A New Caenagnathid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi
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Final Summary Report of the Research Project (ERB, 624732)
Final Summary Report of the Research Project (ERB, 624732): Introduction: Birds represent one of the most remarkable radiations in the history of life. The origin of flight and the diversification of birds have become classic ‘textbook’ examples for discussions about evolutionary models, biomechanics, the history of life, and phylogenetics. Much attention has focused on the discovery and description of new fossils, both derived theropods and basal birds: in particular, sediments of the Jehol Group in Liaoning and other provinces in China have doubled the number of Mesozoic bird taxa and have considerably expanded our knowledge of derived theropod dinosaurs. All this wealth of fossil data and new phylogenetic studies have established the relationships of basal bird groups, as well as their phylogenetic nesting among theropod dinosaurs, with dromaeosaurid and troodontid theropods as their closest sister groups. The mode and tempo of avian evolution have received much attention in recent years, thanks to the assembly of more complete datasets, the ongoing flow of new specimens and taxa, and the development of new techniques of macroevolutionary analysis. Recent studies revealed an avian radiation characterized by the gradual acquisition of apomorphies followed by accelerated (yet clade heterogeneous) rates of evolution. However, in the context of Coelurosauria (a diverse clade including T. rex and its kin, the ostrich-mimic ornithomimosaurs, and the sickle-clawed dromaeosaurids, among others), previous analyses have considered the skeleton as a whole, apart from studies focusing on single continuous traits. Here, I document the evolutionary dynamics of each anatomical region of the coelurosaurian skeleton. I aim at disentangling the relative role of each body part in the evolutionary dynamics of Coelurosauria. -
From the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia
AMEGHINIANA (Rev. Asoc. Paleontol. Argent.) - 40 (1): 119-122. Buenos Aires, 30-03-2003 ISSN0002-7014 NOTA PALEONTOLÓGICA A new specimen of Patagonykus puertai (Theropoda: Alvarezsauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia Luis M. CHIAPPE1and Rodolfo A. CORIA2 Introduction Systematic paleontology With their short and robust forelimbs, highly ki- THEROPODA netic skulls, and a host of unique skeletal features, COELUROSAURIA alvarezsaurids are highly specialized Mesozoic ALVAREZSAURIDAEBonaparte, 1991 coelurosaurian theropods known from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, North, and South America Genus PatagonykusNovas, 1997a (Chiappe et al., 2002). Despite abundant and well- preserved material from the Gobi Desert of Patagonykussp. cf. P. puertaiNovas, 1997a Mongolia, the phylogenetic relationships of al- Figures 1 and 2 varezsaurids have remained unclear (Chiappe et Material. MCF-PVPH-102 (Museo Carmen Funes, al., 2002; Novas and Pol, 2002; Suzuki et al., 2002). Paleontología de Vertebrados; Plaza Huincul, The most basal alvarezsaurids are from South Neuquén, Argentina), an articulated phalanx 1 and 2 America and are limited to just two taxa from the (ungual) of the left manual digit I. Patagonian province of Neuquén (Argentina), Geographical provenance and geological horizon. Alvarezsaurus calvoi (Bonaparte, 1991) and Northern shore of Los Barriales lake, approximately Patagokykus puertai (Novas, 1997a), which although 80 km north Plaza Huincul. Because the specimen poorly represented are important because they was not collected by professionals, no precise strati- have been consistently interpreted as the most ple- graphic information is available; nonetheless, only siomorphic members of the group (Novas, 1996; the Late Cretaceous Neuquén Group outcrops in this Chiappe et al., 1998). area. Also, considering that the holotype specimen of Here we report on a second specimen of Patagonykus puertaiwas found in beds attributed to Patagonykus, which we assign to the species P. -
LETTER Doi:10.1038/Nature14423
