recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Livyatan

This article does not meet the standards set by the Prehistoric wiki Manual of Style. Please edit it.

## Statistics

### Location

Southern hemisphere (Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and Australia)

### Diet

Carnivorous

*Livyatan* is an extinct genus and single species of sperm whales that belong to Cetacea family.

## Classification

A giant 30-centimeter-long tooth was unearthed by scientist Murray Orr on the beaches of Beaumaris Bay. This locality is known for preserving many cetacean and shark remains, with this fossilized tooth belonging to a massive extinct sperm whale. It is said the animal was closely related to *Livyatan melvillei*. The whale is theorized to have crushed smaller whales in the open ocean, estimated at an astounding 18 meter (59 foot) length and a 40,000 kilogram (88,000 pound) weight. The fossil dates about 5 million year ago. The fossil was donated to Museum Victoria, where researcher Dr. Erich Fitzgerald and team are currently studying the specimen. It was dated to the Pliocene and likely represents a second species of *Livyatan*.The ancestors of orcas probably lead to the extinction of livyatan

## References

* http://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/a-killer-sperm-whale/
* https://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/01/peru.levithan.whale/index.html#fbid=E5tOVcqfttb
* https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jul-03-la-sci-whale-fossil-20100703-story.html
* https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.322
* https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/12/science/foot-long-ancient-tooth-discovered-on-australian-beach.html
* https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/behold-leviathan-the-sperm-whale-that-killed-other-whales
* https://www.nyit.edu/medicine/livyatan\_melvillei
* https://prehistoric-fauna.com/Livyatan-melvillei
* https://www.darwinsdoor.co.uk/prehistoricplanet/livyatan-melvillei-the-horror-version-of-moby-dick.html
* https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/behold-leviathan-livyatan-the-sperm-whale-that-killed-other-whales
* https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258421564\_The\_giant\_bite\_of\_a\_new\_raptorial\_sperm\_whale\_from\_the\_Miocene\_epoch\_of\_Peru
* https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/77022/
* https://www.earthtouchnews.com/discoveries/fossils/giant-killer-sperm-whales-once-cruised-australias-waters-and-we-have-a-massive-tooth-to-prove-it/
MN 4819-V

Skeletal of the manus and lower forearm by PaleoGeek on Wikipedia

MN 4819-V is an unnamed genus of Spinosaurid that lived in Brazil during the Early Cretaceous.

## Description

The taxon is known from partial hindlimb and forelimb elements, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, a sacrum, ilium, pubis, and the ischium. The taxon had neural spines. It is similar to MN 4743-V from the same formation, but it is distinct. it's hand is the most complete out of any Spinosaurid. It is from the Albian. In 2018 the building the specimen was housed in, the National Museum of Brazil caught fire and the taxon was lost.

## References

https://theropoddatabase.com/Megalosauroidea.htm#Orionides

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MN\_4819-V\_manus\_skeletal\_by\_PaleoGeek.png
Mambawakale

Credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

*Mambawakale* is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur that lived in Tanzania during the Middle Triassic.

## Description

Mambawakale was a 5-meter-long pseudosuchian, whose name means "ancient crocodile from the Ruhuhu Basin" in the Kiswahili language. It was one of the largest predators from the Middle Triassic. It has been known since 1963 and was formally named in 2022, after being informally named as "Pallisteria" by Alan Charig. Charig had named it after a colleague but never published a description, so Butler et al. named it after the "unnamed" Tanzanians who helped with excavations. These Tanazanians were relied upon by the on-site scientists to build roads, locate fossil sites, discover fossils and transport them.

## References

* https://www.livescience.com/archosaur-apex-predator-discovered-tanzania
* https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2022/02/fossils-excavated-in-the-1960s-add-missing-link-to-crocodile-evolution.aspx
* https://www.livescience.com/archosaur-apex-predator-discovered-tanzania
* https://rs.figshare.com/articles/journal\_contribution/Phylogenetic\_optimisations\_from\_A\_new\_pseudosuchian\_archosaur\_i\_Mambawakale\_ruhuhu\_i\_gen\_et\_sp\_nov\_from\_the\_Middle\_Triassic\_Manda\_Beds\_of\_Tanzania/19126624
Mansourasaurus

Credit: Andrew McAfee.

*Mansourasaurus* is an extinct genus lithostrotian sauropod dinosaur that lived in Egypt during the Late Cretaceous.

## History

Hesham Sallam and a team of students discovered the skeleton in the Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert. In 2016, 30 dinosaur specimens were reported from the area. In January 2018, the type species was named by Sallam et al., referring to Mansoura University and honouring Mona Shahin, a founder of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center. MUVP 200 is the holotype, known from the Qyseir Formation of the late Campanian. It is: a fragmented cranial roof, a lower braincase, dentaries, 3 cervicals, 2 dorsals, 8 ribs, the right scapula and coracoid, humeri, a radius, third metacarpal, 3 metatarsals and osteoderm parts. It was found one the surface comprising 3x4 meters and as not articulated. It is a juvenile due to the unfused shoulder. MUVP 201, an ulna, was found 20 meters away and was not referred because it was deemed too large for the holotype to be compatible and a connection could not be proven.

## Description

10 dentary teeth, a 'chin' equalling one third of the dentary height, the fossa Meckeliana mostly opening below, the anterior middle cerical pierced by a foreman to the rear, the parapophysis on at least one middle cervical being horizontally as long as the entire vertebral centrum, a bone web between the heads of some anterior cervicals that are pierced by a foraman and the lower radius with a transverse width 4x the width (when measured front-to-back).

