''Diclonius'' (meaning "double sprout") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 t ...

from the Late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

. It was a

hadrosaur Hadrosaurids (), or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includ ...

based solely on teeth. Its fossils were found in the

Judith River Formation The Judith River Formation is a fossil-bearing geologic formation in Montana, and is part of the Judith River Group. It dates to the Late Cretaceous, between 79 and 75.3 million years ago, corresponding to the "Judithian" land vertebrate age. It ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, northern US. The name is in reference to the method of tooth replacement, in which newly erupting replacement teeth could be in functional use at the same time as older, more worn teeth. Thus, the number of "sprouting" teeth was doubled in comparison to ''

Monoclonius ''Monoclonius'' (meaning "single sprout") is a dubious genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous layers of the Judith River Formation in Montana, United States, and the uppermost rock layers of the Dinosaur Park Forma ...

'' ("single sprout"), which used only one set of teeth at a time and which Cope named in the same paper. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, ''Diclonius pentagonus'', was named by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

in 1876, based on a single tooth specimen (AMNH 3972). Other formally undescribed species include ''D. calamarius'' and ''D. perangulatus''. Although Cope referred several other batches of teeth to the genus, under several species, the name is considered a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

''.

Species

Type: *''D. pentagonus'' Cope, 1876 ( type); fragmentary

dentary In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

with teeth, ''nomen dubium'' Formerly referred Species: *''D. calamarius'' Cope, 1876; teeth, ''nomen dubium'' *''D. mirabilis'' (Leidy, 1856) Cope, 1883; junior synonym of ''

Trachodon mirabilis ''Trachodon'' (meaning "rough tooth") is a dubious genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur based on teeth from the Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana, U.S.Leidy, J. (1856). "Notice of remains of extinct reptiles and fishes, ...

'' *''D. perangulatus'' Cope, 1876; teeth, ''nomen dubium''

References

*E. D. Cope. 1876. Descriptions of some vertebrate remains from the Fort Union Beds of Montana. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 28:248-261 *Cope, E. D. 1883. The structure and appearance of the Laramie dinosaurian. ''American Naturalist'' 37:774-777. *Coombs, W. 1988. The status of the dinosaurian genus ''Diclonius'' and the taxonomic utility of hadrosaurian teeth. ''Journal of Paleontology'' 62:812-817. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3706988 Hadrosaurs Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of North America Nomina dubia Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Paleontology in Montana Campanian genus first appearances Campanian genus extinctions Ornithischian genera

Species

See also

References