| Apatodon Temporal range: Late Jurassic, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Genus: | † Apatodon Marsh, 1877 |
| Species: | †A. mirus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Apatodon mirus Marsh, 1877 | |
Apatodon is a dubious genus of dinosaur that may have been a theropod. [1] The type, and only species, A. mirus, was named in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh. [2] It was found in the Late Jurassic-aged Morrison Formation of Colorado. [3]
When Marsh named Apatodon in 1877, he thought it was a jaw with a tooth from a Mesozoic pig, but it was soon shown that the specimen was an eroded vertebra, from a dinosaur possibly from the Morrison Formation of Garden Park, Colorado. [2] Baur (1890) correctly identified that Marsh (1877) had misidentified the neural spine as the tooth of a pig-like animal. [4]
Apatodon was assigned to Iguanodontoidea by Hay in 1902, [5] to Ornithischia by von Huene in 1909, [6] to Stegosauridae by von Zittel in 1911, [7] and to Titanosaurinae by Steel in 1970, [8] and also Casanovas et al. in 1987. [9] (Kuhn in 1939 also listed Apatodon as a sauropod). [10]
The only recovered specimen is not regarded as sufficient to identify a particular species of dinosaur. However, George Olshevsky considered Apatodon to be synonymous with the contemporaneous Allosaurus fragilis . [11] The issue is now beyond resolution; however, as the type bone fragment has been lost. [12]
The name Apatodon is derived from Greek: απατη ("trick", "deceit") and οδους (genitive οδοντος) ("tooth", in reference to its original, incorrect identification).
Megalosaurus is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period of southern England. Although fossils from other areas have been assigned to the genus, the only certain remains of Megalosaurus come from Oxfordshire and date to the late Middle Jurassic.
Compsognathus is a genus of small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Members of its single species Compsognathus longipes could grow to around the size of a turkey. They lived about 150 million years ago, during the Tithonian age of the late Jurassic period, in what is now Europe. Paleontologists have found two well-preserved fossils, one in Germany in the 1850s and the second in France more than a century later. Today, C. longipes is the only recognized species, although the larger specimen discovered in France in the 1970s was once thought to belong to a separate species and named C. corallestris.
Carnosauria is an extinct large group of predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Starting from the 1990s, scientists have discovered some very large carnosaurs in the carcharodontosaurid family, such as Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and Tyrannotitan which are among the largest known predatory dinosaurs.
Aublysodon is a genus of carnivorous dinosaurs known only from the Judith River Formation in Montana, which has been dated to the late Campanian age of the late Cretaceous period. The only currently recognized species, Aublysodon mirandus, was named by paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1868. It is now considered dubious, because the type specimen consists only of an isolated premaxillary (front) tooth. Although this specimen is now lost, similar teeth have been found in many US states, western Canada, and Asia. These teeth almost certainly belong to juvenile tyrannosaurine tyrannosaurids, but most have not been identified to species level. However, it is likely that the type tooth belongs to one of the species in the genus Daspletosaurus, which was present in contemporary formations, and which matches specific details of the original tooth. The synapomorphies alleged to distinguish the Aublysodontinae, especially lack of serrations on premaxillary teeth could have been caused by tooth wear in life, postmortem abrasion, or digestion. Most other "aublysodontine"-type teeth may be from ontogenetic stages or sexual morphs of other tyrannosaurids.
Metriacanthosaurus is a genus of metriacanthosaurid dinosaur from the upper Oxford Clay of England, dating to the Late Jurassic period, about 160 million years ago.
Altispinax is a genus of large predatory theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Wadhurst Clay Formation of East Sussex, England.
Teinurosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Teinurosaurus lived during the Late Jurassic in what is now France. The type species is Teinurosaurus sauvagei. It's been estimated to be 11.4 m in length and 3.6 tonnes in weight.
Valdoraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils were found in England. It is known only from bones of the feet. The holotype, BMNH R2559, was found near Cuckfield in layers of the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation dating from the late Valanginian. The specimen is damaged lacking parts of the upper and lower ends. It has a conserved length of 215 millimetres (8.5 in) and an estimated length of 240 millimetres (9.4 in). This genus is paleontologically significant for being the first ornithomimosaur specimen known from England and represents the earliest record of ornithomimosaurs.
Magnosaurus was a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England. It is based on fragmentary remains and has often been confused with or included in Megalosaurus.
Tanystrosuchus is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the late Triassic period. It is known from a single fossil neck vertebra of the species T. posthumus, found in the Middle Stubensandstein formation of what is present-day Germany.
Halticosaurus (pron.:"HAL-tick-oh-SORE-us") is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the late Triassic period. It is known from a single fragmentary fossil specimen of the species H. longotarsus, found in the Middle Stubensandstein formation of what is present-day Germany The only known specimen was poorly preserved and may have been put together from bones of unrelated animals. Further research would be required to determine which of the bones belonged together, and what kind of theropod Halticosaurus was. However, most of the bones have been lost. For these reasons, Halticosaurus is considered to be a nomen dubium.
Efraasia is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germany. It was named in 1973 after Eberhard Fraas, who during the early twentieth century collected what were the original type specimens.
Loncosaurus is an extinct genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina. The type species is Loncosaurus argentinus, described by the famous Argentinian paleontologist Florentino Ameghino, but is considered a dubious name. Details on this animal are often contradictory, befitting a genus that was long confused for a theropod.
Ornithomimoides is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation of India. Two species have been identified, the type species O. mobilis and O. barasimlensis, were named by von Huene in 1932 and were described by Matley in 1933 though they are known only from isolated vertebrae. O. barasimlensis is known from five dorsal vertebrae, and O. mobilis from four smaller vertebrae, found at the same location. It is possible that, based on two reviews, published in 1999 and 2004 respectively, Ornithomimoides may have been an abelisaur, which may have measured between 6.2 metres (20 ft) and 9 metres (30 ft) in length.
Priodontognathus was a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur possibly from the Oxfordian-age Upper Jurassic Lower Calcareous Grit of Yorkshire, England. It is a dubious genus based on a maxilla, and has been erroneously mixed up with iguanodonts and stegosaurs.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1961.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1932.
The Trossingen Formation, formerly the Knollenmergel, is a geological formation in Germany and Switzerland. It dates back to the late Norian-Rhaetian.
Dyoplax is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur, possibly an erpetosuchid. Fossils have been found from the type locality within the upper Schilfsandstein Formation in Stuttgart, Germany. The holotype specimen was a natural cast of a nearly complete skeleton that lacked only parts of the tail and limb bones.
"Megalosaurus" dunkeri is a dubious species of theropod dinosaur, known only from a single tooth.