## Classification

It is a titanosaurian sister to *Lohuecotitan*, belonging to a clade of largely Eurasian sauropods. This group's relations have been difficult to test, as Africa provides few remains. This taxon represents among the greatest record of this clade in Africa during the Cenomanian. This would suggest that Africa was not as isolated as presumed, with its ancestors reaching it through Europe.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansourasaurus
Jabalisaurus

*Jabalisaurus* is an extinct genus of opthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived in Mexico during the Late Jurassic.

## Description

*Jabalisaurus* was once referred to *Ophthalmosaurus icenicus*, but the existence four diagnostic allowed it to be separated into a distinct genus in 2021. The naming paper supported the existence of opthalmosaurinae and Platypterygiinae and the monophyletic status of Opthalmosauridae by resolving ichthyosaur phylogeny.

## References

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089598112100345X
Mei

*Mei* is an extinct genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous.

## Description

*Mei* is a troodontid. All troodontids have distinct traits of the skull, such as closely-spaced teeth in the mandible, and an abnormally large number of teeth. *Mei*, like all toodontids, had sickle claws on their feet and raptorial hands, having the highest non-avian encephalization quotient. The individual was young, measuring 53 centimeters (21 inches) long, being complete, very well-preserved and in 3D. The snout was nestled beneath a forelimb, and the legs were folded behind the body, similar to how modern birds rest. This links behaviour between birds and dinosaurs. Analysis of the matrix chemistry shows this individual was likely instantaneouslu buried in volcanic ash. DNHM D2154 is the second specimen, also preserved sleeping.

It was named after such, the full name meaning "sleeping dragon", *Mei* meaning to "sleep soundly" (Chinese 寐 mèi) and long meaning "dragon" ( Chinese 龍 lóng)

*Mei* is differentiated based on extremely large nares, and several other characteristics. It is most closely related to *Sinovenator*, near the base of Troodontidae. Since it was basal, it had a bird-like hip structure, hared with many advanced maniraptorans, but not shared with advanced Troodontidae.

## Paleoecology

*Mei* lived in the Early Aptian, ~125.8 million years ago. The area that is now Liaoning, China was covered by volcanoes and coniferous forests, with an undergrowth including ferns and large horsetails. Some other trees, such as *Ginkgo* and *Araucaria* were found, with the earliest flowering plants. Rivers and streams ran down the flank of the volcanoes, which fed into lakes in valleys. Many small birdlike theropods lived with *Mei*, but most were slightly larger. This likely led to many cases of niche partitioning. Five or six herbivorous non-theropods existed, but early mammals and pterosaurs led a varied fauna listing. *Yutyrannus* was the apex predator, at 9 meters long, which preyed on the sauropods of the Yixian. Volcanoes often erupted, which entombed and suffocated animals with carbon monoxide, which preserved many fossils.

*Mei* preyed upon small lizards and insects that scurried across the forest floor, and was probably capable of scaling trees to shelter from larger predators. Mei was not (likely) omnivorous. It was a fast runner, based on the length of the legs. Nothing about nesting is known. The first *Mei* described was named after its eternal sleep, which scientists were charmed by. It was entombed by a volcanic eruption, which killed the animal via carbon monoxide poisoning.
Lost shark

## Carcharhinus obsolerus

The lost shark or the false smalltail shark (*Carcharhinus obsoletus*) is a possibly extinct species of shark that lived in the Western Pacific and the southern South China Sea.

## Description

Only three specimens of the lost shark have been recorded, from Borneo, Thailand and Vietnam. Each specimen is over 80 years old. At first, they were tentatively assigned the smalltail shark (*C. prorsus*), but several morphological characteristics placed the specimens into *C. sp.* for a short time. When scientists eventually analyzed these specimens, they recorded a decreased vertebral count and the position of the second anal and dorsal fins place them into a new species.

## Extinction

Since no specimens or sightings have been discovered in over 80 years, the lost shark may be extinct. Like the closely-related *C. prorsus*, the lost shark likely had limited fecundity, living in shallow waters easy accessed by fishermen. Since many sharks are overfished, this also places the lost shark into a vulnerable state. However, since the Borneo shark rediscovery in 2004 after a long period lacking sightings, several officials have hope for the lost shark's survival. In 2020, the IUCN placed the lost shark into Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct).

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost\_shark
Leedsichthys

Credit: PrehistoryByLiam.

*Leedsichthys* is an extinct genus of pachycormid that lived in England, Germany, Northern France, Argentina and Chile from the Middle to Late Jurassic.

## Description

*Leedsichthys*, like its family, *Bonnerichthys* and *Rhinconichthys*, were part of of a lineage of large filter-feeding fish (pachycormids). *Leedsichthys* is only preserved in scarce quantities due to the cartilage makeup of its bones. Several paleontologists mistook *Leedsichthys* fossils as *Stegosaurus* back plates. Some of the largest individuals clock in at a whopping size of around 50 feet. The fish has massive gill baskets and large gaping jaws. Fossils of questionable attribution are known from Argentina and Chile.

## Paleoecology

*Leedsichthys* swam through the open ocean scooping up tiny creatures, land like whalesharks, probably attracted tiny fish and other animals (like remoras) to follow it around..

