery and naming In 1970, a Polish-Mongolian expedition discovered an ankylosaurian skull near Khulsan. In 1977, Teresa Maryańska named and described the type species ''Tarchia kielanae''. The generic name is derived from Mongolian language, Mongolian тархи (''tarkhi'', "brain") and Latin ''~ia'', in reference to a brain size presumed larger than that of the related form ''Saichania''. The specific name (zoology), specific name honours Professor Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, the leader of the expedition. The holotype, ZPal MgD-I/111, was discovered in the Upper Cretaceous (possibly Campanian-Maastrichtian) Barun Goyot Formation (previously known as the 'Lower Nemegt Beds') of the Nemegt Basin of Mongolia. It consists of a skull roof, braincase and rear skull elements. Maryańska referred three additional specimens: ZPAL MgDI/43, a large po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankylosauria
Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are known to have first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, and persisted until the end of the Cretaceous Period. The two main families of Ankylosaurs, Nodosauridae and Ankylosauridae are primarily known from the Northern Hemisphere, but the more basal Parankylosauria are known from southern Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Ankylosauria was first named by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1923.Osborn, H. F. (1923). "Two Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs of Mongolia." ''American Museum Novitates'', 95: 1–1/ref> In the Linnaean classification system, the group is usually considered either a suborder or an infraorder. It is contained within the group Thyreophora, which also includes the stegosaurs, armored dinosaurs known for their combination of plate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nodosauridae
Nodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs, from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous period in what is now North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Description Nodosaurids, like their close relatives the ankylosaurids, were heavily armored dinosaurs adorned with rows of bony armor nodules and spines (osteoderms), which were covered in keratin sheaths. All nodosaurids, like other ankylosaurians, were medium-sized to large, heavily built, quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs, possessing small, leaf-shaped teeth. Unlike ankylosaurids, nodosaurids lacked mace-like tail clubs, instead having flexible tail tips. Many nodosaurids had spikes projecting outward from their shoulders. One particularly well-preserved nodosaurid "mummy", known as the Suncor nodosaur (''Borealopelta markmitchelli''), preserved a nearly complete set of armor in life position, as well as the keratin covering and mineralized remains of the underlying skin, which indicate reddish dorsal pigmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synapomorphy
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have evolved in their most recent common ancestor. ) In cladistics, synapomorphy implies homology. Examples of apomorphy are the presence of erect gait, fur, the evolution of three middle ear bones, and mammary glands in mammals but not in other vertebrate animals such as amphibians or reptiles, which have retained their ancestral traits of a sprawling gait and lack of fur. Thus, these derived traits are also synapomorphies of mammals in general as they are not shared by other vertebrate animals. Etymology The word —coined by German entomologist Willi Hennig—is derived from the Ancient Greek words (''sún''), meaning "with, together"; (''apó''), meaning "away from"; and (''morphḗ''), meaning "shape, form". Clade analysis T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nemegt Formation
The Nemegt Formation (also known as Nemegtskaya Svita) is a geological formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, dating to the Late Cretaceous. The formation consists of river channel sediments and contains fossils of fish, turtles, crocodilians, and a diverse fauna of dinosaurs, including birds. Description The Nemegt Formation is composed of mudstones and sandstones that were deposited by ancient lakes, streams, and flood plains. The Altan Uul locality was described by Michael Novacek as "a canyon carved out of a very rich series of sedimentary rocks" with "steep cliffs and narrow washes". The climate associated with it was wetter than when preceding formations were deposited; there seems to have existed at least some degree of forest cover. Fossilized trunks have been also found. These petrified wood, and the remains of Araucariaceae conifers indicate that the forests of the Nemegt were thickly wooded, with a high canopy formed by tall conifer trees. When examined, the rock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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