recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Halticosaurus

*Halticosaurus longotarsus*

***Halticosaurus*** (meaning "*nimble lizard*") is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic period (middle Norian stage, around 208 million years ago). It was a coelophysoid found in the Middle Stubensandstein formation of what is present-day Germany. Some researchers consider *Halticosaurus* the same genus as *Liliensternus*, but Samuel Welles found differences in the femoral head and the anterior trochanter.

## Etymology

The name *Halticosaurus* comes from the Greek words altikos (αλτικος) meaning "good at jumping"/"nimble" and sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard"; thus "nimble lizard". *Halticosaurus* was described and named by Friedrich von Huene in 1908 and the type species is *Halticosaurus longotarsus*.

## Description

*Halticosaurus longotarsus*, is known from the holotype SMNS 12353, which consists of partial jaw bones and teeth, incomplete neck, back, hip and tail vertebrae, a partial humerus, two partial femora, and fragments of an ilium and a metatarsal This material was found to be mixed in with the remains of a prosauropod dinosaur, *Sellosaurus gracilis*. Rauhut and Hungerbuhler (2000) reassessed the type material and concluded that only the two partial femora can be reliably referred to this genus. The hip bone has only two fused sacral vertebrae, a basal condition. The presence of a five-fingered hand represents the primitive condition of dinosaurs. Benton (1992) noted that its skull was 18 inches long but was lightly built, featuring large fenestrae. The legs of *Halticosaurus* were strong as its arms were relatively short. Estimates suggest that *Halticosaurus* was about 5.5 m (18.0 ft) long.

## Classification and phylogeny

The type species, *Halticosaurus longotarsus*, was based on partial jawbones and teeth, partial vertebrae, a few arm and leg bones, and fragments of an ilium, and was found mixed in with the remains of a prosauropod dinosaur, *Sellosaurus gracilis*. A second species assigned to this genus, "Halticosaurus orbitoangulatus", turned out to be a crocodylomorph. A third species, *H. liliensterni*, has been reclassified as *Liliensternus.*
Woolly rhinoceros

*Coelodonta antiquitatis*

**The Woolly Rhinoceros** (*Coelodonta antiquitatis*) is a species of rhinoceros that lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs of the Cenozoic era. It lived in Europe, northern Africa, and Asia. It most likely evolved from Dicerorhinus in northeast Asia and then migrated to where the fossils were found.

## Evolution

As the last and most derived member of the Pleistocene rhinoceros lineage, the woolly rhinoceros was well adapted to its environment. Stocky limbs and thick woolly pelage made it well suited to the steppe-tundra environment prevalent across the Palearctic ecozone during the Pleistocene glaciations. Like the vast majority of rhinoceroses, the body plan of the woolly rhinoceros adhered to a conservative morphology, like the first rhinoceroses seen in the late Eocene.

A study of 40-70.000 year old DNA samples showed its closest extant relative is the Sumatran rhinoceros.

## Description

The external appearance of woolly rhinos is known from mummified individuals from Siberia as well as cave paintings. An adult woolly rhinoceros was typically around 3 to 3.8 metres (10 to 12.5 feet) in length, with an estimated weight of around 2,721–3,175 kg (5,999–7,000 lb). The woolly rhinoceros could grow to be 2 m (6.6 ft) tall; the body size was thus comparable, or slightly larger than, the extant White rhinoceros. Two horns on the skull were made of keratin, the anterior horn being 61 cm (24 in) in length, with a smaller horn between its eyes.[6] It had thick, long fur, small ears, short, thick legs, and a stocky body. Cave paintings suggest a wide dark band between the front and hind legs, but the feature is not universal, and identification of pictured rhinoceroses as woolly rhinoceros is uncertain.

Its shape was known only from prehistoric cave drawings until a completely preserved specimen (missing only the fur and hooves) was discovered in a tar pit in Starunia, Poland. The specimen, an adult female, is now on display in the Polish Academy of Sciences' Museum of Natural History in Kraków. Several frozen specimens have also been found in Siberia, the latest in 2007.

### Structure and appearance

An adult Woolly Rhinoceros can grow up to be 3.8 meters (12.5 feet) in length and weight about 1,800-2,700 kilograms (4,000-6,000 lbs).

## Revival of the Woolly Rhinoceros?

Most specimens of *Coelodonta antiquitatis* were frozen carcasses. It may be possible to extract DNA from these carcasses and fill in missing parts with Sumatran rhinoceros DNA, thus bringing back this animal from extinction.

## Behaviour

*Coelodonta* would not only have used its horns in mating displays, but also to clear away snow and reach the grass underneath.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* Woolly rhinoceros is an epic Cenozoic creature in Jurassic World: Alive.
Pterospondylus

*Pterospondylus trielbae*

***Pterospondylus*** (meaning "winged vertebra") is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic. It was a coelophysoid theropod which lived in what is now Germany. The type species, *Pterospondylus trielbae*, was described by Jaekel in 1913-14 for a single back vertebra. Sometimes, it is aligned with *Procompsognathus*, or even considered to be synonymous with it, despite being based on a vertebra that is twice the size of the corresponding bone in *Procompsognathus*.

