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Triceratops
''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one of the last-known non-avian dinosaur genera, and became extinct in the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. The name ''Triceratops'', which literally means 'three-horned face', is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words () meaning 'three', () meaning 'horn', and () meaning 'face'. Bearing a large bony neck frill, frill, three horn (anatomy), horns on the skull, and a large four-legged body, exhibiting convergent evolution with rhinoceroses and bovines, ''Triceratops'' is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs and the most well-known ceratopsid. It was also one of the largest, up to long and in body m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nedoceratops
''Nedoceratops'' (meaning "insufficient horned face") is a controversial genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period Lance Formation of North America. It is known only from a single skull discovered in Wyoming. Its status is the subject of ongoing debate among paleontologists: some authors consider ''Nedoceratops'' a valid, distinct taxon, while others consider it to be an unusual specimen of ''Triceratops''. History of discovery The nearly complete skull USNM 2412, the holotype specimen of ''Nedoceratops hatcheri'', was found in eastern Wyoming in 1891, in Niobrara County near Lightning Creek. The paper that described ''Nedoceratops'' was originally part of O. C. Marsh's magnum opus, his Ceratopsidae monograph. Unfortunately, Marsh died (1899) before the work was completed, and John Bell Hatcher endeavored to complete the ''Triceratops'' section. However, he died of typhus in 1904 at the age of 42, leaving the paper still incomplete. It fell to Richard Swan ... [...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] |
Agathaumas
''Agathaumas'' (; "great wonder") is a dubious genus of a large ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in Wyoming during the Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian stage, 66 million years ago). The name comes from grc, αγαν - 'much' and - 'wonder'. It is estimated to have been long and weighed , and was seen as the largest land animal known at the time of its discovery. It was the first ceratopsian known to science from more than teeth, though relatively little is known about it. The original specimen consisted only of the animal's hip bones, hip vertebrae and ribs, and because these bones vary little between ceratopsid species, it is usually considered a '' nomen dubium''. It is provisionally considered a synonym of ''Triceratops'', but is difficult to compare to that genus because it is only known from postcranial remains. History The holotype remains of ''Agathaumas'' were first found in 1872 in southwestern Wyoming. They were discovered by Fielding Bradford Meek and Henry Martyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrannosaurus
''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. ''Tyrannosaurus'' had a much wider range than other Tyrannosauridae, tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of geologic formation, rock formations dating to the Maastrichtian Age (geology), age of the Upper Cretaceous Period (geology), period, 68 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago. It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids and among the last non-aves, avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Like other tyrannosaurids, ''Tyrannosaurus'' was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to its large and powerful hind limbs, the foreli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceratopsidae
Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a family of ceratopsian dinosaurs including ''Triceratops'', ''Centrosaurus'', and ''Styracosaurus''. All known species were quadrupedal herbivores from the Upper Cretaceous. All but one species are known from western North America, which formed the island continent of Laramidia during most of the Late Cretaceous. Ceratopsids are characterized by beaks, rows of shearing teeth in the back of the jaw, elaborate nasal horns, and a thin parietal-squamosal shelf that extends back and up into a frill. The group is divided into two subfamilies—Chasmosaurinae and Centrosaurinae. The chasmosaurines are generally characterized by long, triangular frills and well-developed brow horns. The centrosaurines had well-developed nasal horns or nasal bosses, shorter and more rectangular frills, and elaborate spines on the back of the frill. These horns and frills show remarkable variation and are the principal means by which the various species have b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eotriceratops
''Eotriceratops'' (meaning "dawn three-horned face") is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs which lived in the area of North America during the late Cretaceous period. The only named species is ''Eotriceratops xerinsularis''. Discovery and naming In early August 1910, Barnum Brown during an American Museum of Natural History expedition discovered a large dinosaur skeleton in the Dry Island site, on the west bank of the Red Deer River in southern Alberta, Canada. Brown, however, neglected this discovery as he was more interested in the many ''Albertosaurus'' specimens present in the area. Unaware of Brown's find, in 2001 a team of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and the Canadian Museum of Nature mounted an expedition to the Dry Island. The expedition's cook, Glen Guthrie, rediscovered the skeleton by accident. ''Eotriceratops'' was named and described by Xiao-Chun Wu, Donald B. Brinkman, David A. Eberth and Dennis R. Braman in 2007. The type species is ''Eotri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chasmosaurinae
