| Ferganocephale Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | † Ornithischia |
| Genus: | † Ferganocephale Averianov et al., 2005 |
| Species: | †F. adenticulatum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ferganocephale adenticulatum Averianov et al., 2005 | |
Ferganocephale is a dubious genus of neornithischian dinosaur. It was from the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Svita of Kyrgyzstan. The type and only species is F. adenticulatum. [1]
Ferganocephale was originally classified in the group Pachycephalosauridae. It would then be one of the oldest known pachycephalosaurids. [1] Robert M. Sullivan however, in 2006 disputed the pachycephalosaur classification, finding "few of the features [...] are characteristic of pachycephalosaur teeth," citing the lack of serrations on the teeth, and concludes the specimens are "too incomplete for identification". He considers the taxon a nomen dubium , and a non-pachycephalosaurid ornithischian. [2]
The type species, Ferganocephale adenticulatum, was first described by Averianov, Martin, and Bakirov in 2005, and is based solely on teeth from the Balabansai Svita in Fergana Valley, Kyrgyzstan, dating to the Callovian. The holotype is ZIN PH 34/42, an adult unworn tooth. The type species is Ferganocephale adenticulatum. The genus name combines the name of location it was found with the Greek kephale, "head", a reference to the presumed pachycephalosaurian affinities. The specific name means "without tooth serrations". [1]
Troodon is a former wastebasket taxon and a potentially dubious genus of relatively small, bird-like dinosaurs known definitively from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period. It includes at least one species, Troodon formosus, known from Montana. Discovered in October 1855, T. formosus was among the first dinosaurs found in North America, although it was thought to be a lizard until 1877. Several well-known troodontid specimens from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta were once believed to be members of this genus. However, recent analyses in 2017 have found the genus to be undiagnostic and referred some of these specimens to the genus Stenonychosaurus and others to the genus Latenivenatrix. Thus, it is still controversial if Troodon is valid.
Pachycephalosauria is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs. Along with Ceratopsia, it makes up the clade Marginocephalia. Genera include Pachycephalosaurus, Stegoceras, and Prenocephale. With the exception of two species, most pachycephalosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, dating between about 85.8 and 65.5 million years ago. They are exclusive to the Northern Hemisphere, all of them being found in North America and Asia. They were all bipedal, herbivorous/omnivorous animals with thick skulls. Skulls can be domed, flat, or wedge-shaped depending on the species, and are all heavily ossified. The domes were often surrounded by nodes and/or spikes. Partial skeletons have been found of several pachycephalosaur species, but to date no complete skeletons have been discovered. Often isolated skull fragments are the only bones that are found.
Pachycephalosaurus, ; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Greek pachys-/παχύς- "thick", kephale/κεφαλή "head" and sauros/σαῦρος "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, P. wyomingensis, is the only known species. It lived during the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Remains have been excavated in Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Alberta. It was a herbivorous creature which is primarily known from a single skull and a few extremely thick skull roofs, at 22 centimetres thick. More complete fossils have been found in recent years. Pachycephalosaurus was among the last non-avian dinosaurs before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The genus Tylosteus has been synonymized with Pachycephalosaurus, as have the genera Stygimoloch and Dracorex in recent studies.
Stegoceras is a genus of pachycephalosaurid (dome-headed) dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 77.5 to 74 million years ago (mya). The first specimens from Alberta, Canada, were described in 1902, and the type species Stegoceras validum was based on these remains. The generic name means "horn roof", and the specific name means "strong". Several other species have been placed in the genus over the years, but these have since been moved to other genera or deemed junior synonyms. Currently only S. validum and S. novomexicanum, named in 2011 from fossils found in New Mexico, remain. The validity of the latter species has also been debated.
Prenocephale was a small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Mongolia and was similar in many ways to its close relative, Homalocephale, which may simply represent Prenocephale juveniles.
Yaverlandia is a genus of maniraptoran dinosaur. Known from a partial fossil skull found in Lower Cretaceous strata of the Wessex Formation on the Isle of Wight, it was described as the earliest known member of the pachycephalosaurid family, but research by Darren Naish shows it to have actually been a theropod, seemingly a maniraptoran. Yaverlandia was named from where it was found, Yaverland Point/ Yaverland Battery. It was about 3 ft (1 m) in length and 1 ft (30 cm) in height. The type species is Yaverlandia bitholus.
Tylocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period. It was a herbivorous dinosaur estimated to have been about 2 m (6.6 ft) in length. It had the tallest dome of any known pachycephalosaur.
Colepiocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from Late Cretaceous deposits of Alberta, Canada. It was collected from the Foremost Formation. The type species, C. lambei, was originally described by Sternberg, and later renamed by Sullivan in 2003. C. lambei is a domed pachycephalosaur characterized principally by the lack of a lateral and posteriosquamosal shelf, a steeply down-turned parietal, and the presence of two incipient nodes tucked under the posterior margin of the parietosquamosal border.
Goyocephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurian ornithischian that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous about 76 million years ago. It was first described in 1982 by Altangerel Perle, Teresa Maryańska and Halszka Osmólska for a disarticulated skeleton with most of a skull, part of the forelimb and hindlimb, some of the pelvic girdle, and some vertebrae. Perle et al. named the remains Goyocephale lattimorei, from the Mongolian гоё (goyo), meaning "decorated", and the Ancient Greek κεφαλή (kephale), for head. The species name honours Owen Lattimore.
Hanssuesia is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous period. It lived in what is now Alberta and Montana, and contains the single species Hanssuesia sternbergi.
Sphaerotholus is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of the western United States and Canada. To date, three species have been described: the type species, S. goodwini, from the Den-na-zin Member of the Kirtland Formation of San Juan County, New Mexico, USA; S. buchholtzae, from the Hell Creek Formation of western Carter County, Montana, USA and the Frenchman Formation of Saskatchewan, Canada; and S. edmontonensis, from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada.
Alaskacephale was a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Prince Creek Formation, that lived in the late Campanian to Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous.
Kokartus is an extinct genus of prehistoric salamander from the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Svita of Kyrgyzstan.
Narynsuchus is an extinct genus of giant Goniopholidid Crocodylian. Because it has not yet been formally described, it is currently considered a nomen nudum. The name was first used in 1990 for fossil material found from a formation called the Balabansai Svita, which forms a lens in site FTA-30 of the Sarykamyshsai 1 locality in the Fergana Valley of Kyrgyzstan. The formation dates back to the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic. The type species of "Narynsuchus" is "N. ferganensis".Being semi-aquatic it is very similar to modern crocodiles. It ranged from 7–8 metres in length, and would have had a very similar lifestyle to the American alligator or Nile crocodile.
The Balabansai Formation is a geological formation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan whose strata date back to the Bathonian and Callovian stages of the Middle Jurassic. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. The lithology primarily consists of variegated sandstones, siltstones, claystones, and rare gravels and marls. Many taxa have been found in the formation, including amphibians and mammals
Paritatodon is an extinct mammal which existed in Kyrgyzstan and England during the Jurassic period. It was originally the holotype specimen of Shuotherium kermacki, but Martin and Averianov (2010) argued that it resembled the genus Itatodon (Docodonta) and so renamed it Paritatodon.
Foraminacephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from Late Cretaceous deposits of Canada.
Amtocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from early Late Cretaceous deposits of southern Gobi Desert, Mongolia.
This timeline of pachycephalosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the pachycephalosaurs, a group of dome-skulled herbivorous marginocephalian dinosaurs. One of the first major events related to the history of pachycephalosaur research actually regards the discovery of an unrelated dinosaur called Troodon, reported from the western United States by Joseph Leidy in 1856. The type specimen of Troodon was simply an unusual tooth, but the close resemblance between Troodon teeth and pachycephalosaur teeth would cause taxonomic confusion for over a century. This was resolved by Phil Currie in 1987, who realized that Troodon belonged to a group of bird-like carnivores then known as saurornithoidids, but since renamed Troodontidae after Troodon itself. The first scientifically documented true pachycephalosaur remains were discovered in Early Cretaceous rocks from England and named Stenopelix not long after Troodon was named in America. Other notable early finds include the well-known pachycephalosaur Stegoceras validum.
Sinocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in Inner Mongolia, China during the Cretaceous period. The only species, Sinocephale bexelli, was originally named as a species of the genus Troodon in 1953, and later transferred to the genus Stegoceras. After decades of being considered dubious, it was re-evaluated in 2021 and recognized as a valid taxon, being given a unique generic name. The original holotype was lost, with modern research conducted using rediscovered plaster casts. Scant material makes for limited knowledge of its life appearance, but it is distinguished by an embayment on the back of the domed skull, which would give it a heart shape as seen from above. It is potentially the oldest known pachycephalosaurid and falls within the subset of the family called Pachycephalosaurinae, related to animals such as Stegoceras. The geologic context of the species has been historically unclear but it is currently thought to originate in rocks belonging to the Ulansuhai Formation.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | This article related to pachycephalosaur dinosaurs is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
