Micropachycephalosaurus
Micropachycephalosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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Restoration | |
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Drawing of the ilium | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | †Ornithischia |
Clade: | †Neornithischia |
Clade: | †Ceratopsia |
Genus: | †Micropachycephalosaurus Dong, 1978 |
Species: | †M. hongtuyanensis
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Binomial name | |
†Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis Dong, 1978
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Micropachycephalosaurus (meaning "small thick-headed lizard") is an extinct genus of basal
Micropachycephalosaurus has the longest name of any dinosaur, with 23 letters in the genus name alone, while the full binomial contains 37 letters.[2]
Discovery and naming
The holotype, IVPP V5542 was found on a cliff southwest of
IVPP V5542 consisted of the left quadrate, a partial tooth row with seven teeth, another partial tooth row with no teeth preserved, a single loose tooth, a partial basioccipital, the centra of three posterior dorsal and two sacral vertebrae, associated with impressions of the neural spines of the posteriormost dorsal and four sacrals, four partial caudal vertebrae preserved in near articulation with associated chevrons, the isolated centra of seven caudals (one with a partial neural arch), a single isolated partial caudal neural arch, a partial left ilium, a left femur, and the proximal portion of the left tibia.[3][4] Dong (1978) briefly described, but did not figure, a parietal and squamosal that also supposedly belonged to the holotype,[3] but Butler & Zhao (2009) were unable to locate them.[4]
Description
Micropachycephalosaurus likely only grew up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) long when fully grown
Classification
Paleontologist
Further study of the holotype 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
Paleoecology
Micropachycephalosaurus was found in the
The Jiangjunding Formation was deposited in a fluvial to lacustrine environment. The climate was warm and humid during the majority of the timespan, although it was beginning to dry out after the Jiangjunding. Taxa that lived alongside Micropachycephalosaurus in the formation include the
See also
References
- ^ a b Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages, Winter 2010 Appendix.
- ^ "How Dinosaurs Were Named | Scholastic (no longer available)".
- ^ a b c d e Z. Dong. (1978). [A new genus of Pachycephalosauria from Laiyang, Shantung]. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 16(4):225-228.
- ^ .
- ^ Sullivan, R.M. (2006). "A taxonomic review of the Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia)." New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 35: 347-365.
- .
- ^ Zhang, J.L.; Wang, Q; Jiang, S.X.; Cheng, X.; Li, N.; Qiu, R.; Zhang, X.J.; Wang, X.L. (2017). "Review of historical and current research on the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs from Laiyang, Shandong" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 55 (2): 187–200.
- ^ ISSN 1650-6553.
External links
Media related to Micropachycephalosaurus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Micropachycephalosaurus at Wikispecies