Chasmosaurinae is a subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs. They were one of the most successful groups of herbivores of their time. Chasmosaurines appeared in the early Campanian, and became extinct, along with all other non-avian dinosaurs, during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Broadly, the most distinguishing features of chasmosaurines are prominent brow horns and long frills lacking long spines; centrosaurines generally had short brow horns and relatively shorter frills, and often had long spines projecting from their frills. Chasmosaurines evolved in western North America (Laramidia). They are currently known definitively from rocks in western Canada, the western United States, and northern Mexico. They were highly diverse and among the most species-rich groups of dinosaurs, with new species frequently described. This high diversity of named species is likely a result of the frill. The distinctive shape of the frill with the hornlets on its edges (epoccipitals) make ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tatankaceratops
''Tatankaceratops'' (meaning "Bison horn face") is a controversial genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It is a small chasmosaurine ceratopsian which lived during the Late Cretaceous period (latest Maastrichtian stage) in what is now South Dakota. It is known from a single partial skull which was collected from the Hell Creek Formation, dating to 66 million years ago. ''Tatankaceratops'' was described by Christopher J. Ott and Peter L. Larson in 2010 and the type species is ''Tatankaceratops sacrisonorum''.Christopher J. Ott and Peter L. Larson, 2010, "A New, Small Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, Northwest South Dakota, United States: A Preliminary Description", In: Ryan, M.J., Chinnery-Allgeier, B.J., and Eberth, D.A. (eds.) ''New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium'', Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 656 pp. ''Tatankaceratops'' is known from one specimen housed at the Black Hills Insti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neck Frill
A neck frill is the relatively extensive margin seen on the back of the heads of reptiles with either a bony support such as those present on the skulls of dinosaurs of the suborder Marginocephalia or a cartilaginous one as in the frill-necked lizard. In technical terms, the bone-supported frill is composed of an enlarged parietal bone flanked by elongated squamosals and sometimes ringed by epoccipitals, bony knobs that gave the margin a jagged appearance. In the early 1900s, the parietal bone was known among paleontologists as the dermosupraoccipital. The feature is now referred to as the parietosquamosal frill. In some genera, such as ''Triceratops'', ''Pentaceratops'', ''Centrosaurus'' and ''Torosaurus'', this extension is very large. Despite the neck frill predominantly being made of hard bone, some neck frills are made of skin, as is the case with the frill-necked lizard of today that resides in Australia. The use of the neck frill in dinosaurs is uncertain; it may have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ojoceratops
''Ojoceratops'' ( meaning "Ojo Alamo horned face") is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur which lived in what is now New Mexico, United States. ''Ojoceratops'' fossils have been recovered from strata of the Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito Member), dating to the late Cretaceous period (probably Maastrichtian age, 68 million years agoSullivan, R.M., and Lucas, S.G. 2006.The Kirtlandian land-vertebrate "age" – faunal composition, temporal position and biostratigraphic correlation in the nonmarine Upper Cretaceous of western North America" New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin 35:7-29.). The type species is ''Ojoceratops fowleri''. It is very similar to its close relative ''Triceratops'', though it is from an earlier time period and has a more squared-off frill.Robert M. Sullivan and Spencer G. Lucas, 2010, "A New Chasmosaurine (Ceratopsidae, Dinosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito Member), San Juan Basin, New Mexico", In: Ryan, M.J., ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among his legacies are the discovery or description of dozens of new species and theories on the origins of birds. Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education thanks to the generosity of his wealthy uncle George Peabody. After graduating from Yale College in 1860 he travelled the world, studying anatomy, mineralogy and geology. He obtained a teaching position at Yale upon his return. From the 1870s to 1890s, he competed with rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in a period of frenzied Western American expeditions known as the Bone Wars. Marsh's greatest legacy is the collection of Mesozoic reptiles, Cretaceous birds, and Mesozoic and Tertiary mammals that now constitute the backbone of the collections of Yale's Peabo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claorhynchus
''Claorhynchus'' (meaning "broken beak", as it is based on broken bones from the snout region) is a dubious genus of cerapodan dinosaur with a confusing history behind it. It has been considered to be both a hadrosaurid and a ceratopsid, sometimes the same as ''Triceratops'', with two different assignments as to discovery formation and location, and what bones make up its type remains. History The holotype specimen, AMNH 3978, was described by paleontologist and naturalist Edward Drinker Cope, who interpreted it as the rostral bone and predentary of an "agathaumid" ( ceratopsid) dinosaur, which he said came from the Laramie Formation of Colorado.Cope, E.D. (1892). Fourth note on the Dinosauria of the Laramie. ''The American Naturalist'' 26:756-758. It was soon thought to be a hadrosaurid, though.Hatcher, J.B. (1902). The genus and species of the Trachodontidae (Hadrosauridae, Claosauridae) Marsh. ''Annals of the Carnegie Museum'' 14(1):377-386.Hatcher, J.B., Marsh, O.C., and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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