## Description

The genus and species name means "winged vertebra". It was a coelophysid theropod which lived in what is now Germany; Trossingen Formation. The type species, Pterospondylus trielbae, was described by Jaekel between 1913 to 1914 for a single back vertebra.

Sometimes, its rather aligned with Procompsognathus, or even considered to be synonymous with it; despite being based on a vertebra that is twice the size of the corresponding bone in Procompsognathus. The validity debate and situation of this theropod is reminiscent of the conversations about Saurophaganax - Epanterias and Allosaurus; or between Concavenator and Prodeinodon.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Scientists think that early dinosaurs were probably swift runners, but the only fossil of Pterospondylus was discovered in the stomach of a prehistoric turtle! Of course, the little dinosaur could have already been dead when the turtle took a bite from it. Since only one bone has ever been found of this dinosaur, it is hard to say exactly what it looked like, but most scientists feel it was similar to Procompsognathus, only twice as big. That would have made it a quick meat-eater with a pretty long neck and slender head full of small, sharp teeth.

Founded upon a single vertebra, Pterospondylus is considered by some scientists to be a large Procompsognathus, possibly a new species.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20030405112510/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_pterospondylus.html

## References

1. ↑ Jaekel, O. (1913-14). Über die Wirbeltierefunde in der oberen Trias von Halberstadt. *Paläontologische Zeitschrift* 1:155-215.
2. ↑ von Huene, F. (1932). Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihte Entwicklung und Geschichte. *Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie* 1(4). 361 p. [German]
3. ↑ Steel, R. (1970). Part 14. Saurischia. *Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie*. Gustav Fischer Verlag:Stuttgart, 1-87.
4. ↑ Ostrom, J.H. (1981). *Procompsognathus* — theropod or thecodont? *Palaeontographica* Abstract A, 175(4-6):179-195.
Supersaurus

*Supersaurus vivianae*

***Supersaurus*** was an extinct genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the late Jurassic. They were one of the largest dinosaurs ever, though, apart from that, they looked like most other diplodocids.

## Description

Based on fossil evidence that's been found, its believed that this sauropod measured about 33 to 34 meters (108 ft) in length and weighed 35-40 tons, and some researchers raise this number to 42 meters (137 ft), which would make it one of the longest of all known sauropods. The Supersaurus was a typical diplodocid, with a small skull, solid legs and a long neck and tail.

## History

The first Supersaurus fossil was found in western Colorado, by paleontologist James A. Jensen in 1972, and was named in 1985. It is only known from an incomplete fossil which includes two shoulder blades 8 feet long, ribs 10 feet long, neck vertebrae 4.5 feet long, and a pelvis 6 feet wide.

## Classification

*Supersaurus* was first assigned to Diplodocidae, but was later specified to Apatosaurinae, as *Supersaurus* is thought to be more closely related to *Apatosaurus* than *Diplodocus*.

The position in the tree:

## JPInstitute.com Description

Supersaurus is a member of the sauropod family that includes Diplodocus was one of the largest plant-eaters of all time. At 33 meters long, it was almost as long as four school buses, and its neck alone was 40 feet long. Supersaurus is known from only a few bones, but these bones are enormous. The first bone found, a scapulacoracoid (shoulder bone) was over eight feet (2.4 meters) long. James Jensen, one of North America's most prolific dinosaur hunters, discovered this creature in 1973 and excavated it in 1979. Bones that were originally assigned to Ultrasaurus have now been identified as being from Supersaurus.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20040420191449fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_super.html

## References

1. ↑ Lovelace, David M.; Hartman, Scott A.; and Wahl, William R. (2007). «Morphology of a specimen of *Supersaurus* (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Morrison Formation of Wyoming, and a re-evaluation of diplodocid phylogeny». *Arquivos do Museu Nacional* **65** (4): pp. 527–544.
Micropachycephalosaurus

*Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis*

**Micropachycephalosaurus** (meaning "small thick headed lizard") is a monotypic genus of ornithischian dinosaur. It lived in Shandong Province, China during the Late Cretaceous period (between 70 and 68.5 million years ago). The incomplete skeleton of the single specimen was found on a cliff southwest of Laiyang. It was bipedal and herbivorous, and currently has the longest generic name of any dinosaur like Argentinosaurus. Ironically, it was also among the smallest of the dinosaurs, at a little over 1 meter (3.3 feet) long.

## Taxonomy

The genus contains only the type species, Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis. Paleontologist Dong Zhiming originally described it as a member of the Pachycephalosauria, a group of bipedal dome-headed herbivores. However, re-evaluation of the family Pachycephalosauridae by Sullivan in 2006 cast doubt on this assignment. Further study of the original fossil specimens by Butler and Zhao in 2008 also failed to find any characteristics linking Micropachycephalosaurus with the pachycephalosaurs. The one piece of evidence that could provide this link, the supposedly thickened skull roof, was missing from the fossil collection the scientists examined, and so could not be used to support or refute its original classification. Butler and Zhao therefore classified it as an indeterminate member of the Cerapoda. In 2011, cladistic analysis performed by Butler et al. showed that Micropachycephalosaurus is a basal member of the Ceratopsia and they are the latest ceratopsian that walks on two legs. Micropachycephalosaurus was mistaken as a Pachycephalosaur in National Geographic dinosaur books. It has the longest generic name dinosaur in the world.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Micropachycephalosaurus is a very small member of the family of dome-headed dinosaurs that includes its larger North American cousin, the Pachycephalosaurus. This very small dinosaur also has the longest name of any dinosaur! Members of this family are well known from North America, but this little guy is one of only two ever discovered in Asia.