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leedsichthys
MPCN-PV-69

MPCN-PV-69 is an unnamed genus of abelisaur that lived in Argentina during the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

Before 2021, the specimen was announced by not described. Known material is a partial premaxilla, fragmentary vertebrae, the proximal portion of both humeri, the distal pubis and a partial pedal ungual. The subquadrangular body, ornamented and striated on the external surface paradental plates, humerus with a bulbous proximal head, the conical internal tuberosity and reduced greater tubercle link the specimen to abelisauridae. The humerus is like *Carnotaurus* and *Aucasaurus* in the bulbous head and discontinuity of the head and tuberosity, but is different in the greater tubercle and tuberosity being more distal. Differences from Anacleto abelisaurs suggest MPCN-PV-69 is distinct. Phylogenetic placement classifies MPCN-PV-69 as an abelisaur, but a more precise placement is not given.

In 2021, authors found a triangular shape in the distal end of metatarsal IV and the proximal surface dorsoventrally tall; the ventral surface wider than the dorsal surface, causing a medial tilt in bone in phalanx IV-1; phalanx IV-1 and 2 having a ridge that lays from the proximodorsal projection, branching around a laterally-displaced and obliquely-oriented oval hyperextensor pit; a pedal ungual phalanx bearing two lateral vascular and medial grooves, lacking a flexor tubercle. As mentioned, the phalanges IV-1 and 2 characteristics are a possible new synapomorphy of abelisauridae.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667114002201#
2. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981121002492
Kurī

The Kurī is an extinct dog breed native to New Zealand. The name originates from Māori to describe a Polynesian dog.

## History

The dogs were brought to New Zealand by the Polynesian ancestors of the Māori in the 13th century AD. According to Māori mythology, the demigod Māui transformed his brother-in-law Irawaru into the first Kurī dog.

## Description

Kurī are often described having bushy tails, short legs and powerful shoulders. Their fur was yellow-ish brown, black and white or potted. Like other Polynesian dogs, the Kurī howled instead of barking. The Māori phrase for their howls was auau.

## Paleobiology

Kurī were often considered as a food source, and especially as a delicacy. British explorer James Cook once tried the dish, and exclaimed the dog tasted almost as good as lamb meat. Kurī were used to hunt birds, and their pelts were used to make dog-skin cloaks named kahu kurī. In addition, they were used as weapons, decorations and poi. The overuse of the dog breed caused them to fall into extinction
Ichthyovenator

Credit: Alexander Viera.

*Ichthyovenator* is an extinct genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in South-East Asia during the Early Cretaceous.

## Description

*Ichthyovenator'*s teeth are straight and conical, bearing no serrations. The vertebrae of *Ichthyovenator* were slightly elongated, and dipped down a substantial amount at the hip, and shortened at the base of the tail. *Ichthyovenator* had robust arms, with curved claws for catching fish. The skull of *Ichthyovenator* is like other spinosaurids: curving down at the end and bearing a long head crest. New and undescribed findings show that Ichthyovenator had a paddle-like tail like that of Spinosaurus.

## Paleoecology

*Ichthyovenator* lived in the Barremian to Cenomanian Grès supérieurs Formation, which probably existed during the Early Cretaceous. *Ichthyovenator* lived with other ornithopods, like the sauropod *Tangvayosaurus*. *Ichthyovenator* likely filled a niche similar to *Baryonyx* and *Suchomimus*. *Ichthyovenator* used its paddle-like tail to swim in bodies in water and catch fish.

## Gallery

### Reconstructions

**Credit: Alexander Vierra.****Credit: CisioPurple on DeviantArt.****Credit: Hytrioskjan on DeviantArt.**
## References

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyovenator
Macropod hybrid

## Macropodidae x Macropodidae

Juvenile red and eastern grey kangaroo hybrid at the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum in England.

## Statistics

### Diet

Likely herbivorous

Macropod hybrids are a group of hybrids bred as experiments, all have died and are infertile.

## Description

Hybrids between species have been bred by placing one male of one species and a female from another in the same area to limit mating choice. To attempt to make them natural, sometimes they are placed in the pouch of another species in order for imprinting to take place. One method to achieve a live joey is in-vitro fertilization, with one species' egg implanted into a female of either species.

## Species

* *O. robustus robustus* x *O. rufus* = infertile female\*
* *W. bicolor* x *M. rufogriseus* = sterile male†
* *M. agilis* x *M. rufogriseus* = sterile male†
* *M. eugenii* x *M. dorsalis* = sterile male†
* *M. fuliginosus* x *M. giganteus* = sterile male and fertile female
* *O. rufus*‡ x *M. giganteus*
* *M. eugenii* x *M. parma*
* *M. eugenii* x *Thylogale sp.*

* \* = So poorly fertile it is considered sterile.
* † = Individuals with testes that did not produce sperm, some having Y-chromosome abnormalities.
* ‡ = Fertilized with in-vitro techniques.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macropod\_hybrid
Masititrisauropodiscus

This article does not meet the standards set by the Prehistoric wiki Manual of Style. Please edit it.

## Masititrisauropodiscus

Tracks of Anomoepus, synonymous with this taxon.

## Statistics

### Diet

Herbivorous?

*Masititrisauropodiscus* is a dubious ichnogenus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived in North America and Europe during the Early Jurassic.

## Description

*Masititrisauropodiscus* is known from trackways preserving both the fore, and hind limbs. *Masititrisauropodiscus* is synonymous with *Anomoepus*[*citation needed*].

