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Silesaurids
Silesauridae is an extinct family of Triassic dinosauriforms. It is most commonly considered to be a clade of non-dinosaur dinosauriforms, and the sister group of dinosaurs. Some studies have instead suggested that most or all silesaurids comprised an early diverging clade or a paraphyletic grade within ornithischian dinosaurs. Silesaurids have a consistent general body plan, with a fairly long neck and legs and possibly quadrupedal habits, but most silesaurids are heavily fragmentary nonetheless. Furthermore, they occupied a variety of ecological niches, with early silesaurids (such as ''Lewisuchus'') being carnivorous and later taxa (such as ''Kwanasaurus'') having adaptations for specialized herbivory. As indicated by the contents of referred coprolites, ''Silesaurus'' may have been insectivorous, feeding selectively on small beetles and other arthropods. Classification Silesauridae is typically considered the sister group to Dinosauria. The group was named in 2010 by Max C. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soumyasaurus
''Soumyasaurus'' is a small silesaurid dinosauriform from the Late Triassic ( Norian) Cooper Canyon Formation of western Texas. Etymology ''Soumyasaurus'' is named in honor of Sankar Chatterjee's oldest son, Soumya (likewise, the shuvosaurid pseudosuchian ''Shuvosaurus'' was named for another of Chatterjee's sons, Shuvo). The specific epithet ''aenigmaticus'' derives from the Latin word ''aenigma'', meaning "enigma or riddle", referring to the poor preservation of the fossil. Description The only known element of ''Soumyasaurus'' is a small (less than 3 cm long), poorly preserved left dentary, missing its anterior end and containing some teeth with an estimated tooth count of at least 15. ''Soumyasaurus'' is mostly characterised by its teeth, which are fused to the jaw bone by a rim fibrous bone at their bases (ankylothecodont), a characteristic trait of silesaurids. Unlike the typically leaf-shaped teeth of other silesaurids, the teeth of ''Soumyasaurus'' are smooth and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silesaurus
''Silesaurus'' is a genus of silesaurid dinosauriform from the Late Triassic, of what is now Poland. Discovery Fossilized remains of ''Silesaurus'' have been found in the Keuper Claystone in Krasiejów near Opole, Silesia, Poland, which is also the origin of its name. The type species, ''Silesaurus opolensis'', was described by Jerzy Dzik in 2003. It is known from some 20 skeletons, making it one of the best-represented species of early dinosauriformes. Description ''Silesaurus'' measured approximately in length. Lightly built, it was probably a fast and agile animal with an active lifestyle. The snout was narrow with forward-pointing nostrils, and the large orbits likely provided ''Silesaurus'' with acute vision. Initially, ''Silesaurus'' was thought to be strictly herbivorous, but later research on coprolite contents indicates that it may have been insectivorous, feeding on insects such as the beetle '' Triamyxa''. The teeth of the animal were small, conical, and serrate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agnosphitys
''Agnosphitys'' (; "unknown begetter"; sometimes mistakenly called ''Agnostiphys'' or ''Agnosphytis'') is a genus of dinosauriform that lived during the Late Triassic. It contains only one species, the type species ''A. cromhallensis''. Its remains include an ilium, maxilla, astragalus and humerus, which date variously from the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic, or possibly as late as the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic. The fissure fill at Avon, of which ''Agnosphitys'' was probably recovered from, was a sinkhole formed by the dissolution of Lower Carboniferous limestones. Discovery and naming The type species, ''Agnosphitys cromhallensis'', was described by Nicholas Fraser, Kevin Padian, Gordon Walkden and A. L. M Davis in early 2002. The fossils consist of two specimens. The holotype consists of a single isolated left ilium, while the second specimen consists of a partial skeleton including a left maxilla, a humerus and a left astragalus, were found in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asilisaurus
''Asilisaurus'' ( ); from Swahili, ''asili'' ("ancestor" or "foundation"), and Greek, (, "lizard") is an extinct genus of silesaurid archosaur. The type species is ''Asilisaurus kongwe.'' ''Asilisaurus'' fossils were uncovered in the Manda Beds of Tanzania and date back to the middle Ladinian-early Carnian, making it one of the oldest known members of the Avemetatarsalia (animals on the dinosaur/pterosaur side of the archosaurian family tree). It was the first non-dinosaurian dinosauriform recovered from Africa. The discovery of ''Asilisaurus'' has provided evidence for a rapid diversification of avemetatarsalians during the Middle Triassic, with the diversification of archosaurs during this time previously only documented in pseudosuchians ( crocodylian-line archosaurs). ''Asilisaurus'' is known from a relatively large amount of fossils compared to most non-dinosaur dinosauromorphs. This has allowed it to provide important information for the evolution of other silesaurids an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamatavus
''Gamatavus'' (meaning "Picada do Gama great-grandfather") is a genus of silesaurid dinosauriform from the Middle Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Dilermando de Aguiar Municipality, Brazil. The genus contains a single species, ''G. antiquus'', known from a partial ilium. ''Gamatavus'' represents the oldest silesaurid known from South America. Discovery and naming The ''Gamatavus'' holotype specimen, UFSM 11348a, was discovered in the ''Dinodontosaurus'' Assemblage Zone of the Santa Maria Formation (‘Picada do Gama’ site), dated to the Ladinian–early Carnian stages of the Middle Triassic. It consists of a partial right ilium. A partial left femur and four incomplete vertebrae were found in association with the holotype, but they were not assigned to ''Gamatavus''. In 2022, Pretto ''et al''. described ''Gamatavus antiquus'' as a new genus and species of silesaurid based on these remains. The generic name, "''Gamatavus''", combines a reference to the type locality (P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ignotosaurus