Known from only post-cranial remains, there is some dissension over whether this animal belongs to the Pachycephalosauridae or the Homalocephalidae.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

In Lego Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit then they can say “Micropachycephalosaurus”, it was only Mentioned.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20040214081018/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_xxxmicro.html#
Prestosuchus

***Prestosuchus*** is an extinct genus of a group of rauisuchians called prestosuchids. Like its prestosuchid cousins, *Prestosuchus* had a deep skull, and serrated teeth. *Prestosuchus* lived in Brazil of the Late Triassic Period. It reached lengths of up to 7.8 metres. While it resembled a dinosaur in having a large body and upright posture it was actually a rauisuchian archosaur. It was an ambush predator and may have hunted smaller animals like *Scaphonyx*. *Prestosuchus* had powerful legs that indicate it was a fast runner. Its closest relatives are *Saurosuchus* and *Postosuchus*.

## Description

   *Huenesuchus* was a relatively large predatory reptile. Like its prestosuchid cousins, it had a deep skull with sharp, serrated teeth. It lived in Brazil (Paleorrota) of the late Triassic Period. It had powerful legs, indicating it was a fast running animal. The closest relatives of *Huenesuchus* are *Saurosuchus* and *Postosuchus*. It ate small dinosaurs and aetosaurs.

## Discovery

*Huenesuchus chiniquensis* was discovered in the Paleontological Site Chiniquá, near the city of São Pedro do Sul in 1928 or 1929, by German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene on a trip to Brazil, and he named the species as *Prestosuchus chiniquensis* in 1938. This site is located in the geopark of Paleorrota. A remarkably complete skeleton, with a well-preserved hind leg, was discovered at Dona Francisca in Rio Grande do Sul by a team of paleontologists from the Universidade Luterana do Brasil and published in 2010.

It was renamed to *Huenesuchus* by Edio-Ernst Kischlat in 2023.

## Classification

The ***Prestosuchus chiniquensis*** was discovered in the Paleontological Site Chiniquá, near the city of São Pedro do Sul in 1938, the famous paleontologist Friedrich von Huene on a trip to Brazil. This site is located in the geopark of paleorrota.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* *Huenesuchus* (still known as *Prestosuchus* in-game) is a legendary amphibian that can be created in Jurassic World: The Game, even though in real life it was a terristrial reptile. It can only be obtained by joining a VIP Membership. When *Huenesuchus* is in its pen, its tail rests on the ground. While other crocodiles did this, it is unlikely *Huenesuchus* did this. With the legs under its hips like a dinosaur and unlike a semi aquatic crocodile, *Huenesuchus*' tail had to be above the ground for balance.

## Notes and references

1. ↑  Picture and informations about of *Prestosuchus chiniquensis* (UFRGS)
Platybelodon

Julius T. Csotonyi Artwork

**Platybelodon** is a species of Proboscidea from the Miocene Epoch. It was closely related to the Gomphotheres, and this can be seen by the shape of the tusks. *Platybelodon* ("flat-spear tusk") was a genus of large herbivorous mammal related to the Elephants(order Proboscidea). It lived during the Miocene Epoch, about 15-4 million years ago, and ranged over Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. Although it thrived during its time, it did not survive past the Miocene.

## Description

*Platybelodon* was very similar to *Amebelodon*, another, closely related gomphothere genus. Due to the shape of the two lower teeth, which are worn by many gomphothere genera (such as *Platybelodon*, *Archaeobelodon*, and *Amebelodon*), they are popularly known as "shovel tuskers".

## Paleobiology

*Platybelodon* was previously believed to have fed in the swampy areas of grassy savannas, using its teeth to shovel up aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation. However, wear patterns on the teeth suggest that it used its lower tusks to strip bark from trees, and may have used the sharp incisors that formed the edge of the "shovel" more like a modern-day scythe, grasping branches with its trunk and rubbing them against the lower teeth to cut it from a tree. Adult animals in particular might have eaten coarser vegetation more frequently than juveniles.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* Platybelodon appeared in the video game Jurassic Park Builder.

## References

https://www.wired.com/2013/10/absurd-creature-of-the-week-spork-elephant/
Tangvayosaurus

*Tangvayosaurus hoffeti*

***Tangvayosaurus*** (meaning 'Tang Vay lizard') is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian-Albian age Lower Cretaceous Grès Supérior Formation of Savannakhet, Laos. It was a basal titanosaur, about 50 feet long, and is known from the remains of two or three individuals.

