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Macelognathus
''Macelognathus'' is an extinct genus of sphenosuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Jurassic. Originally it was believed be a turtle and later a dinosaur. It lived in what is now Wyoming, in North America.Moodie, R.L. 1908. The relationship of the turtles and plesiosaurs. Kansas University Scientific Bulletin, 4: 319–327. The type species, ''Macelognathus vagans'', was described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1884 as a turtle based on a partial jaw from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation at Como Bluff, Wyoming. After being referred to the Dinosauria by Moodie in 1908, it was later reclassified by Ostrom in 1971 as a crocodilian relative.Ostrom, J.H. (1971). "On the systematic position of ''Macelognathus vagans''". ''Postilla'' 153:1-10. Based on new material from the Morrison Formation at Fruita, Colorado, in 2005 Göhlich ''et al.'' identified it as a basal crocodylomorph ("sphenosuchian"). It is considered an example of convergent evolution, due to the similarities to caenagna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallopus
''Hallopus'' was a prehistoric reptile, named in 1877 as a species of ''Nanosaurus'' and classified as a genus by Othniel Charles Marsh, O. C. Marsh in 1881 from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation. Today though the animal is thought to be a pseudosuchian more closely related to crocodilians. It was redescribed as a sphenosuchian Crocodylomorpha, crocodylomorph in 1970, now thought to be a paraphyletic group. It was a quite small animal, reaching a length of 1 m (3.3ft) with long and slender limbs. ''Macelognathus'', a similarly slender-proportioned crocodylomorph to ''Hallopus'', may be synonymous with it. History and naming The holotype specimen of ''Hallopus'' was discovered by near Canyon City, Colorado and acquired by a collector named Baldwin for three dollars in a local curiosity shop in Colorado Springs. According to letters later chronicled by Schuchert (1939), he found out about the fossil after hearing about the discovery of a supposed fossil bird, before later travel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