## References

https://prehistoric-wiki.fandom.com/wiki/Anomoepus
Maltaceratops

"Maltaceratops", the "Malta new taxon" or GPDM 63, is an unnamed genus of nasutoceratosinin ceratopsian that lived in Malta, Montana during the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

GPDM 63 was used to erect Nasutoceratopsini, known from the Campanian ~78 million years ago. It is differentiated from the dorsal squamosal ridge shape, the epiparietal and it's shape and curvature of the P1 locus. Savhannah Carpenter's comprehensive ceratopsian phylogeny finds:

## References

1. ↑ https://www.gbif.org/species/9422798
2. ↑ Loewen, Mark A., David C. Evans & Michael J. Ryan. In Press. *Maltaceratops hammondorum* nov. gen. et sp., a centrosaurine dinosaur (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) from the lower Judith River Formation (Campanian) of northcentral Montana. Public Library of Science, ONE.
3. ↑ https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjes-2016-0110
MPMA 08-003-94

MPMA 08-003-94 is an indeterminate genus of megaraptoran that lived in Brazil during the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

MPMA 08-003-94 is a single vertebral centrum found in Ibirá, Brazil within São Paulo State of the Maastrichtian. It was described by Méndez et al. (2012), and noted for being large and bearing pneumaticity similar to *Aerosteon*, *Megaraptor* and *Orkoraptor*. For example, it has true pleurocoels within fossae, which is diagnostic to Megaraptora and is the first occurence of such in Brazil. Yet, no autapomorphies were identified to diagnose a new genus. The description provided clarity towards classifing various "carnosaurian" remains published long ago. They emphasize megaraptoran diversity in South America and contemporeity with abelisaurids and deinonychosaurians.

## References

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068312000267
Metanephrocerus

*Metanephrocerus* is an extinct genus of fly that lived during the Middle Eocene in Europe.

## Description

*Metanephrocerus* is known from multiple specimens, both male and female, preserved in Baltic amber and fossils in the Baltic regions. *Metanephrocerus* is known from good from multiple fossil and amber specimens. Some amber specimens show hyaline (glassy) coloration. *Metanephrocerus*, as well as the related genus; *Protonephrocerus*, have been reclassified many times.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metanephrocerus
Marichimaera

Credit: Dmitry Bogdanov.

"Marichimaera" is a naked-named genus of mosasaur that lived in New Zealand during the Late Cretaceous.

## History

"Marichimaera" is a named coined by Street (2016) in an unpublished dissertation to house the enigmatic *"Prognathodon" waiparaensis*, which is often not considered a part of said genus due to multiple phylogenetic results. However, it is unknown which mosasaur family this taxon allies, being considered close to *Mosasaurus*, a massive plioplatecarpine or ancestral to durophagous taxa (i.e. *Globidens*, *Carinodens*). Nonetheless, the taxon is considered a nomen ex dissertationae and thus invalid.

## Description

The holotype is a disarticulated skull, cervicals and ribs from Maastrichtian-age New Zealand. However, there are cf. "M." ["*Prognathodon*"] *waiparaensis* known from the Maastrichtian-aged Californian Moreno Formation. This taxon is differentiated from *P. lutugini* by a lack of a medial striation on the tooth surface, which is also shared with *P. solvayi*. It has a slender dentary like *Gnathomortis*.

## References

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreno\_Formation
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prognathodon
* https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marichimaera
Lesotho Sauropodomorph

Credit: Natural History Museum, London.

The Lesotho Sauropodomorph is an unnamed genus of Sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in Lesotho during the Early Jurassic.

## Description

The specimen includes 3 complete cervical vertebrae, and a partial vertebra that is either the last cervical or the first dorsal, all in articulation. It also possesses fragmentary cervical vertebrae, 3 cervical ribs, 2 dorsal ribs, a tooth-bearing skull bone, possibly a maxilla, and various other fragments. It was described as a "little" by researchers. It is currently housed at the Natural History Museum of London.

## References

https://twitter.com/NHMdinolab/status/1626616598650884098?t=XIb83QDxfofTpkhr9\_gViQ&s=19
Climatius

Credit: Liam Elward.

*Climatius* is an extinct genus of Acanthodian that lived in Europe and North America during the Silurian.

## Description

*Climatius* was a powerful and active swimmer, which can be judged based on the Acathanodians sturdy caudal and stabilizing fins. *Climatius* likely preyed on fish and crustaceans. The animals mandible was lined with small teeth, which were replaced when damaged by wear. However, the upper jaw is toothless. This genus has large eyes, suggesting it hunted by sight, primarily. The shoulder girdles in *Climatius* start as two separate bony plates that connect to the spiny pectorals on each side of the body. The fixed, stable fins served as hydroplanes, which created lift as *Climatius* drifted forward, preventing the animal from sinking when it wanted to rise or stay at a constant depth. Most individuals are adorned with 15 sharp spines, on each pelvic and pectoral, aingle anal, both dorsal fins and four pairs situated under the fish away from fins.

## Species

* *C. reticulatus*
* *C. gracilis*
* *C. grandis*
* *C. latispinosus*
* *C. macnicoli*
* *C. scutiger*
* *C. uncinatus*

## References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatius
2. Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life, p. 47
Julescraneia

*Julescraneia* is an extinct genus of kelp that lived in California during the Miocene.

## Description

Recovered fragments from the Monterey Formation, a formation that mainly preserves, whales, dolphins and crabs, is known for it's collection of kelps and seaweeds. Among these is a collection by Bruce Parker and E. Yale Dawson (1965), who donated a collection to UCMP. One of these is *Julescraneia*, a kelp seemingly related to *Nereocystis*. *Pelagophycus* and *Nereocystis* are noted to have a similar morphology.

LACM PB-1524 is the holotype, of the Del Gado Drive locality, Modelo Formation.

