PaleontologyPaleontology or palaeontology is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geologic time, and assess the interactions between prehistoric organisms and their natural environment.
Yang ZhongjianYang Zhongjian, also Yang Chung-chien (Chinese: 杨钟健; Wade–Giles: Yang2 Chung1-chien4; 1 June 1897 – 15 January 1979), courtesy name Keqiang (克强), also known as C.C. (Chung Chien) Young, was a Chinese paleontologist and zoologist. He was one of China's foremost vertebrate paleontologists. He has been called the "Father of Chinese Vertebrate Paleontology".
HolotypeA holotype is the single physical example (or illustration) of an organism that was used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It may be the only such physical example (or illustration), or it may have been explicitly designated as the holotype from among several examples. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), there are several kinds of name-bearing types, and a holotype is one of them.
SkullThe skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In a human, the skull comprises two prominent parts: the neurocranium and the facial skeleton, which evolved from the first pharyngeal arch.
Type speciesA type species (species typica) is the species considered to be permanently taxonomically associated with the name of a genus or subgenus, and that is used to identify it and distinguish it from others. In modern times, it is normally assigned when the genus or subgenus is first named. Any taxonomic revisions must be done in such a way that the genus or subgenus retains the type species if the genus is to keep its name.
SacrumThe sacrum (pl.: sacra or sacrums), in human anatomy, is a triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1–S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part of the pelvic cavity, between the two wings of the pelvis. It forms joints with four other bones. The two projections at the sides of the sacrum are called the alae (wings), and articulate with the ilium at the L-shaped sacroiliac joints.
Ilium (bone)The ilium () (pl.: ilia) is the uppermost and largest region of the hip bone, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds, but not bony fish. All reptiles have an ilium except snakes, with the exception of some snake species which have a tiny bone considered to be an ilium.
SauropodomorphaSauropodomorpha ( SOR-ə-POD-ə-MOR-fə; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of saurischian dinosaurs that includes the long-necked, herbivorous sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Early, more basal sauropodomorphs (traditionally termed prosauropods) were bipedal, and the earliest show evidence of omnivorous or carnivorous diets.
MandibleIn jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin mandibula, 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lower – and typically more mobile – component of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone is the skull's only movable, posable bone, sharing joints with the cranium's temporal bones. The mandible hosts the lower teeth (their depth delineated by the alveolar process).
Early JurassicSubdivision of the Jurassic according to the ICS, as of 2024.Vertical axis scale: Millions of years agoEtymologyChronostratigraphic nameLower JurassicGeochronological nameEarly JurassicName formalityFormalUsage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitEpochStratigraphic unitSeriesTime span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionFAD of the AmmonitePsiloceras spelae tirolicum.Lower boundary GSSPKuhjoch section, Karwendel mountains, Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria47°29′02″N11°31′50″E / 47.4839°N 11.5306°E / 47.4839; 11.5306Lower GSSP ratified2010Upper boundary definitionFAD of the Ammonites and Upper boundary GSSPFuentelsaz, Spain41°10′15″N1°50′00″W / 41.1708°N 1.8333°W / 41.1708; -1.8333Upper GSSP ratified2000The Early JurassicEpoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower JurassicSeries) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period.
PlateosauridaePlateosauridae is a family of plateosaurian sauropodomorphs from the Late Triassic of Europe, Greenland, Africa and Asia. Although several dinosaurs have been classified as plateosaurids over the years, the family Plateosauridae is now restricted to Plateosaurus, Yimenosaurus, Euskelosaurus, and Issi. In another study, Yates (2003) sunk Sellosaurus into Plateosaurus (as P. gracilis). Gresslyosaurus is alternatively considered its own genus or a synonym of Plateosaurus.
GenusGenus (; pl.: genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. E.g. Panthera leo (lion) and Panthera onca (jaguar) are two species within the genus Panthera. Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae.
VertebraEach vertebra (pl.: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal segment and the particular species. The basic configuration of a vertebra varies; the vertebral body (also centrum) is of bone and bears the load of the vertebral column.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.