Theiophytalia

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Theiophytalia
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 112  Ma
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Theiophytalia skull.jpg
Holotype skull, white parts are reconstructed
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
Clade: Ornithopoda
Clade: Styracosterna
Genus: Theiophytalia
Brill & Carpenter, 2006
Species:
T. kerri
Binomial name
Theiophytalia kerri
Brill & Carpenter, 2006

Theiophytalia is a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian dinosaur from the lower Cretaceous period (Aptian-Albian stage, about 112 million years ago [1] ) of Colorado, USA. It contains a single species, T. kerri. [2]

Contents

Description

Reconstructed Theiophytalia skull mounted on a Camptosaurus skeleton cast, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid Camptosaurus dispar 1.JPG
Reconstructed Theiophytalia skull mounted on a Camptosaurus skeleton cast, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid

Detailed comparisons by Brill and Carpenter (2006) also showed that the skull differed in a number of key features from that of Camptosaurus, namely: a longer, heavier, and more rugose snout; a wider dorsal process on the maxilla; a proportionally smaller antorbital fenestra; and stouter quadrate, with a bulbous articulation for the lower jaw. Compare the skull image with that of Camptosaurus . Therefore, they put it into its own genus and species. [2]

Discovery

Historical skeletal restoration of Camptosaurus by O.C. Marsh, with skull based on remains now referred to Theiophytalia. Marsh Camptosaurus.jpg
Historical skeletal restoration of Camptosaurus by O.C. Marsh, with skull based on remains now referred to Theiophytalia.

In 1878, a student of Colorado College named James Kerr found a partial ornithopod skull at Garden of the Gods park in El Paso County, Colorado. [2] The skull, YPM 1887, was referred by O.C. Marsh (affirmed by Gilmore, 1909), to whom the skull was given in 1886, as that of Camptosaurus amplus. Gilmore used the skull to reconstruct the skull of Camptosaurus assuming that it came from the Morrison Formation. [3] However, microscopic comparisons of thin-sections of the Mesozoic formations in the Garden of the Gods showed that the specimen actually came from the Lytle Member of the Purgatoire Formation; therefore, the skull was Early Cretaceous in age.

The generic name is, from Greek, θειος, theios: "divine" + Greek φυταλία, phytalia: "garden", or "garden of the gods". Garden of the Gods is a park in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where a skull, the only fossil of the genus yet to be discovered, was found in 1878. The specific name kerri honors James Hutchinson Kerr, who found the specimen. [2]

Classification

The article describing the find classified Theiophytalia as intermediate in derivation between Camptosaurus and Iguanodon . The type species is Theiophytalia kerri. [2] In 2010 and 2011 cladistic analyses of McDonald and colleagues, Theiophytalia has been recovered as a basal member of the Styracosterna and its closest relative was Hippodraco . [4] [5]

Ankylopollexia

Camptosaurus

Styracosterna

Uteodon

Hippodraco

Theiophytalia

Iguanacolossus

Lanzhousaurus

Kukufeldia

Barilium

Hadrosauriformes

Related Research Articles

<i>Iguanodon</i> Ornithopod dinosaur genus from Early Cretaceous period

Iguanodon, named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species have been classified in the genus Iguanodon, dating from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period of Asia, Europe, and North America, taxonomic revision in the early 21st century has defined Iguanodon to be based on one well-substantiated species: I. bernissartensis, which lived from the late Barremian to the earliest Aptian ages in Belgium, Germany, England, Spain, and possibly elsewhere in Europe, between about 126 and 122 million years ago. Iguanodon was a large, bulky herbivore, measuring up to 9–11 metres (30–36 ft) in length and 4.5 metric tons in body mass. Distinctive features include large thumb spikes, which were possibly used for defense against predators, combined with long prehensile fifth fingers able to forage for food.

<i>Dryosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Dryosaurus is a genus of an ornithopod dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic period. It was an iguanodont. Fossils have been found in the western United States and were first discovered in the late 19th century. Valdosaurus canaliculatus and Dysalotosaurus lettowvorbecki were both formerly considered to represent species of Dryosaurus.

<i>Camptosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Camptosaurus is a genus of plant-eating, beaked ornithischian dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic period of western North America and possibly also Europe. The name means 'flexible lizard'.

Callovosaurus is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur known from most of a left thigh bone discovered in Middle Jurassic-age rocks of England. At times, it has been considered dubious or a valid genus of basal iguanodontian, perhaps a dryosaurid.

<i>Cumnoria</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Cumnoria is a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian dinosaur. It was a basal iguanodontian that lived during the Late Jurassic period in what is now Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.

<i>Zalmoxes</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Zalmoxes is an extinct genus of rhabdodontid ornithopod dinosaur from the Maastrichtian of Romania. The genus is known from specimens first named as the species Mochlodon robustum in 1899 by Franz Nopcsa before being reclassified as Rhabdodon robustum by him in 1915. In 1990 this name was corrected to Rhabdodon robustus by George Olshevsky, and in 2003 the species was once more reclassified, this time as the type species Zalmoxes robustus. Zalmoxes refers to the Dacian deity Zalmoxis, and robustus to the robustness of the remains. In 2003 another species was named, Zalmoxes shqiperorum, named for the Albanian name for Albanians.

Planicoxa is a genus of advanced iguanodontian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of North America. It is known from the partial skeletons of several individual specimens. Its fossils were discovered in Utah, United States.