## Refereces

* https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/mio/montalgae.html
* https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/mio/monterey.html
* http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon\_no=398954
* https://www.gbif.org/species/4907633
* http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon\_no=398955
Lifua pseudosuchian

The Lifua pseudosuchian is an unnamed genus of pseudosuchian reptile that lived in Tanzania during the Middle Triassic.

## Description

This taxon is represented by well-preserved crania, postcrania and osteoderms, being ~80% complete. Its crurotarsal ankle leads to an assignment to pesudosuchia. The maxillary and dentary dentition recurves and compresses laterally, with mesial and sital serrations, The skull has aetosaur and erpetosuchid traits, such as the jugal that contributes to the posterior margin of the antorbital fenestra that forms most of the postorbital bar. Many osteoderms are present including appendicular osteoderms. It was first mentioned in the 2012 SVP abstracts but returned in the 2021 abstracts.

## References

* https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2012.10635175
* https://vertpaleo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SVP\_2021\_VirtualBook\_final.pdf
Majungasaurus

This article does not meet the standards set by the Prehistoric wiki Manual of Style. Please edit it.

## Statistics

### Synonyms

*Megalosaurus crenatissimus**Majungatholus*

### Diet

Carnivorous

*Majungasaurus* is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar during the Late Cretaceous.

## Gallery

Revamped 2022 *Majungasaurus* exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.**Credit: Eotyrannu5-Returns on the Wikimedia Commons.**
## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majungasaurus
Irhazer Shale Sauropods

The Irhazer Shale Sauropods are 2 unnamed genera of sauropod dinosaurs that lived in Niger during the Jurassic.

## Description

the 2022 expedition to the Irhazer Shale led by Paul Sereno uncovered the articulated remains of 5 sauropods with "exceptional preservation. The specimens represent 3 genera, with 2 of which being novel, with the other likely being *Spinophorosaurus*.

## References

https://www.facebook.com/HeritageNiger/posts/pfbid0rqJgxor1D8GvtwB5LePuKSjQwVx5yhNR5QVmtniZmnwaAV1rJ3eFDjzRQG91frVql

https://twitter.com/Dinoh555/status/1669774487653416992
Macrocheira ginzanensis

*Macrocheira ginzanensis* is an extinct species of crab that lived in Japan during the Miocene.

## Description

IGPS 90010 is a claw identified as *M. ginzanensis* by Imaizumi (1965) as a species distinct from modern *Macrocheira*. It is a large immovable finger of a left cheliped that is 28 millimeters long, 5-8 in width and 12 in maximum height. Some support that this specimen is distinguishable from *M. kaempferi*, but others suggest it should be synonymized, and the main argument for distinguishment refers to the greater proportions (eg. robusticity, broadness, thickness) of *M. ginzanensis*. Imaizumi (1965) notes that this character may be sexually dimorphic or novel, though he sees little sexual dimorphism in it's modern counterpart and thus supports his new taxon. If valid, it has a greater robusticity and was smaller. suggesting that this lineage of inachids grew giant in post-Miocene times.

## References

* https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=223580
* https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/rcustacea/2/0/2\_KJ00003289224/\_article/-char/ja/
Lycaon sekowei

Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

*Lycaon sekowei* is an extinct species of canid that lived in Africa from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene.

## Description

*L. sekowei* is the only extinct species in the genus *Lycaon*, and, though being able to run fast, was not well adapted to a cursorial lifestyle in it's front paws. It was herbivorous like it's modern day counterpart. Named in 2010 by Hartstone-Rose, it was possibly an ancestor to *L. pictus*.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycaon\_sekowei
Ikaria

This article does not meet the standards set by the Prehistoric wiki Manual of Style. Please edit it.

## Statistics

### Diet

Detritivore

*Ikaria* is a genus of bilateral worm that lived 555 million years ago during the Ediacaran period.

## Description

*Ikaria* may have been the oldest ancestor to humans. *Ikaria* looks like a small earthworm, only with a reduced body, and primitive anatomy.

## Paleoecology

*Ikaria* burrowed through the thin sand on the sea floor. *Ikaria* ate any organic matter it could find, like *Hallucigenia*, that lived some millions of years after *Ikaria* did.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikaria\_wariootia
Khok Kruat Iguanodont

Template:Artist

The Khok Kruat Iguanodont is an unnamed genus of Iguanodont that lived in Thailand during the Early Cretaceous.

## Description

This taxa (UB1-A & UB1-B) is known from post-cranial remains, including 2 cervical, 2 dorsal, and 5 caudal vertebrae, a partial ischium, a right femur, tibia, and fibula, as well as a metacarpal and possibly a pedal phalanx III-3. Ribs of the taxon were perserved, but at the time the paper was released they were still being prepared, making the number and condition of these ribs difficult to assess. A femur was found associated with this skeleton, but the size leads the authors to suggest that this may represent a second, juvenile individual. The authors of the paper reconstruct is as a non-hadrosauriform styracosternan. the only cranial remains of the taxon so far are several dentary teeth. Some features of the skeleton may be autopomorphic, but it can't be determined as definitively unique currently. "*Ratchasimasaurus suranareae*" is also known from the Khok Kruat Formation, but that taxon is only known from a dentary, making direct comparison impossible. "*Ratchasimasaurus*" is considered a nomen dubium by the authors, as well as most researchers, meaning that this taxon would take precedence. All other Iguanodont taxa known from Thailand fall outside the clade the Khok Kruat Iguanodont belongs too, strengthening it's probability to be a distinct taxon. The potential autapomorphies of this taxon are; "sigmoid-shaped metacarpal IV and reduced distal end of the fibula. It also shows a unique combination of characters on its femur, not found in other styracosternan iguanodontians. This unique combination consists of the femur with a broad and triangular-shaped fourth trochanter, cranial expansion of the distal end, and V-shaped open distal extensor groove."