## Description

It is based on TV4-1 to TV4-36, consisting of a partial pelvis, several back vertebrae and a tail vertebra, ribs, and an upper arm bone (humerus). Another skeleton includes 38 tail vertebrae, a neck vertebra, and most of a hind limb. The type species, *Tangvayosaurus hoffeti*, was described by a group of a dozen scientists led by Ronan Allain in 1999. Allain et al. also referred the old species *"Titanosaurus" falloti*, from the same formation and based on partial thigh bones and tail vertebrae, to their genus as *T.* sp.[1] The most recent review tentatively retains the genus because it is different from the only other established sauropod from the same approximate time and area (*Phuwiangosaurus*), but disagree with adding *T. falloti* to it.

## Classification

Although consistently recovered within the Somphospondyli, the exact placement of Tangvayosaurus is debated. It was initially assigned by Allain et al. (1999) to the Titanosauria, who noted strong affinities to Phuwiangosaurus, which they also considered a titanosaur. A more recent review by Suteethorn et al. (2010) resolved both Tangvayosaurus and Phuwiangosaurus as more basal titanosauriforms. The cladogram below follows this analysis.

D'Emic (2012) found that Tangvayosaurus was the sister taxon of Phuwiangosaurus within the Euhelopodidae.
Opabinia

Imagine a swimming slug with five eyes on the top of its head and a single arm with its jaw on the end - this is the very peculiar creature known as Opabinia. It lived about 550 million years ago and its fossils have been found in western Canada and China. It is almost as if nature was experimenting with various designs for complex life forms to determine which would work best. Opabinia was a slow swimming, 3-inch-long (8 cm) hunter. Its excellent vision would have allowed it to easily spot its prey, but it would have only been able to catch those creatures too slow to escape. As there are no longer any five-eyed creatures, Opabinia became an interesting evolutionary dead end.
Rugops

*Rugops primus*

***Rugops Primus*** (meaning “first wrinkle face”) is a genus of medium sized abelisaurid theropod dinosaur, which inhabited what is now Africa approximately 95 million years ago (Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous). The discovery of a *Rugops* skull in Niger in 2000 was a crucial breakthrough in the understanding of the evolution of theropods in that area, and demonstrates that this landmass was still united with Gondwana at that stage in history. It was contemporary of the much larger carnivores *Spinosaurus, Sarcosuchus,* and *Carcharodontosaurus*. It also has one of the shortest names of any dinosaur along with the Australian ankylosaur *Minmi* and the scansoriopterygid *Yi*.

## Description

At 4-4.5 meters (12-16 ft) long and 1.5 meters (4 feet) high at the hip, *Rugops* was a midsize carnivore. The skull bore armour or scales, and other bones had many blood vessels, causing Dr. Paul Sereno, who led the team that discovered the fossil, to say, “It’s not the kind of head designed for fighting or bone-crushing”, suggesting that it may have been mostly a scavenger (though this has yet to fully be confirmed). The skull also bears two rows of seven holes each, of unknown purpose, although Sereno has speculated that they may have anchored some kind of crest or horns. Like other abelisaurs, *Rugops* probably had very short arms. These were probably useless in fighting. They may have only been balance tools, items to counterbalance the dinosaur’s head. The type species is *R. primus* (meaning “first wrinkle-face”). *Rugops* is believed to be an abelisaurid, related to other abelisaurids like *Majungasaurus* and *Carnotaurus*. The discovery of the related genus *Chenanisaurus* indicates African abelisaurids such as *Rugops* may have been distinct from other abelisaurids in Gondwana.

## Paleoecology

The discovery of Rugops's skull in Niger in 2000 was a crucial breakthrough in the understanding of the evolution of theropods in that area, and demonstrates that this landmass was still united with Gondwana at that stage in history. It lived in the same locality and geological time period as Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Deltadromeus. It also lived alongside Paralititan, Ouranosaurus, and other North African Cretaceous dwellers. It likely was able to bring down very small herbivores, but probably just scavenged.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* *Rugops* DNA was used in order to help make the *Indominus rex* in *Jurassic World* by adding neck armour to it.
Ultrasauros

*Ultrasauros macintoshi*

***Ultrasauros*** (not to be confused with *Ultrasaurus*, a smaller, though still large dinosaur from Korea) was an invalid genus of sauropod dinosaur, actually a chimera of material attributable to *Supersaurus* and *Brachiosaurus*. In the time it was considered to have existed, it was fairly well known as one of the tallest dinosaurs ever - the two genera that made up the genus gave the impression that it had the size of *Supersaurus* and the height of *Brachiosaurus*.

## Description

The material once believed to have been representative of *Ultrasauros* was estimated to reach about 25 to 30 meters (80 to 100 ft) long, 8 meters (25 ft) high at the shoulder, 15 meters (50 ft) in total height, and weighing perhaps 70 metric tons (75 short tons) or more. At the time, mass estimates ranged up to 180 tons, which placed it in the same category as the blue whale and the equally problematic *Bruhathkayosaurus*.

## Discovery and history

Paleontologist James A. Jensen, who described the original *Supersaurus*  specimen, simultaneously reported the discovery of another gigantic sauropod, which would later be named "Ultrasaurus" macintoshi (later renamed *Ultrasauros macintoshi*). The type specimen (the specimen used to define a new species) of *Ultrasauros*, being a backbone (dorsal vertebra, labelled BYU 9044), was later found to have come from *Supersaurus*. In fact, it probably belonged to the original *Supersaurus* specimen, which was discovered in the same quarry in 1972. Therefore, *Ultrasauros* became a junior objective synonym of *Supersaurus*, which had been named first and thus retains priority, and the name "Ultrasauros" was abandoned.