LETTER doi:10.1038/nature14423 A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings Xing Xu1,2*, Xiaoting Zheng1,3*, Corwin Sullivan2, Xiaoli Wang1, Lida Xing4, Yan Wang1, Xiaomei Zhang3, Jingmai K. O’Connor2, Fucheng Zhang2 & Yanhong Pan5 The wings of birds and their closest theropod relatives share a ratios are 1.16 and 1.08, respectively, compared to 0.96 and 0.78 in uniform fundamental architecture, with pinnate flight feathers Epidendrosaurus and 0.79 and 0.66 in Epidexipteryx), an extremely as the key component1–3. Here we report a new scansoriopterygid short humeral deltopectoral crest, and a long rod-like bone articu- theropod, Yi qi gen. et sp. nov., based on a new specimen from the lating with the wrist. Middle–Upper Jurassic period Tiaojishan Formation of Hebei Key osteological features are as follows. STM 31-2 (Fig. 1) is inferred Province, China4. Yi is nested phylogenetically among winged ther- to be an adult on the basis of the closed neurocentral sutures of the opods but has large stiff filamentous feathers of an unusual type on visible vertebrae, although this is not a universal criterion for maturity both the forelimb and hindlimb. However, the filamentous feath- across archosaurian taxa12. Its body mass is estimated to be approxi- ers of Yi resemble pinnate feathers in bearing morphologically mately 380 g, using an empirical equation13. diverse melanosomes5. Most surprisingly, Yi has a long rod-like The skull and mandible are similar to those of other scansoriopter- bone extending from each wrist, and patches of membranous tissue ygids, and to a lesser degree to those of oviraptorosaurs and some basal preserved between the rod-like bones and the manual digits. -
Brains and Intelligence
BRAINS AND INTELLIGENCE The EQ or Encephalization Quotient is a simple way of measuring an animal's intelligence. EQ is the ratio of the brain weight of the animal to the brain weight of a "typical" animal of the same body weight. Assuming that smarter animals have larger brains to body ratios than less intelligent ones, this helps determine the relative intelligence of extinct animals. In general, warm-blooded animals (like mammals) have a higher EQ than cold-blooded ones (like reptiles and fish). Birds and mammals have brains that are about 10 times bigger than those of bony fish, amphibians, and reptiles of the same body size. The Least Intelligent Dinosaurs: The primitive dinosaurs belonging to the group sauropodomorpha (which included Massospondylus, Riojasaurus, and others) were among the least intelligent of the dinosaurs, with an EQ of about 0.05 (Hopson, 1980). Smartest Dinosaurs: The Troodontids (like Troödon) were probably the smartest dinosaurs, followed by the dromaeosaurid dinosaurs (the "raptors," which included Dromeosaurus, Velociraptor, Deinonychus, and others) had the highest EQ among the dinosaurs, about 5.8 (Hopson, 1980). The Encephalization Quotient was developed by the psychologist Harry J. Jerison in the 1970's. J. A. Hopson (a paleontologist from the University of Chicago) did further development of the EQ concept using brain casts of many dinosaurs. Hopson found that theropods (especially Troodontids) had higher EQ's than plant-eating dinosaurs. The lowest EQ's belonged to sauropods, ankylosaurs, and stegosaurids. A SECOND BRAIN? It used to be thought that the large sauropods (like Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus) and the ornithischian Stegosaurus had a second brain. -
Was Dinosaurian Physiology Inherited by Birds? Reconciling Slow Growth in Archaeopteryx
Was Dinosaurian Physiology Inherited by Birds? Reconciling Slow Growth in Archaeopteryx Gregory M. Erickson1,6*, Oliver W. M. Rauhut2, Zhonghe Zhou3, Alan H. Turner4,6, Brian D. Inouye1, Dongyu Hu5, Mark A. Norell6 1 Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America, 2 Bayerische Staatssammlung fu¨r Pala¨ontologie und Geologie and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, LMU Munich, Mu¨nchen, Germany, 3 Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China, 4 Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, 5 Paleontological Institute, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China, 6 Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America Abstract Background: Archaeopteryx is the oldest and most primitive known bird (Avialae). It is believed that the growth and energetic physiology of basalmost birds such as Archaeopteryx were inherited in their entirety from non-avialan dinosaurs. This hypothesis predicts that the long bones in these birds formed using rapidly growing, well-vascularized woven tissue typical of non-avialan dinosaurs. Methodology/Principal Findings: We report that Archaeopteryx long bones are composed of nearly avascular parallel- fibered bone. This is among the slowest growing osseous tissues and is common in ectothermic reptiles. These findings dispute the hypothesis that non-avialan dinosaur growth and physiology were inherited in totality by the first birds. Examining these findings in a phylogenetic context required intensive sampling of outgroup dinosaurs and basalmost birds. Our results demonstrate the presence of a scale-dependent maniraptoran histological continuum that Archaeopteryx and other basalmost birds follow. -