## Classification

Using the matrix from Madzia et al. (2020) They made this majority rule consensus tree. Hadrosauriformes has been flattened.

## References

* SAMATHI, A. ., & SUTEETHORN, S. . (2022). New materials of iguanodontians (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand . *Zootaxa*, *5094*(2), 301–320. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5094.2.5
* Masateru SHIBATA, Pratueng JINTASAKUL, Yoichi AZUMA (2011) "A New Iguanodontian Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation, Nakhon Ratchasima in Northeastern Thailand" Act Geologica Sinica - English Edition 85 (5): 269-276 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-6724.2011.00530.x
MACN-PV 18649a

MACN-PV 18649a in a phylogenetic tree, in the Chromogisaurus naming paper.

MACN-PV 18649a is an unnamed genus of herrerasaurid that lived in Argentina during the Late Triassic.

## Description

MACN-PV 18649a is different from *Herrerasaurus*, *Staurikoaurus* and *Sanjuansaurus*, forming a clade with *Herrerasaurus* and *Staurikoaurus*.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254249468\_A\_new\_early\_dinosaur\_Saurischia\_Sauropodomorpha\_from\_the\_Late\_Triassicof\_Argentina\_A\_reassessment\_of\_dinosaur\_origin\_and\_phylogeny
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ischigualasto\_Formation#Dinosaurs
Enneabatrachus

Credit: @DrSpooksArt on Twitter.

*Enneabatrachus* is an extinct genus of frog that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic.

## Description

*Enneabatrachus* is known from several specimens from the Morrison Formation. One of which, consists of only an illium, which a few millimeters long. Scientists determined that *Enneabatrachus*'s weight in life would have only been a few grams.

## Discovery

*Enneabatrachus* remains are reported from stratigraphic zone 5, from Quarry 9 in Como Bluff and another from the Dinosaur National Monument. The illium discovered in Quarry 9 was given the name "nine frog", after the discovery site.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneabatrachus
Kelenken

Credit: Jack Wood.

*Kelenken* is an extinct genus of terror bird that lived in South America during the Middle Miocene.

## Description

*Kelenken* was a massive predatory bird, with a skull about 71.6 centimeters (28.2 inches) long, the longest head if any known bird. The tarsometatarsus of *Kelenken* is 43.7 centimeters (17.2 inches) long. This long-legged evolutionary adaptation leads scientists to believe that *Kelenken* led a fast cursorial life, more than other terror birds would have been. The size of *Kelenken*'s skull and jaw muscles show that they had an enormous bite force.

## Paleobiology

### Diet

The manner in which *Kelenken* hunted and captured prey is unknown. Being fast-moving, the animal likely pursued and crushed prey under their massive beaks. It likely hunted rodents, deer, immature horses, cows, llamas, sheep, sloths and armadillos. Another theory is that *Kelenken* picked prey up in its jaws and vigorously shook them as to break its spine. *Kelenken* may have been a scavenger that drove predators from carcasses due to their sheer size.

## Paleoecology

*Kelenken* lived in South America during the Middle Miocene in an ecosystem transitioning between heavy forests and open pampa-plains. The predator lived with the mammals *Guiomys* and *Patagosmilus*, snakes, tortoises and other reptiles.
Merosaurus

"Merosaurus" is a naked named genus of possible tetanuran theropod dinosaur that lived in England during the Early Jurassic.

## Description

It is from the Sinemurian of the Blue Lias or Charmouth Mudstone Formation. Samuel Welles, A. Pickering and H.P. Powell (1995) wrote an unpublished manuscript describing and naming a knee joint once assigned *Scelidosaurus*.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_informally\_named\_dinosaurs
MOZ-Pv 1221

MOZ-Pv 1221 is an unnamed genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

MOZ-Pv 1221 was one of the largest sauropods, alongside *Dreadnoughtus*, *Patagotitan*, *Argentinosaurus*, *Notocolossus* and *Puertasaurus*. MOZ-Pv 1221 was recovered from the Neuquén Province, Candeleros Formation, Upper Cretaceous in 2012. It probably exceeded *Patagotitan* in size. Neuquén Province consists of a sequence of anterior and middle-caudal vertebrae. This includes the first 20 articulated caudals, isolated posterior caudals, pelvis, other appendicular elements and haemal arches from the anterior part of the tail. MOZ-Pv 1221's neural spines and anterior caudals are wider transversely than the anteroposteriorly is long. The dorsoventral height at the scapula's proximal section is 17% larger than *Patagotitan*, 26% for *Dreadnoughtus* and 130% for *Mendozasaurus*. The top proximo-distal pubis length is 166 centimeters; 10% longer for *Patagotitan*, 18% for *Dreadnoughtus* and 21% for *Futalognkosaurus*. Although its fragmentary nature does not allow for a weight estimate, it is likely that MOZ-Pv 1221, *Argentinosaurus* and possibly *Bruhathkayosaurus* are largest titanosaurs.

Right now, MOZ-Pv 1221 can not be referred to an existing species of split into a new one.

## Paleoecology

The existence of MOZ-Pv 1221 suggests niche-partitioning between it and largest-middle-sized titanosaurs and smallrebbachisaurids at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous. MOZ-Pv 1221 may shed light on phylogenetic relationships in titanosaurs, possibly revealing a new lineage and insight on body mass evolution.