Other bones that were found at the same location and originally thought to belong to *Ultrasauros*, like a shoulder girdle (scapulocoracoid, BYU 9462), actually belonged to *Brachiosaurus*, possibly a large specimen of *Brachiosaurus altithorax*. The *Brachiosaurus* bones indicate a large, but not record-breaking individual, a little larger than the "Brachiosaurus" brancai (*Giraffatitan brancai*) mount in the Humboldt Museum of Berlin. Larger specimens of *Brachiosaurus* are known from the Tendaguru beds of Tanzania, in east Africa.

## JPInstitute.com Description

This may be the largest dinosaur ever. The only problem is that so little of Ultrasauros has been found it is hard to determine exactly what it may have looked like. The only thing that is certain is that it was a huge plant-eater and was related to Brachiosaurus. In fact, it may even be a really large Brachiosaurus.

This dinosaur has been through several descriptions since its discovery. Ultrasaurus, Supersaurus and Brachiosaurus have all been used to describe the remains - two bones, a vertebra and a scapulacoracoid. This last bone is almost 9 feet (2.7 m) long. There are enough subtle differences between similar bones in Brachiosaurus to keep the debate going as to whether it should be a Brachiosaurus species.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20040214160324fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_ultra.html
Pleurocoelus

*Pleurocoelus nanus*

Pleurocoelus is a synonym of Astrodon.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Pleurocoelus was a very small member of the same family that included the giant Brachiosaurus. It was only as big as one school bus! It was also among the first dinosaurs discovered in the U.S., way back in 1886. While most dinosaurs back then were found in the West, Pleurocoelus was uncovered on Maryland's East Coast.

Apart from its small size, Pleurocoelus seems to have been a typical sauropod. Few sauropods, however, have generated so much disagreement among scientists. Specimens originally thought to belong to this genus have variously been ascribed to Camarasaurus, Diplodocus and most recently there has been discussion that it may have been an early North American titanosaur.

Additionally, there is a famous trackway in Texas that is believed to show a Pleurocoelus being stalked by an Acrocanthosaurus. Unfortunately this can't be substantiated, however, as scientists have yet to find any Pleurocoelus fossil material in Texas. To complicate matters further, Pleurocoelus was named the Texas State Fossil based on the trackway.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20031007022843/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_pleur.html#
https://web.archive.org/web/20080720025443/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/157--Pleurocoelus
Rioarribasaurus

*Rioarribasaurus colberti*

Rioarribasaurus was one of the first dinosaurs to live in North America. There was discussion among scientists as to whether this dinosaur was actually Coelophysis, though for a while it looked like Rioarribasaurus would become its official name. However, it was recently determined that this name is not valid and the name Coelophysis would be used instead.

This was a small, meat-eating dinosaur with a long, thin neck. It was lightly built and would have been a fast hunter. It is the best known of all the dinosaurs because more than 1,000 individuals have been found. Apparently, a fierce flood wiped out a huge group of these dinosaurs that were gathered in one place, an area that is now part of New Mexico in the Southwestern United States.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20030405114628/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_rioarribasaurus.html
Syntarsus

*Syntarsus rhodesiensis*

Syntarsus was one of the first of the Jurassic meat eaters to evolve. It had the basic look of the very first dinosaurs and it resembled those from the Late Triassic found in South America, such as Herrerasaurus. It was a small, swift hunter that ran on its hind legs. It had lots of sharp teeth and it appears that it could use its hands to hold onto its prey.

Syntarsus is a good example of how dinosaurs spread, apparently from South America. This small predator had the same basic features found on early dinosaur, and its appearance in both Africa and the southwestern U.S. indicate that it migrated from South America. There is species differentiation between the African and U.S. specimens, again supporting the migration and adaptation theories.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20040420191531fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_synta.html
Rhamphorhynchus

***Rhamphorhynchus*** is a long tailed type of pterosaur with a wingspan around 5.9 ft.

The genus was quite successful: it is the most common pterosaur found in the Solnhofen limestone beds in Bavaria, Germany. These are the same strata where *Archaeopteryx* was found.

## Description

The jaws of *Rhamphorhynchus* housed needle-like teeth, which were angled forward, with a curved, sharp, beak-like tip lacking teeth.

*Rhamphorhynchus* had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a small, diamond-shaped rudder on the end of its tail which helped keep it stable when it was flying.

## Paleobiology

   It probably ate small animals like fish, insects, frogs, and the like. Some scientists think it may have hunted fish similar to the way the Pelican does, keeping its beak in the water and flying along.

