''Ferrisaurus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of leptoceratopsid

ceratopsian Ceratopsia or Ceratopia ( or ; Greek: "horned faces") is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassi ...

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 Sustut Basin ( Tango Creek Formation) in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

and only species is ''Ferrisaurus sustutensis''. It is the first non-avian dinosaur described from British Columbia.

Discovery and naming

It was discovered in 1971 during a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weakly ...

and

thorium Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high ...

exploration by Kenny F. Larsen and was donated to the

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

in 2004. It was described but not named in 2008; by then it made its way into the collection of the

Royal British Columbia Museum Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum (sometimes referred to as Royal BC Museum) consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is loca ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It was named in 2019. The holotype, RBCM P900, nicknamed Buster, includes portions of the pectoral girdles, left forelimb, left hindlimb, and right pes. The name ''Ferrisaurus'' is derived from Latin ferrum (=iron) and Greek sauros (=lizard), referencing to the specimen's discovery along a railway line. The epithet honours the

Sustut River The Sustut River is a major tributary of the Skeena River in the north-central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It forms the northwest boundary of the Hogem Ranges and flows southwest to meet the Skeena, north of Hazelton. Originally named t ...

and

Basin Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

References

Paleontology in British Columbia Leptoceratopsids Maastrichtian life Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of North America Fossils of Canada Cretaceous Canada Fossil taxa described in 2019 Ornithischian genera Fossils of British Columbia {{ceratopsian-stub

Discovery and naming

See also

References