Post by Infinity Blade on Jan 15, 2014 5:09:56 GMT 5
Brontomerus mcintoshi
Brontomerus (from Greek bronte meaning "thunder", and merós meaning "thigh") is a dubious[1] genus of camarasauromorph sauropod which lived during the early Cretaceous (Aptian or Albian age, approximately 110 million years ago). It was named in 2011 and the type species is Brontomerus mcintoshi. It is probably a fairly basal camarasauromorph, though the taxon is difficult to resolve due to incompleteness of the material. It is most remarkable for its unusual hipbones, which would have supported the largest thigh muscles, proportionally, of any known sauropod.[2] The specific name is in honor of physicist and North American sauropod guru John "Jack" Stanton McIntosh.[2][3] Fossils of Brontomerus were recovered from a quarry at the top of the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in eastern Utah, USA.[2] The specimens were originally collected in 1994 and 1995 by a team of researchers from the Sam Noble museum of Norman, Oklahoma.[4] It was named and described by Michael P. Taylor, Mathew J. Wedel and Richard L. Cifelli, an international team from the University College London, Western University of Health Sciences and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.[5] The fossils were recovered from a locality known as the Hotel Mesa Quarry in easternmost Grand County, Utah. The site had been previously known to private collectors, who had already removed a considerable number of fossils, some of which may have been scientifically valuable. Exposed bones that remained were in various states of disrepair: some had even been broken and their pieces used to hold down a plastic tarpaulin.[2] Due in part to this "pillaging" of the fossil site, the team was unable to recover more complete specimens.[5] Brontomerus is known from two fragmentary specimens differing in size, likely a juvenile and an adult.[2] The researchers speculate that the adult may have been the mother of the juvenile.[6] The type specimen, OMNH 66430, is represented by the left ilium of the smaller individual. Other recovered fossils include a crushed presacral centrum, several caudal vertebrae, a right-side dorsal rib, a large scapula, and two partial sternal plates.[2] The adult specimen is thought to have weighed around six tons, and probably measured around 14 meters (46 ft) in length. The juvenile specimen had about a third of this length, and probably weighed around 200 kilograms and measured 4.5 meters (15 ft) in length.[6]
Its assignment to a new species is based on several noteworthy autapomorphies, including an oddly-shaped hipbone which would have permitted the attachment of unusually massive leg muscles.[2] This unique ilium would have given it the largest leg muscles of any sauropod dinosaur.[7] The ilium is unusual in being very deep and having a front part that is much larger than the part behind the hip socket.[2]
Pachyrhinosaurus spp.
Pachyrhinosaurus (meaning "thick-nosed lizard") is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discovered by Charles M. Sternberg in Alberta, Canada, in 1946, and named in 1950. Over a dozen partial skulls and a large assortment of other fossils from various species have been found in Alberta and Alaska. A great number were not available for study until the 1980s, resulting in a relatively recent increase of interest in the Pachyrhinosaurus. Three species have been identified. P. lakustai, from the Wapiti Formation, the bonebed horizon of which is roughly equivalent age to the upper Bearpaw and lower Horseshoe Canyon Formations, is known to have existed from about 73.5-72.5 million years ago. P. canadensis is younger, known only from the lower Horseshoe Canyon Formation, about 71.5-71 Ma ago.[1] Fossils of the youngest species, P. perotorum, have been recovered from the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, and date to 70-69 million years ago.[2] The presence of three known species makes this genus the most speciose among the centrosaurines. A Pachyrhinosaurus was selected as the mascot for the 2010 Arctic Winter Games held in Grande Prairie, Alberta.[3] The largest Pachyrhinosaurus species were 8 metres (26 ft) long.[4] It weighed about four tons. They were herbivorous and possessed strong cheek teeth to help them chew tough, fibrous plants.
