Zephyrosaurus

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Zephyrosaurus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
~113  Ma
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Zephyrosaurus in Copenhagen.jpg
Mounted skeleton, Natural History Museum of Denmark
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Family: Thescelosauridae
Subfamily: Orodrominae
Genus: Zephyrosaurus
Sues, 1980
Type species
Zephyrosaurus schaffi

Zephyrosaurus (meaning "westward wind lizard") is a genus of orodromine ornithischian dinosaur. It is based on a partial skull and postcranial fragments discovered in the Aptian-Albian-age Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Carbon County, Montana, USA. New remains are under description, and tracks from Maryland and Virginia, also in the US, have been attributed to animals similar to Zephyrosaurus. It lived approximately 113 mya.

Contents

Discovery and history

Fragmentary juvenile specimen of Z. schaffi from the Cloverly Formation Zephyrosaurus juvenile specimen.png
Fragmentary juvenile specimen of Z. schaffi from the Cloverly Formation

Hans-Dieter Sues named his new genus in recognition of the fossil being found in western North America, and Charles R. Schaff, who found the specimen. MCZ 4392, the type specimen, is composed of jaw fragments, the braincase and associated bones, several partial vertebrae, and rib fragments. He found the new genus to represent a previously unknown lineage of hypsilophodont (a taxon now considered not natural), similar in some respects to Hypsilophodon . [1]

Because of the fragmentary nature of the type, and lack of additional remains, Zephyrosaurus had not attracted much attention until recently, when two separate events brought it more recognition. First, Martha Kutter, in a 2003 abstract, reported on new remains of this genus under study at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, including the remains of at least seven individuals with bones from all regions of the body. [2]

Then, Stanford et al. (2004) published on dinosaur tracks from the Patuxent Formation of Maryland and Virginia, which they named Hypsiloichnus marylandicus and attributed to an animal akin to Zephyrosaurus based on the proportions of the hands and feet. [3]

Description

Restoration of Zephyrosaurus being attacked by a Deinonychus Deinonychus (Raptor Prey Restraint).jpg
Restoration of Zephyrosaurus being attacked by a Deinonychus

Zephyrosaurus is still very incompletely known. Among other distinctive characteristics, it had a steep face, a raised knob on the upper jaw, and a larger knob on the cheekbone. Some of the bones may have allowed movement within the skull (cranial kinesis) as well. Like other orodromines, it had beak teeth. [1]

Classification

Several studies have suggested that Zephyrosaurus and Orodromeus are closely related, mostly by virtue of both having bosses on their cheeks. [4] [5] Other studies have had difficulty classifying it, due to the sparseness of the original material. [6] Oryctodromeus also shares several characteristics with Zephyrosaurus and Orodromeus, some of which may be related to burrowing. Phylogenetic analysis in the 2010s has classified Zephyrosaurus as part of the Thescelosauridae family.

Paleobiology

Zephyrosaurus would have been a small, swift, bipedal herbivore. [6] Like Orodromeus and Oryctodromeus, it may have burrowed as well. [7]

Related Research Articles

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

Hypsilophodontidae is a traditionally used family of ornithopod dinosaurs, generally considered invalid today. It historically included many small bodied bipedal neornithischian taxa from around the world, and spanning from the Middle Jurassic until the Late Cretaceous. This inclusive status was supported by some phylogenetic analyses from the 1990s and mid 2000s, although there have also been many finding that the family is an unnatural grouping which should only include the type genus, Hypsilophodon, with the other genera being within clades like Thescelosauridae and Elasmaria. A 2014 analysis by Norman recovered a grouping of Hypsilophodon, Rhabdodontidae and Tenontosaurus, which he referred to as Hypsilophodontia. All other analyses from around the same time have instead found these latter taxa to be within Iguanodontia.

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

Atlascopcosaurus is a genus of herbivorous basal iguanodont dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the present Australia.

<i>Thescelosaurus</i> Ornithischian dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous US and Canada

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

Notohypsilophodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. It was described as the only "hypsilophodont" known from South America, although this assessment is not universally supported, and Gasparinisaura is now believed to have been a basal euornithopod as well.

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

Orodromeus is a genus of herbivorous orodromine thescelosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Only one species is known, the type species Orodromeus makelai.

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

Tenontosaurus is a genus of medium- to large-sized ornithopod dinosaur. It was a relatively medium sized ornithopod, reaching 6.5 to 8 meters in length and 600 to 1,000 kilograms in body mass. It had an unusually long, broad tail, which like its back was stiffened with a network of bony tendons.

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

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

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloverly Formation</span> Geological formation in the United States

The Cloverly Formation is a geological formation of Early and Late Cretaceous age that is present in parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah in the western United States. It was named for a post office on the eastern side of the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming by N.H. Darton in 1904. The sedimentary rocks of formation were deposited in floodplain environments and contain vertebrate fossils, including a diverse assemblage of dinosaur remains. In 1973, the Cloverly Formation Site was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayan Formation</span> Stratigraphic Unit in Idaho

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thescelosaurinae</span> Extinct subfamily of dinosaurs

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of ankylosaur research</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 Sues, Hans-Dieter (1980). "Anatomy and relationships of a new hypsilophodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of North America". Palaeontographica Abteilung A. 169 (1–3): 51–72.
  2. Kutter, M.M. (2003). "New material of Zephyrosaurus schaffi (Dinosauria:Ornithischia) from the Cloverly Formation (Aptian-Albian) of Montana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 23 (3, Suppl): 69A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2003.10010538. S2CID   220410105.
  3. Stanford, R.; Weems, R.; Lockley, M. (2004). "A new dinosaur ichnotaxon from the Lower Cretaceous Patuxent Formation of Maryland and Virginia". Ichnos. 11 (3–4): 251–259. doi:10.1080/10420940490428797.
  4. Weishampel, David B.; Heinrich, Ronald E. (1992). "Systematics of Hypsilophodontidae and Basal Iguanodontia (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda)" (PDF). Historical Biology. 6 (3): 159–184. doi:10.1080/10292389209380426. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  5. Buchholz, Peter W. (2002). "Phylogeny and biogeography of basal Ornithischia". The Mesozoic in Wyoming, Tate 2002. Casper, Wyoming: The Geological Museum, Casper College. pp. 18–34.
  6. 1 2 Norman, David B.; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Witmer, Larry M.; Coria, Rodolfo A. (2004). "Basal Ornithopoda". In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.  393–412. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
  7. Varricchio, David J.; Martin, Anthony J.; Katsura, Yoshihiro (2007). "First trace and body fossil evidence of a burrowing, denning dinosaur". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274 (1616): 1361–1368. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.0443. PMC   2176205 . PMID   17374596.