Perinate and Eggs of a Giant Caenagnathid Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Central China
ARTICLE Received 29 Jul 2016 | Accepted 15 Feb 2017 | Published 9 May 2017 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14952 OPEN Perinate and eggs of a giant caenagnathid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of central China Hanyong Pu1, Darla K. Zelenitsky2, Junchang Lu¨3, Philip J. Currie4, Kenneth Carpenter5,LiXu1, Eva B. Koppelhus4, Songhai Jia1, Le Xiao1, Huali Chuang1, Tianran Li1, Martin Kundra´t6 & Caizhi Shen3 The abundance of dinosaur eggs in Upper Cretaceous strata of Henan Province, China led to the collection and export of countless such fossils. One of these specimens, recently repatriated to China, is a partial clutch of large dinosaur eggs (Macroelongatoolithus) with a closely associated small theropod skeleton. Here we identify the specimen as an embryo and eggs of a new, large caenagnathid oviraptorosaur, Beibeilong sinensis. This specimen is the first known association between skeletal remains and eggs of caenagnathids. Caenagnathids and oviraptorids share similarities in their eggs and clutches, although the eggs of Beibeilong are significantly larger than those of oviraptorids and indicate an adult body size comparable to a gigantic caenagnathid. An abundance of Macroelongatoolithus eggs reported from Asia and North America contrasts with the dearth of giant caenagnathid skeletal remains. Regardless, the large caenagnathid-Macroelongatoolithus association revealed here suggests these dinosaurs were relatively common during the early Late Cretaceous. 1 Henan Geological Museum, Zhengzhou 450016, China. 2 Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4. 3 Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China. 4 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9. 5 Prehistoric Museum, Utah State University, 155 East Main Street, Price, Utah 84501, USA. -
New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of Southwestern Mongolia
Bull. Natn. Sci. Mus., Tokyo, Ser. C, 30, pp. 95–130, December 22, 2004 New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of Southwestern Mongolia Junchang Lü1, Yukimitsu Tomida2, Yoichi Azuma3, Zhiming Dong4 and Yuong-Nam Lee5 1 Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China 2 National Science Museum, 3–23–1 Hyakunincho, Shinjukuku, Tokyo 169–0073, Japan 3 Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51–11 Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama 911–8601, Japan 4 Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China 5 Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Geology & Geoinformation Division, 30 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305–350, South Korea Abstract Nemegtia barsboldi gen. et sp. nov. here described is a new oviraptorid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (mid-Maastrichtian) Nemegt Formation of southwestern Mongolia. It differs from other oviraptorids in the skull having a well-developed crest, the anterior margin of which is nearly vertical, and the dorsal margin of the skull and the anterior margin of the crest form nearly 90°; the nasal process of the premaxilla being less exposed on the dorsal surface of the skull than those in other known oviraptorids; the length of the frontal being approximately one fourth that of the parietal along the midline of the skull. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Nemegtia barsboldi is more closely related to Citipati osmolskae than to any other oviraptorosaurs. Key words : Nemegt Basin, Mongolia, Nemegt Formation, Late Cretaceous, Oviraptorosauria, Nemegtia. dae, and Caudipterygidae (Barsbold, 1976; Stern- Introduction berg, 1940; Currie, 2000; Clark et al., 2001; Ji et Oviraptorosaurs are generally regarded as non- al., 1998; Zhou and Wang, 2000; Zhou et al., avian theropod dinosaurs (Osborn, 1924; Bars- 2000). -