<i>Lurdusaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Lurdusaurus is a genus of massive and unusually shaped iguanodont dinosaur from the Elrhaz Formation in Niger. It contains one species, L. arenatus. The formation dates to the Early Cretaceous, roughly 112 million years ago. Lurdusaurus has a highly atypical body plan for an iguanodont, with a small skull, long neck, rotund torso, and powerful forelimbs and claws, somewhat reminiscent of a ground sloth. Its metacarpals are fused and reinforced into a large block, and the thumb spike is remarkably enormous. These would have allowed the hand to have functioned almost like a ball-and-chain flail. Lurdusaurus is estimated to have been 7–9 m (23–30 ft) long and 2 m high when on all-fours, but its stomach would have been only 70 cm off the ground. It may have weighed 2.5–5.5 t, conspicuously heavy for an iguanodontid this size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dryosauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Dryosaurids were primitive iguanodonts. They are known from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rocks of Africa, Europe, and North America.

The Lakota Formation is a sequence of rocks of early Cretaceous age from Western North America. Located in South Dakota, the name of the formation is derived from the Lakota Native American tribe.

<i>Dakotadon</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Dakotadon is a genus of iguanodont dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Lakota Formation of South Dakota, USA, known from a partial skull. It was first described in 1989 as Iguanodon lakotaensis, by David B. Weishampel and Philip R. Bjork. Its assignment has been controversial. Some researchers suggest that "I." lakotaensis was more basal than I. bernissartensis, and related to Theiophytalia, but David Norman has suggested that it was a synonym of I. bernissartensis. Gregory S. Paul, working on a revision of iguanodont species, gave "I." lakotaensis its own genus (Dakotadon) in 2008. He measured its length at 6 metres (20 ft) and body mass at 1 metric ton.

<i>Owenodon</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Owenodon is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur known from a partial lower jaw discovered in Early Cretaceous-age rocks of Durlston Bay, Dorset, United Kingdom. The specimen, NHM R2998, comes from the Purbeck Limestone, dating to the middle Berriasian stage. It was first described by Richard Owen, who in 1874 assigned it to Iguanodon as the type specimen of the new species I. hoggii, the specific name honouring naturalist A.J. Hogg who had originally collected the fossil in 1860. The bone was damaged during initial preparation but was freed from the surrounding rock matrix by an acid bath between 1975 and 1977. David Norman and Paul Barrett subsequently transferred the species to Camptosaurus in 2002, but this was challenged, and in 2009 Peter Galton assigned the species to the new genus Owenodon, meaning "Owen's tooth", named after Sir Richard Owen. Galton interpreted the genus as an iguanodontoid more derived than Camptosaurus but less derived than Lurdusaurus.

<i>Barilium</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Barilium is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of Iguanodon by Richard Lydekker in 1888, the specific epithet honouring the discoverer Charles Dawson.

<i>Hippodraco</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Hippodraco is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, United States. The genus contains a single species, H. scutodens, known from a partial skeleton belonging to an immature individual.

<i>Iguanacolossus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Iguanacolossus is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous period. It is known from UMNH VP 20205, the associated holotype with a large partial skeleton of a single individual.

<i>Uteodon</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Uteodon is a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian dinosaur. It is a basal iguanodontian which lived during the late Jurassic period in what is now Uintah County, Utah. It is known from the middle of the Brushy Basin Member, Morrison Formation. The genus was named by Andrew T. McDonald in 2011 and the type species is U. aphanoecetes. it has also been reported from portugal.

Osmakasaurus is a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian dinosaur. It is a basal iguanodontian which lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now Buffalo Gap of South Dakota, United States. It is known from the Chilson Member of the Lakota Formation. This genus was named by Andrew T. McDonald in 2011 and the type species is O. depressus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ankylopollexia</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Ankylopollexia is an extinct clade of ornithischian dinosaurs that lived from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. It is a derived clade of iguanodontian ornithopods and contains the subgroup Styracosterna. The name stems from the Greek word, “ankylos”, mistakenly taken to mean stiff, fused, and the Latin word, “pollex”, meaning thumb. Originally described in 1986 by Sereno, a most likely synapomorphic feature of a conical thumb spine defines the clade.

References

  1. Carpenter, K. & Ishida, Y. (2010). "Early and "Middle" Cretaceous Iguanodonts in Time and Space" (PDF). Journal of Iberian Geology . 36 (2): 145–164. doi: 10.5209/rev_JIGE.2010.v36.n2.3 .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brill, K. & K. Carpenter (2006). "A Description of a New Ornithopod from the Lytle Member of the Purgatoire Formation (Lower Cretaceous) and a Reassessment of the Skull of Camptosaurus". In Carpenter, Kenneth (ed.). Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 49–67.
  3. Gilmore, C.W. (1909). "Osteology of the Jurassic reptile Camptosaurus, with a revision of the species of the genus, and descriptions of two new species". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 36 (1666): 197–332. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.36-1666.197.
  4. McDonald, A.T.; Kirkland, J.I.; DeBlieux, D.D.; Madsen, S.K.; Cavin, J.; Milner, A.R.C. & Panzarin, L. (2010). "New Basal Iguanodonts from the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah and the Evolution of Thumb-Spiked Dinosaurs". PLOS ONE. 5 (11): e14075. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...514075M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014075 . PMC   2989904 . PMID   21124919.
  5. Andrew T. McDonald (2011). "The taxonomy of species assigned to Camptosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2783: 52–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2783.1.4.