## References

* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019566712100001X#!

* https://paleonerdish.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/a-new-giant-titanosaur-sauropod-from-the-upper-cretaceous-of-argentina/
Iyuku

The holotype.

*Iyuku* is an extinct genus of dryosaurid? iguanodontian dinosaur that lived in South Africa during the Early Cretaceous.

## History

*Iyuku* is reported from a bonebed of at least 27 juvenile and hatching individuals. These were counted using non-overlapping left femora, and is a never-before-seen occurrence. The genus was named in 2022, with the name deriving from the Xhosa "hatchling" and Mike Raath, a prominent South African paleontologist.

## Classification

It is placed in Iguanodontia in 2022, but a 2015 PhD dissertation recovered it in Dryosauridae as a sister taxon to *Dysalotosaurus*. Forster et al. (2022) referenced this, but notes that the age of the individuals may muddle phylogenetic studies. They do not analyze their position aside from being a generic iguanodontian.

## Paleobiology

This sample bears at least 4 size classes; 3 juveniles (the smallest likely bring post-hatched), and a stage 4 that is probably a subadult. Most of the material is isolated (with only 5 occurrences of articulation) of hatchling/juvenile individuals within a 20-30 centimeter-thick horizon. There is no preferred orientation of the long bones. They note that the similarity of this with juvenile *Orodromeus*, *Maiasaura* and *Hypacrosaurus*, possibly representing mortality aggradations near nesting sites. However, *Iyuku* was not associated with eggs or their shells, considering it possible that this concentration may be seasonal attrition at or near the nests and scattering the bones due to trampling before burial or bioturbation shortly after. A complete tibia from an unknown location on the Kirkwood cliffs was estimated to be ~35 centimeters (14 inches) or at least 42 centimeters (17 inches) long, which is 4-5x the length of the juvenile.

## Paleoecology

The sedimentology of the assemblage suggests that this environment was transitioning from a drier climate. Here, juveniles may have had evironmental stress such as extreme dryness or drought and periods of extreme heat. This may have killed these individuals and temporarily delayed growth (as revealed by histological examination).

## References

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyuku
* https://doi.org/10.1002%2Far.25038
Deinornithomimus

Credit: R.J. Palmer.

"Deinornithomimus" or "Dinornithomimus" is an informal genus of Ornithomimid dinosaur that lived in Montana during the Late Cretaceous.

## History

The name "Deinornithomimus sedens" first arose with video game developers of Saurian. They used this name to represent *Struthiomimus sedens* remains known from the Hell Creek Formation based on the beliefs that the assigned material represented a new genus of Ornithomimid. However, little study around this and the circumstances of "naming" have led to this name to fall to the wayside. However, if the remains were found to be a new genus, it is likely the proposed named "D. sedens" would not be used.

Apparently specimens of *Struthiomimus sedens* from Hell Creek are similar in size to *Gallimimus*. Specimens from this formation include AMNH 975, a pedal claw, and UCMP 154569, a partial skeleton. Hell Creek ornithomimids are generally uncommon and fragmentary.

## References

* https://twitter.com/sauriangame/status/697296011077750784
* "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; South Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 586.
* Longrich (2008), pages 983–996
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleobiota\_of\_the\_Hell\_Creek\_Formation#cite\_note-longrich2008-62
* https://twitter.com/SaurianGame/status/697464829678907392
* https://twitter.com/SaurianGame/status/697467679511355392
Juchuysillu

*Juchuysillu* is an extinct genus of typothere that lived in Bolivia during the Middle Miocene.

## Description

*Juchuysillu* was discovered in southern Bolivia in the Nazareno Formation. *Juchuysillu* is known from molars discovered in Bolivia. *Juchuysillu* was not formally given a diet when it was described, based on the shape of the teeth, Juchuysillu appears to be omnivorous.

## References

http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2020/06/juchuysillu.html
Megafusoolithus

Holotypic specimen.

*Megafusoolithus* is an extinct, dubious oogenus of oviraptor egg that live in North America and Asia during the Cretaceous.

## Description

*Megafusoolithus* was described in 2010 by Wang, but has since become a dubious oogenus, sunk into *Macroelongatoolithus*.

## References

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroelongatoolithus
* https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=98798
Lithostrotion

*Lithostrotion* is an extinct genus of Rugosa corals that lived during the Carboniferous.

## Description

*Lithostrotion* is a very diverse genus and is known from Carboniferous limestone.

## Species

* *L. affine*
* *L. araneum*
* *L. banffense*
* *L. concinum*
* *L. decipiens*
* *L. edmondsi*
* *L. fasciculatum*
* *L. fuicatum*
* *L. gracile*
* *L. irregulare*
* *L. junceum*
* *L. maccoyanum*
* *L. martini*
* *L. mclareni*
* *L. mutabile*
* *L. pauciradiale*
* *L. sinuosum*
* *L. sociale*
* *L. termieri*
* *L. vorticale*
* *L. warreni*

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithostrotion
Lepisosteus

This page is about a genus that contains extinct and extant species; species marked with † are extinct.

## Statistics

### Diet

Carnivorous

*Lepisosteus* is a genus of gar that lives in North America.

## Description

*Lepisosteus* has dorsal and anal fins placed so far back on its body they almost touched their tail flukes, a feature most gars lack. Despite its scales being covered in enamel (like more primitive fish have), *Lepisosteus* is generally more advanced than other ray-finned fish.