## History

Fossils have been known since 1825. This genus was described in 1838 as *Ornithocephalus*, but in 1846, paleontologist Meyer set a new genus *Rhamphorhynchus.*

## Classification

This classification is simple, but unfortunately it is paraphyletic, because the two suborders are not sister groups. But there is not enough evidence to see which earlier group the pterodactyloids arose from. So this is the best we can do:

* Pterosauria
	+ Rhamphorhynchoidea
		- Dimorphodontidae
		- Anurognathidae
		- Rhamphorhynchidae
			* Scaphognathinae
			* Rhamphorynchinae
	+ Pterodactyloidea

## Dinosaur Field Guide Description

Rhamphorhynchus was a primitive long-tailed pterosaur. From skin impressions, we know that the tip of its tail ended in a diamond-shaped fin. This was probably used for steering. Rhamphorhynchus lived in the tropical islands of Late Jurassic Europe. It ate fish. From the pointed and upturned shape of its snout, paleontologists think that Rhamphorhynchus would fly just above the surface of the water and spear fish with its jaws. Early pterosaurs rarely got much larger than Rhamphorhynchus, although one is known that was probably as big as a bald eagle.

### Fun Facts

Pterosaur bones are even thinner walled than bind bones.

### Trivia

Many pterosaur fossils have been found in the same rocks as Rhamphorhynchus. Among these is Pterodactylus, the first pterosaur ever known (first described in 1784).

## References

1. ↑ Unwin D.M. 2003. "On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs". In Buffetaut E. & Mazin J.-M. (eds) *Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs*. London: Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217, pp. 139–190.
Zizhongosaurus

*Zizhongosaurus chuanchengensis*

Zizhongosaurus (meaning "Zizhong lizard") is an extinct genus of basal sauropod herbivore dinosaur that lived in China during the Early Jurassic period of China. It was a large-bodied herbivore characterized by a long neck.

## Description

Zizhongosaurus was a small sauropod that reached 9.00 meters long, 2.5 meters high and weighed 8 tons. It was very similar to a small Barapasaurus , which lived in India in the same period. Zizhongosaurus is most closely related to Barapasaurus , both being forms.

The remains of Zizhongosaurus in Zizhong County, Chinese Province of Sichuan, China by Dong, Zhou and Zhang, in 1983. The discovery of zizhongosaurus established the presence of sauropods in China during the Early Jurassic period and indicates that Chinese sauropods were indigenous to the area. Dorsal vertebrae, humerus and pubis of this species are known. basal of Sauropoda.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Zizhongosaurus was a small long-necked plant eater that lived in China. It is considered to be a relative of Barapasaurus a similar dinosaur that lived in India. Zizhongosaurus lived at a time when the long-necked, or sauropod, dinosaurs were just beginning to get really large. It may have been an ancestor to many of the Chinese sauropods that evolved later.
Not much is known about Zizhongosaurus. It is known from only a few bones.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20080706033249/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/433--Zizhongosaurus
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### Gallery

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## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20031011042141/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/index.jsp

https://web.archive.org/web/20080509190557/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/
Podokesaurus

*Podokesaurus holyokensis*

***Podokesaurus holyokensis***（meaning *Swift footed lizard*) is a small Coelophysoid from early Jurassic eastern USA. It was a small carnivorous dinosaur and one of the earliest dinosaurs to inhabit the US. It may be the same species as Coelophysis.

The generic name *Podokesaurus* is derived from Greek word podokes (ποδοκες) meaning "swift-footed", an epitheton often used by Homer in the Iliad to describe the hero Achilles, and sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard"; thus "swift-footed lizard". The specific name refers to Holyoke, a city in Massachusetts, in the Connecticut River Valley.

## Discovery and history

In 1910, the American geologist Mignon Talbot was walking with her sister Ellen to Holyoke, Massachusetts, in the eastern US, when they passed a farm and noticed a small hill nearby.

## Description

The type specimen suggests that *Podokesaurus* was a small, bipedal carnivore was about 90 cm (3 ft) long and 0.3 m (1 ft) tall. It's upper leg bone (femur) measures 86 mm in length, and its lower leg bone (tibia) measures 104 mm in length. The tibia and other skeletal features of referred specimen BSNH 13656 (now on display at the Boston Museum of Science and given the number MOS 2001.248) are nearly three times longer than the type specimen described above. This suggests that *Podokesaurus* grew to about 9 feet in length, provided that BSNH 13656 is in fact an example of this genus. It has become the Official State Dinosaur of Massachusetts.

## Classification

When reading her preliminary description in 1910, Talbot suggested Podokesaurus to have been an "herbivorous dinosaur", but further work at Yale University showed that some bones had been incorrectly identified, and the ischium of the pelvis with a well-developed ridge was found to resemble that of Compsognathus.

## Paleobiology

Talbot suggested that the short, slender humerus, long, straight hindlimb bones, and the well-developed fourth trochanter of the femur indicated that Podokesaurus was bipedal.

## Paleoenvironment

The only known specimen of Podokesaurus is thought to have been collected from the Portland Formation (earlier known as the Portland Arkose) in the Hartford Basin of Massachusetts.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Podokesaurus is one of the oldest dinosaurs known from the eastern United States. It was a very small, swift hunter. Unfortunately, the only fossils of this little dinosaur were destroyed in a fire, but casts were made which are used for study. There is some discussion among scientists as to whether or not this dinosaur is actually Coelophysis.