Instead of horns, their skulls bore massive, flattened bosses; a large boss over the nose and a smaller one over the eyes. A prominent pair of horns grew from the frill and extended upwards. The skull also bore several smaller horns or ornaments that varied between individuals and between species. In P. canadensis and P. perotorum, the bosses over the nose and eyes nearly grew together, and were separated only by a narrow groove. In P. lakustai, the two bosses were separated by a wide gap. In P. canadensis and P. lakustai, the frill bore two additional small, curved, backward-pointed horns. These were not present in P. perotorum, and in fact some specimens of P. lakustai also lack them, which may indicate that the presence of these horns varied by age or sex.[2] Various ornaments of the nasal boss have also been used to distinguish between different species of Pachyrhinosaurus. Both P. lakustai and P. perotorum bore a jagged, comb-like extension at the tip of the boss which was missing in P. canadensis. P. perotorum was unique in having a narrow dome in the middle of the back portion of the nasal boss, and P. lakustai had a pommel-like structure projecting from the front of the boss (the boss of P. canadensis was mainly flat on top and rounded). P. perotorum bore two unique, flattened horns which projected forward and down from the top edge of the frill, and P. lakustai bore another comb-like horn arising from the middle of the frill behind the eyes.[2]
Brontomerus (from Greek bronte meaning "thunder", and merós meaning "thigh") is a dubious[1] genus of camarasauromorph sauropod which lived during the early Cretaceous (Aptian or Albian age, approximately 110 million years ago). It was named in 2011 and the type species is Brontomerus mcintoshi. It is probably a fairly basal camarasauromorph, though the taxon is difficult to resolve due to incompleteness of the material. It is most remarkable for its unusual hipbones, which would have supported the largest thigh muscles, proportionally, of any known sauropod.[2] The specific name is in honor of physicist and North American sauropod guru John "Jack" Stanton McIntosh.[2][3] Fossils of Brontomerus were recovered from a quarry at the top of the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in eastern Utah, USA.[2] The specimens were originally collected in 1994 and 1995 by a team of researchers from the Sam Noble museum of Norman, Oklahoma.[4] It was named and described by Michael P. Taylor, Mathew J. Wedel and Richard L. Cifelli, an international team from the University College London, Western University of Health Sciences and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.[5] The fossils were recovered from a locality known as the Hotel Mesa Quarry in easternmost Grand County, Utah. The site had been previously known to private collectors, who had already removed a considerable number of fossils, some of which may have been scientifically valuable. Exposed bones that remained were in various states of disrepair: some had even been broken and their pieces used to hold down a plastic tarpaulin.[2] Due in part to this "pillaging" of the fossil site, the team was unable to recover more complete specimens.[5] Brontomerus is known from two fragmentary specimens differing in size, likely a juvenile and an adult.[2] The researchers speculate that the adult may have been the mother of the juvenile.[6] The type specimen, OMNH 66430, is represented by the left ilium of the smaller individual. Other recovered fossils include a crushed presacral centrum, several caudal vertebrae, a right-side dorsal rib, a large scapula, and two partial sternal plates.[2] The adult specimen is thought to have weighed around six tons, and probably measured around 14 meters (46 ft) in length. The juvenile specimen had about a third of this length, and probably weighed around 200 kilograms and measured 4.5 meters (15 ft) in length.[6]
Its assignment to a new species is based on several noteworthy autapomorphies, including an oddly-shaped hipbone which would have permitted the attachment of unusually massive leg muscles.[2] This unique ilium would have given it the largest leg muscles of any sauropod dinosaur.[7] The ilium is unusual in being very deep and having a front part that is much larger than the part behind the hip socket.[2]
Pachyrhinosaurus spp.
Pachyrhinosaurus (meaning "thick-nosed lizard") is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discovered by Charles M. Sternberg in Alberta, Canada, in 1946, and named in 1950. Over a dozen partial skulls and a large assortment of other fossils from various species have been found in Alberta and Alaska. A great number were not available for study until the 1980s, resulting in a relatively recent increase of interest in the Pachyrhinosaurus. Three species have been identified. P. lakustai, from the Wapiti Formation, the bonebed horizon of which is roughly equivalent age to the upper Bearpaw and lower Horseshoe Canyon Formations, is known to have existed from about 73.5-72.5 million years ago. P. canadensis is younger, known only from the lower Horseshoe Canyon Formation, about 71.5-71 Ma ago.[1] Fossils of the youngest species, P. perotorum, have been recovered from the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, and date to 70-69 million years ago.[2] The presence of three known species makes this genus the most speciose among the centrosaurines. A Pachyrhinosaurus was selected as the mascot for the 2010 Arctic Winter Games held in Grande Prairie, Alberta.[3] The largest Pachyrhinosaurus species were 8 metres (26 ft) long.[4] It weighed about four tons. They were herbivorous and possessed strong cheek teeth to help them chew tough, fibrous plants.
Instead of horns, their skulls bore massive, flattened bosses; a large boss over the nose and a smaller one over the eyes. A prominent pair of horns grew from the frill and extended upwards. The skull also bore several smaller horns or ornaments that varied between individuals and between species. In P. canadensis and P. perotorum, the bosses over the nose and eyes nearly grew together, and were separated only by a narrow groove. In P. lakustai, the two bosses were separated by a wide gap. In P. canadensis and P. lakustai, the frill bore two additional small, curved, backward-pointed horns. These were not present in P. perotorum, and in fact some specimens of P. lakustai also lack them, which may indicate that the presence of these horns varied by age or sex.[2] Various ornaments of the nasal boss have also been used to distinguish between different species of Pachyrhinosaurus. Both P. lakustai and P. perotorum bore a jagged, comb-like extension at the tip of the boss which was missing in P. canadensis. P. perotorum was unique in having a narrow dome in the middle of the back portion of the nasal boss, and P. lakustai had a pommel-like structure projecting from the front of the boss (the boss of P. canadensis was mainly flat on top and rounded). P. perotorum bore two unique, flattened horns which projected forward and down from the top edge of the frill, and P. lakustai bore another comb-like horn arising from the middle of the frill behind the eyes.[2]