Velociraptor Guide
Ages 7 & up EI-5179 Guide Book VELOCIRAPTOR Ages 7 & up EI-5176 Ages 7 & up EI-5177 Ages 7 & up EI-5178 Dig ‘em up Dig ‘em up Dig ‘em up ‘em Assemble Assemble ‘em Assemble ‘em uel ‘em l ‘em Collect & d Collect & due Collect & duel ‘em nosaur ntai ns one d i one d inosaur Kit co Kit contai ns ne d inosaur Kit contai ns o TYRANNOSAURUS TRICERATOPS STEGOSAURUSSTEGOSAURUS EI-5176 EI-5177 EI-5178 For more digging fun, add these Dueling Dino Dig kits to your collection! ™ ISBN 1-56767-219-1 Table of Contents What Is in Dueling Dino Dig?. 2 Welcome to Velociraptor’s World . 4 Attack of a Velociraptor Pack . 5 Velociraptor Findings . 10 A Dinosaur Dig . 12 You’ll DIG These Fossils! . 14 Get Ready to Dig . 16 Dino Drawing . 18 Draw Your Own . 18 Velociraptor Fact Sheet . 20 Picture Gallery . 21 Making Your Velociraptor Models . 22 Displaying Your Velociraptors . 24 © Copyright 1997 Educational Insights Inc., Carson, CA (USA), St Albans, Herts. (UK) All rights reserved. Please retain this information. The Age of Dinosaurs . 26 Conforms to ASTM F-963-96a, EN-71. Printed in China. EI-5179 Where Did They Go? . 29 1 Paleontologist’s tools: What Is in Dueling Just like a paleontologist, you will get to dig the “fossils” from the “earth.” The digging tool Dino Dig? will help you break apart the clay, separate the fossils from the clay, and clean bits of clay from the fossils. The brush Dueling Dino Dig Guide Book—Velociraptor kit: will let you clean the dust from the fossils as you excavate. -
Upper Cretaceous), Brazil
Rev. Mus. Argentino Cienc. Nat., n.s. 7(1): 31-36, 2005 Buenos Aires, ISSN 1514-5158 Maniraptoran theropod ungual from the Marília Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Brazil Fernando E. NOVAS1, Luiz Carlos BORGES RIBEIRO2,3 & Ismar de SOUZA CARVALHO4 1CONICET - Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales «Bernardino Rivadavia», Av. Angel Gallardo 470, Buenos Aires (1405), Argentina, E-mail: [email protected]. 2Fundação Municipal de Ensino Superior de Uberaba- FUMESU/Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas L. I. Price. Av. Randolfo Borges Jr., n° 1.250. Universidade, 38.066-005, Uberaba- MG, Brazil, E-mail: [email protected]. 3Universidade de Uberaba-UNIUBE/Instituto de Formação de Educadores-Departamento de Biologia, Av. Nenê Sabino, n° 1.801. Universitário, Uberaba-MG, 38.055-500, Brazil, E-mail: [email protected]. 4Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Geologia, CCMN/IGEO. 21.949-900 Cidade Universitária-Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil, E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: A new theropod record from the Marília Formation (Late Cretaceous, Minas Gerais, Brazil) is here described. It consists of an isolated manual ungual which exhibits derived maniraptoran features (e.g., presence of proximodorsal lip). The ungual distinguishes by a set of unique features (e.g., dorsoventrally low and proximodistally elongate profile in side view; block-like flexor tuberosity; proximal articular surface more dorsally oriented than in other theropods; cutting «keel» located distally on ventral surface) suggesting that the animal that produced it was a member of an unknown group of derived maniraptoran theropods, other than alvarezsaurids, deinonychosaurians and oviraptorosaurians already recorded in South America. -
A Late Cretaceous Diversification of Asian Oviraptorid Dinosaurs: Evidence from a New Species Preserved in an Unusual Posture
Edinburgh Research Explorer A Late Cretaceous diversification of Asian oviraptorid dinosaurs: evidence from a new species preserved in an unusual posture Citation for published version: Lü, J, Chen, R, Brusatte, SL, Zhu, Y & Shen, C 2016, 'A Late Cretaceous diversification of Asian oviraptorid dinosaurs: evidence from a new species preserved in an unusual posture', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, 35780. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep35780 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1038/srep35780 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: Scientific Reports Publisher Rights Statement: © The Author(s) 2016 General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN A Late Cretaceous diversification of Asian oviraptorid dinosaurs: evidence from a new species Received: 10 March 2016 Accepted: 06 October 2016 preserved in an unusual posture Published: 10 November 2016 Junchang Lü1, Rongjun Chen2, Stephen L. Brusatte3, Yangxiao Zhu2 & Caizhi Shen1 Oviraptorosaurs are a bizarre group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs, the derived forms of which have shortened, toothless skulls, and which diverged from close relatives by developing peculiar feeding adaptations. -
