MalawisaurusMalawisaurus (meaning "Malawi lizard") is an extinct genus of titanosauriansauropoddinosaur. It is known from the Dinosaur Beds of northern Malawi, which probably date to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. The type species is M. dixeyi and the specific name honours Frederick Augustus Dixey.
AndesaurusAndesaurus ( ; "Andes lizard") is a genus of basaltitanosauriansauropoddinosaur which existed during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous in South America. Like most sauropods, it would have had a small head on the end of a long neck and an equally long tail.
DiamantinasaurusDiamantinasaurus is a genus of titanosauriansauropod from Australia that lived during the early Late Cretaceous, about 94 million years ago. The type species of the genus is D. matildae, first described and named in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues based on fossil finds in the Winton Formation. Meaning "Diamantina lizard", the name is derived from the location of the nearby Diamantina River and the Greek word sauros, "lizard".
Caudal vertebraeCaudal vertebrae are the vertebrae of the tail in many vertebrates. In birds, the last few caudal vertebrae fuse into the pygostyle, and in apes, including humans, the caudal vertebrae are fused into the coccyx. In many reptiles, some of the caudal vertebrae bear ribs, the caudal ribs, though these are often fused with the vertebrae. The caudal vertebrae often articulate with haemal arches ventrally. The number of caudal vertebrae in animals can vary greatly.
CladeIn biology, a clade () (from Ancient Greekκλάδος (kládos)'branch'), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy adopted by most biological fields. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant).
SaltasaurusSaltasaurus (which means "lizard from Salta") is a genus of saltasauriddinosaur of the Late Cretaceousperiod of Argentina. Small among sauropods, though still heavy by the standards of modern creatures, Saltasaurus was characterized by a short neck and stubby limbs. It was the first genus of sauropod known to possess armour of bony plates embedded in its skin. Such small bony plates, called osteoderms, have since been found on other titanosaurians.
TitanosauriaExtinct clade of dinosaursTitanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from every continent. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous.
Late CretaceousSubdivision of the Cretaceous according to the ICS, as of 2024.Vertical axis scale: Millions of years agoEtymologyChronostratigraphic nameUpper CretaceousGeochronological nameLate CretaceousName formalityFormalUsage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitEpochStratigraphic unitSeriesTime span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionFAD of the Planktonic ForaminiferRotalipora globotruncanoidesLower boundary GSSPMont Risoux, Hautes-Alpes, France44°23′33″N5°30′43″E / 44.3925°N 5.5119°E / 44.3925; 5.5119Lower GSSP ratified2002Upper boundary definitionIridium enriched layer associated with a major meteorite impact and subsequent K-Pg extinction eventUpper boundary GSSPEl Kef Section, El Kef, Tunisia36°09′13″N8°38′55″E / 36.1537°N 8.6486°E / 36.1537; 8.6486Upper GSSP ratified1991The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the CretaceousPeriod is divided in the geologic time scale.
OsteodermOsteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinctreptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct amphibians), various groups of dinosaurs (most notably ankylosaurs and stegosaurians), phytosaurs, aetosaurs, placodonts, and hupehsuchians (marine reptiles with possible ichthyosaur affinities).
Early CretaceousThe Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Ancient GreekAncient Greek (Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ [hellɛːnikɛ̌ː]) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (c. 1400 – c. 1200 BC), Dark Ages (c. 1200 – c. 800 BC), the Archaic or Homeric period (c. 800 – c. 500 BC), and the Classical period (c. 500 – c. 300 BC).
SauropodaSynonymsOpisthocoeliaOwen, 1860CetiosauriaSeeley, 1870DiplodociaTornier, 1913Sauropoda (), whose members are called sauropods (; from + ; lit.'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their body), and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land.
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