## Ecology

*Lepisosteus* hunts in wait on the sea floor, waiting for small prey to swim by, to which the predatory fish would attack in a burst of speed. In the present day, *Lepisosteus* gars are only known from North America, while fossil *Lepisosteus* show their range was far greater than previously thought. Fossils show their range during the Cretaceous consisted of the normal North American range, but also fossils in Brazil and India, and possibly greater.

## Species

* *L. platyrhincus*
* *L. platostomus*
* *L. oculatus*
* *L. osseus*
* †*L. aganus*
* †*L. bemisi*
* †*L. bohemicus*
* †*L. cominatoi*
* †*L. cycliferus*
* †*L. glaber*
* †*L. indicus*
* †*L. integer*
* †*L. fimbriatus*
* †*L. knieskerni*
* †*L. longus*
* †*L. nahunticus*
* †*L. notabilis*
* †*L. occidentalis*
* †*L. opertus*
* †*L. strausi*
* †*L. suessoniensis*
* †*L. whitneyi*

## Classification

*Atractosteus* was previously recognized as a subgenus of *Lepisosteus*, with species previously assigned to the genus *Lepisosteus*. Species like the Tropical, Cuban and Alligator gars have been reassigned to *Atractosteus*. *Cylindrosteus* was also a former subgenus, later conjoined with *Lepisosteus*.

## References

* Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life, p. 49
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepisosteus
Laccotriton

*Laccotriton* is an extinct salamander that lived during the Late Jurassic.

## Description

The animal was preserved in the Zhangjiakou Formation of Hebei China. The fossil was of a skull and articulated body which was well preserved. It is known that this animal was an insectivore. Much of what we know about *Laccotriton* is based off of what we know about salamanders.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laccotriton
Kamuysaurus

Before formal naming or identification, this organism was known as the following on this wiki:
**"Mukawaryu"**

## Kamuysaurus

Credit: Connor Ashbridge on the Wikimedia Commons.

## Statistics

### Diet

Herbivorous

*Kamuysaurus* is an extinct genus of hadrosaur that lived in Japan during the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

*Kamuysaurus* is known from a skeleton about 60% complete. Kamuysaurus was first named "Mukawaryu" ("dragon of Mukawa"), which is now a nomen nudum. *Kamuysaurus* is differentiated by a low notched quadrate bone, inclined neural vertebrae, and a short ascending branch on the surangular bone.

## Notable Specimens

* HMG-1219: The holotype as found in a marine layer, and is 60% complete. The animal's carcass was likely washed out to sea, only to be left semi-intact during fossilization.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamuysaurus
Masracetus

Credit: Jaime Bran.

*Masracetus* is an extinct genus of dorudontine basilosaurid whale that lived in Egypt during the Late Eocene.

## History

The holotype (SMNS 11414; a lumbar column) was collected by Richard Markgraf in 1905, who was Ernst Stromer's fossil collector. Stromer described these as part of the specimen 'St. 8' in 1908. They were associated with a partial skull (SMNS 11413) was apparently unremarkable and mostly reconstructed using plaster. They are found in Dimê (also as Dimeh), Birket Qarun Formation at paleocoordinates 24.9° North 26.6° East. Gingerich (2007) briefly named it in an addendum, finding substantial evidence for its validity from *Cynthiacetus*. All assigned specimens comprise the Early Priabonian (early Late Eocene) of the Birket Qarun Formation, making an offshore sandstone environment.

## Description

In addition to the holotype, these specimens were referred: BSPM 1904.X11.135 (including a posterior thoracic and two caudals collected by Markgraf in 1904 and described in 1908), UM 97535 (a weathered centrum of a posterior lumbar or anterior caudal) and UM 101221 (2 weathered centra) (both from Wadi Hitan). The lumbars are distinguished by their large size and short anteroposterior length (13-14 centimeters), with a diameter almost the same as, and a length less than half of, *Basilosaurus isis*. It is larger than *Cynthiacetus*, a close relative from which it is definitely distinct. The holotypic remains are 3D. Multiple undescribed full-body skeletons are known from Egypt.

## Classification

Allocated remains have been historically called *Zeuglodon isis*, *Zeuglodon* cf. *brachyspondylus*, *Prozeuglodon isis*, *Zeuglodon* cfr. *brachyspondylus* and *Zeuglodon brachyspondylus*.

## References

* https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/57499/Vol%2031%20No%2013%20final%2012-19-07.pdf;jsessionid=B8E910E2E980D818256B83C8496FC186?sequence=1
* https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=118889&is\_real\_user=1
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masracetus
* https://twitter.com/heshamsallam/status/1270982922561085445
* https://twitter.com/Fayoumer/status/1391508364908273664
Mesocyon

*Mesocyon* is an extinct genus of canid that lived during the Oligocene to Early Miocene in North America.

## Description

Fossils of *Mesocyon* are known from Oregon and California. *Mesocyon* was one of the first canids to have a primarily meat based diet. *Mesocyon* was about the size of a coyote.

## Species

* *M. brachyops*
* *M. coryphaeus*
* *M. temnodon*
Megacyon

Megacyon fights off Mececyon. Credit: HodariNundu on DeviantArt.

*Megacyon*, or Merriam's dog, is an extinct genus of canid that lived on the Island of Java during the Pleistocene, from 800-300 thousand years ago.

## Description

*Megacyon* appears to derive from *Xenocyon*, *Lycaon*, *Mececyon* and *Cynotherium*. The teeth of *Megacyon* were strong and robust, which likely exceeded the degree in the African wild dog.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megacyon\_merriami