A Census of Dinosaur Fossils Recovered from the Hell Creek and Lance Formations (Maastrichtian)
The Journal of Paleontological Sciences: JPS.C.2019.01 1 TAKING COUNT: A Census of Dinosaur Fossils Recovered From the Hell Creek and Lance Formations (Maastrichtian). ______________________________________________________________________________________ Walter W. Stein- President, PaleoAdventures 1432 Mill St.. Belle Fourche, SD 57717. [email protected] 605-210-1275 ABSTRACT: A census of Hell Creek and Lance Formation dinosaur remains was conducted from April, 2017 through February of 2018. Online databases were reviewed and curators and collections managers interviewed in an effort to determine how much material had been collected over the past 130+ years of exploration. The results of this new census has led to numerous observations regarding the quantity, quality, and locations of the total collection, as well as ancillary data on the faunal diversity and density of Late Cretaceous dinosaur populations. By reviewing the available data, it was also possible to make general observations regarding the current state of certain exploration programs, the nature of collection bias present in those collections and the availability of today's online databases. A total of 653 distinct, associated and/or articulated remains (skulls and partial skeletons) were located. Ceratopsid skulls and partial skeletons (mostly identified as Triceratops) were the most numerous, tallying over 335+ specimens. Hadrosaurids (Edmontosaurus) were second with at least 149 associated and/or articulated remains. Tyrannosaurids (Tyrannosaurus and Nanotyrannus) were third with a total of 71 associated and/or articulated specimens currently known to exist. Basal ornithopods (Thescelosaurus) were also well represented by at least 42 known associated and/or articulated remains. The remaining associated and/or articulated specimens, included pachycephalosaurids (18), ankylosaurids (6) nodosaurids (6), ornithomimids (13), oviraptorosaurids (9), dromaeosaurids (1) and troodontids (1). -
Lyons SCIENCE 2021 the Influence of Juvenile Dinosaurs SUPPL.Pdf
science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6532/941/suppl/DC1 Supplementary Materials for The influence of juvenile dinosaurs on community structure and diversity Katlin Schroeder*, S. Kathleen Lyons, Felisa A. Smith *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Published 26 February 2021, Science 371, 941 (2021) DOI: 10.1126/science.abd9220 This PDF file includes: Materials and Methods Supplementary Text Figs. S1 and S2 Tables S1 to S7 References Other Supplementary Material for this manuscript includes the following: (available at science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6532/941/suppl/DC1) MDAR Reproducibility Checklist (PDF) Materials and Methods Data Dinosaur assemblages were identified by downloading all vertebrate occurrences known to species or genus level between 200Ma and 65MA from the Paleobiology Database (PaleoDB 30 https://paleobiodb.org/#/ download 6 August, 2018). Using associated depositional environment and taxonomic information, the vertebrate database was limited to only terrestrial organisms, excluding amphibians, pseudosuchians, champsosaurs and ichnotaxa. Taxa present in formations were confirmed against the most recent available literature, as of November, 2020. Synonymous taxa or otherwise duplicated taxa were removed. Taxa that could not be identified to genus level 35 were included as “Taxon X”. GPS locality data for all formations between 200MA and 65MA was downloaded from PaleoDB to create a minimally convex polygon for each possible formation. Any attempt to recreate local assemblages must include all potentially interacting species, while excluding those that would have been separated by either space or time. We argue it is 40 acceptable to substitute formation for home range in the case of non-avian dinosaurs, as range increases with body size.