Podokesaurus very closely resembles the smaller specimens of Coelophysis, but not enough material exists to make an absolute determination. Additionally, if this is indeed another species of Coelophysis, it is separated by a considerable time and distance.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20030405122251/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_podok.html

## References

1. ↑ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/2/9/massachusetts-state-dinosaur/
Ornithomimoides

*Ornithomimoides mobilis*

***Ornithomimoides*** ("bird mimmic-like") is a dubious genus of small theropod dinosaur, from the Late Cretaceous period (Maastrichtian stage, 70-65 mya) of India. Two species have been identified, 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 they were very small species of abelisaur, and may have measured around two meters (six feet) in length.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Ornithomimoides was a small meat-eater that lived in India. Although it is named as if it were related to the ostrich like dinosaurs, such as Gallimimus, it is actually related to larger predators. Only a few bones have ever been found so its exact looks are only an educated guess.

This Indian theropod may be a relative of Allosaurus, although it lived tens of millions of years later.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20030405235647/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_ornitho.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20080720025626/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/331--Ornithomimoides
Rich Penney

Rich Penney had been painting all of his life when he one day faced the fact that he was getting bored. That's when he decided to start painting what he really loved: dinosaurs! Penney now works with paleontologists around the world to painstakingly recreate creatures that haven't walked the Earth for more than 65 million years.

He approaches his work in an academically classical style that gives his paintings depth and complexity rarely seen in scientific illustrations. He starts with the fossil record, applies his knowledge of animal anatomy, and consults with professional paleontologists for technical assistance. Penney's incredible sense of color comes from his understanding of how nature designs modern animals and his artistic sensibilities.

Completely self-taught, Penney developed his painting technique by studying the great masters and refined it by associating with the contemporary art community. A past president of the Santa Fe Artists' League, Penney now lives in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. There he and his partner, Michel Henry, run their Dinosaur Man paleoart business and give frequent talks about the work.

## References

1. ↑ JPInstitute.com, Dinolab, Dino Academy, Art Gallery, Artist. Link.
Saltasaurus

*Saltasaurus loricatus*

***Saltasaurus*** was a large plant-eating dinosaur with an elongated neck and bony armored plates on its body. It was a titanosaurid sauropod that lived during the late Cretaceous Period, about 68 to 66 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Argentina. It could reach a length of about 35 feet (10 metres) and a height of 9 feet (3 metres)

## Description

*Saltasaurus* was named by paleontologists J. Bonaparte and J. Powell in 1980. Salta is the name of the Northwestern Argentinian Province where fossils were found. They include: a few oval and circular armored plates, hundreds of bumps which covered its back (roughly 1/4 inch = 6-7 mm in diameter), and several incomplete skeletons, including some vertebrae, limb bones, and jaws.

## Paleobiology

A large titanosaurid nest was found in Auca Mahuevo, in Patagonia, Argentina. The small eggs had fossilised embryos, complete with skin impressions.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Saltasaurus is the first long-necked (sauropod) dinosaur known to have armor plates. It was a medium-sized member of the same family as Argentinosaurus. This dinosaur had a short neck for a sauropod and it had bony plates covering much of its back to protect it from the bite of hunters like Giganotosaurus.

Saltasaurus bones had been found during much of the first half of the 20th century, but were often thought to belong to other dinosaurs. When six partial skeletons were found during the late 1970s, however, this led to the formal classification of this small sauropod.

At first look, Saltasaurus resembles a typical sauropod with a somewhat short neck (for a sauropod) and a long whip-like tail. However, Saltasaurus is the first sauropod known to have scutes (or dermal plates). For years, it was thought that the scutes found associated with the skeletons were from another dinosaur, possibly an ankylosaur.

Saltasaurus also has the distinction of laying very large eggs with the thickest shells known to exist - the shell was nearly 6mm thick. This dinosaur was a member of the last of the sauropods, which flourished in South America long after most others had died out.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20040214155051fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_salta.html#
Qianzhousaurus

*Qianzhousaurus sinensis*

**Qianzhousaurus** meaning Long snout tyrannosaurs, is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs. There is currently only one species named, *Qianzhousaurus sinensis*. Nicknamed 'Pinocchio rex' for its long snout in comparison to other known tyrannosaurs, it convergently resembled spinosaurs. The animal was discovered in southern China in May 2014. Aside from its signature snout, it also had long, narrow teeth, while *T. rex* had thick teeth and powerful, deep-set jaws. The bones were discovered by workmen at a construction site near the city of Ganzhou, who then took them to a local museum.

## Discovery

[1]

Lead author Professor Lü Junchang from the Institute of Geology Chinese academy of geological science stated that "the new discovery is very important. Along with Alioramus from Mongolia, it shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia. Although we are only starting to learn about them, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs were apparently one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia. The existence of long-snouted tyrannosaurs was previously suspected due to other inconclusive fossil finds, that could be explained as the juveniles of short-snouted species, but co-author Stephen L. Brusatte  from the University of Edinburgh reveals that the find "tells us pretty unequivocally that these long-snouted tyrannosaurs were a real thing. They were a different breed, living right at the end of the age of dinosaurs." A new type of Tyrannosaur with a very long nose has been nicknamed "Pinocchio rex". This new tyrannosaur was 9 meters long and 4 meters tall. It had a very long nose. Pinocchio's snout was 35% longer than other dinosaurs of its size.