''Ignotosaurus'' is an extinct genus of silesaurid dinosauriform known from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina.Martínez et al., 2013 It was therefore contemporary with early dinosaurs such as ''Herrerasaurus,'' and lived in the same place. Etymology The name, meaning 'unknown lizard' from the Latin 'ignotus' 'unknown' and the Greek '' 'lizard', is quite apt as there is only one specimen known and this specimen is only known from the right ilium. This ilium is approximately long, but it is difficult to say accurately how large ''Ignotosaurus'' was. Description The ilium is slender, and its blade has an extremely thin central portion (only thick), hence the specific name 'fragilis'. It has the saddle-shaped lateral profile of most silesaurids, and is longer than it is deep. The acetabulum has a back wall created by a ventral flange and this closes a socket a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewisuchus
''Lewisuchus'' is a genus of archosaur that lived during the Late Triassic (early Carnian). As a silesaurid dinosauriform, it was a member of the group of reptiles most commonly considered to be the closest relatives of dinosaurs (possibly true dinosaurs themselves). ''Lewisuchus'' was about long. Fossils have been found in the Chañares Formation of Argentina. It exhibited osteoderms along its back. History The first remains of ''Lewisuchus'' were discovered in a 1964-1965 joint expedition by the Museo de La Plata and Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. These remains were preserved in a carbonate nodule recovered from the Chañares Formation of Argentina. It contained a partial skeleton of ''Lewisuchus'', including parts of the skull, braincase, many vertebrae, scapulocoracoids, humeri, and tibiae. A gomphodont and bones from several other species of archosaurs were also preserved in the same nodule. An isolated lower jaw and foot bones were also initially referred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kwanasaurus
''Kwanasaurus'' is an extinct genus of silesaurid dinosauromorph reptiles from the Late Triassic of Colorado. It is known from a single species, ''Kwanasaurus williamparkeri''. ''Kwanasaurus'' had a deeper, stronger skull and greater specialization for herbivory compared to other silesaurids. It also possessed many unique characteristics of the snout, ilium, and lower part of the femur. It was described along with new specimens of '' Dromomeron'' from the Eagle Basin, the northernmost extent of the Chinle Formation. Discovery ''Kwanasaurus'' hails from Triassic deposits in the Eagle Basin surrounding the town of Eagle, Colorado. This area contains the most northern exposures of the Chinle Formation, which is famous for its Late Triassic fossils of dinosaurs and other reptiles. Tentative terrestrial reptile biostratigraphy estimates that the Eagle Basin fossils, which were preserved in red siltstone, belong to the Revueltian biozone of the mid to late Norian stage of the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulcimentisauria
Sulcimentisauria is a clade of derived silesaurid dinosauriforms. Sulcimentisaurian fossils have been found in North and South America, Europe, and Africa. It was defined as "the most inclusive clade that includes ''Silesaurus opolensis'' but not ''Asilisaurus kongwe ''Asilisaurus'' ( ); from Swahili, ''asili'' ("ancestor" or "foundation"), and Greek, (, "lizard") is an extinct genus of silesaurid archosaur. The type species is ''Asilisaurus kongwe.'' ''Asilisaurus'' fossils were uncovered in the Manda Beds ...''". Etymology References {{paleo-archosaur-stub Silesaurids category:Triassic archosaurs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnivore
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other soft tissues) whether through hunting or scavenging. Nomenclature Mammal order The technical term for mammals in the order Carnivora is ''carnivoran'', and they are so-named because most member species in the group have a carnivorous diet, but the similarity of the name of the order and the name of the diet causes confusion. Many but not all carnivorans are meat eaters; a few, such as the large and small cats (felidae) are ''obligate'' carnivores (see below). Other classes of carnivore are highly variable. The Ursids, for example: While the Arctic polar bear eats meat almost exclusively (more than 90% of its diet is meat), almost all other bear species are omnivorous, and one species, the giant panda, is nearly exclusively herbivorous. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthparts adapted to rasping or grinding. Horses and other herbivores have wide flat teeth that are adapted to grinding grass, tree bark, and other tough plant material. A large percentage of herbivores have mutualistic gut flora that help them digest plant matter, which is more difficult to digest than animal prey. This flora is made up of cellulose-digesting protozoans or bacteria. Etymology Herbivore is the anglicized form of a modern Latin coinage, ''herbivora'', cited in Charles Lyell's 1830 ''Principles of Geology''.J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner, eds. (2000) ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. 8, p. 155. Richard Owen employed the anglicized term in an 1854 work on fossil teeth and skeletons. ''Herbivora'' is derived from Latin ''herba' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coprolite
A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is derived from the Greek words κόπρος (''kopros'', meaning "dung") and λίθος (''lithos'', meaning "stone"). They were first described by William Buckland in 1829. Before this, they were known as "fossil fir cones" and "bezoar stones". They serve a valuable purpose in paleontology because they provide direct evidence of the predation and diet of extinct organisms. Coprolites may range in size from a few millimetres to over 60 centimetres. Coprolites, distinct from ''paleofeces'', are fossilized animal dung. Like other fossils, coprolites have had much of their original composition replaced by mineral deposits such as silicates and calcium carbonates. Paleofeces, on the other hand, retain much of their original organic composition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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