## Classification

The discovery of Qianzhousaurus led to a new branch of the tyrannosaur family being named, consisting of the long-snouted Q. sinensis and the two known species of Alioramus. This clade, named the Alioramini, had an uncertain placement relative to other members of the tyrannosaur branch in the initial analysis that discovered it. The primary phylogenetic analysis found Alioramini to be closer to Tyrannosaurus than to Albertosaurus, and therefore a member of the group Tyrannosaurinae. However, a second analysis in the same paper found it to be located outside of the clade including Albertosaurinae and Tyrannosaurinae, and therefore the sister group of Tyrannosauridae.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* Qianzhousaurus appears in Jurassic World Evolution 2
Sanchusaurus

Sanchusaurus belongs to the ostrich-like family of ornithomimid dinosaurs. These animals were long-necked meat-eaters with small heads and mouths that were evolving into beaks. Sanchusaurus was discovered in Japan and, since only part of one bone was found, some scientists aren?t sure if it should have its own name. When this dinosaur was alive, Japan was connected to the rest of Asia and dinosaurs could move between the two areas. It is possible that this dinosaur is actually a Gallimimus, which lived in other parts of Asia at the same time.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20030405120210/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_sanchusaurus.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20080704173420/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/406--Sanchusaurus
Moros intrepidus

*Moros intrepidus*

***Moros*** is a genus of small tyrannosauroid theropod that lived during the Late Cretaceous period on what is now Utah, United States.

It contains a single species, *M. intrepidus*. *Moros* represents the earliest known diagnostic tyrannosauroid material from the Cretaceous of North America by a margin of about 15 million years.

## Discovery and naming

*Moros* was first discovered at the Stormy Theropod site located in Emery County in the U.S. state of Utah. Paleontologist had been researching the area for ten years when in 2013 limb bones were seen jutting out of a hillside by Lindsay Zanno, prompting the excavation.

## Description

*Moros* was a small-bodied, cursorial tyrannosauroid with an estimated weight of about 78 kg (172 lb). The foot bones of Moros were extremely slender, with metatarsal proportions found to be more similar to ornithomimids than to other Late Cretaceous tyrannosauroids.

## Classification

In their phylogenetic analyses, Zanno and colleagues in 2019 recovered *Moros* as a basal pantyrannosaurian alongside Asian taxa from the middle of the Cretaceous such as *Xiongguanlong* and *Timurlengia*.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* Moros will appear in the movie Jurassic World Dominion.
Saurolophus

*Saurolophus osborni*

***Saurolophus*** is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils have been found in North America and Mongolia.

## Description

They were plant eaters and could move on two or four feet, though their rear feet were longer than their arms. There is speculation that their spike was attached to a flap of skin that covered the nostrils and could be blown up for displays and noise-making.

## Classification

Barnum Brown, who described the first specimens, put it in its own subfamily in "Trachodontidae" (=Hadrosauridae), the Saurolophinae. At the time, this also featured *Corythosaurus* and *Hypacrosaurus*, the only well-known examples of what would become Lambeosaurinae. Brown thought that *Saurolophus* had an enlarged tip to the ischium in the hip, as dinosaurs now seen as lambeosaurines had, but this seems to have been based on a wrongly associated lambeosaurine ischium. Also, he confused the crests of *Saurolophus* and lambeosaurines as being made of the same bones.

Most publications before 2010 classified *Saurolophus* as a member of Hadrosaurinae, often known colloquially as the "flat-headed hadrosaurs". In 2010, the subfamily Saurolophinae was brought back to use since *Hadrosaurus* seem sto have branched off prior to the "hadrosaurine"–lambeosaurine split. As a result, Hadrosaurinae by definition can't include the traditional "hadrosaurines". Saurolophinae is the oldest available name for the former "hadrosaurine" clade. *Saurolophus*, as the name suggests, is a saurolophine, as it has a saurolophine pelvis and a (largely) solid crest.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Saurolophus is a well-known member of the duck-bill family of dinosaurs. It had a small crest on the top of its head, highlighted by a fairly short and hollow tube. Like the other duck-billed dinosaurs, it had a large, flat beak (like a duck) at the front of its mouth and hundreds of teeth packed closely together to form what is called a dental battery. These were used to grind tough plant fiber into mushy pulp so that it could be digested more easily.

The Asian species of this genus, S. angustirostris, was considerably larger than the Saurolophus specimen found in Southwestern Canada. Discovered in 1911, this was the most complete Canadian dinosaur found up to that time. The Canadian species is about 7 feet (2 m) shorter than its Asian relative.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20031211071635fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_saur.html

## References

1. ↑ Brown, Barnum (1914)."*Corythosaurus casuarius*, a new crested dinosaur from the Belly River Cretaceous, with provisional classification of the family Trachodontidae". *Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History* **33** (55): 559–564. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
2. ↑ Sternberg, Charles M. (1954). "Classification of American duckbilled dinosaurs". *Journal of Paleontology* **28** (3): 382–383.
3. ↑ Template:Cite journal