Silesaurus
Silesaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic,
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Reconstructed skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dracohors
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Family: | †Silesauridae |
Clade: | †Sulcimentisauria |
Genus: | †Silesaurus Dzik, 2003 |
Species | |
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Silesaurus is a
Discovery
Fossilized remains of Silesaurus have been found in the
Description
Silesaurus measured approximately 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) in length. Lightly built, it was probably a fast and agile animal with an active lifestyle. The snout was narrow with forward-pointing nostrils, and the large orbits likely provided Silesaurus with acute vision.
Initially, Silesaurus was thought to be strictly herbivorous, but later research on coprolite contents indicates that it may have been insectivorous,[2] feeding on insects such as the beetle Triamyxa. The teeth of the animal were small, conical, and serrated, and were distributed irregularly in its jaws. The tip of the dentary had no teeth, and evidence suggests that it was covered by a keratinous beak.[1]
Classification
Scientists think that Silesaurus was not a
However, Silesaurus has some dinosaurian characteristics as well:
- a brevis shelf (a bone surface on the ilium that functions as an attachment site for tail muscles)
- ischium with a slender shaft
- femur with a reduced tuberosity that borders the ligament of the femoral head
- a prominent lesser trochanter
- an overlap of the ascending process of the astragalus with the tibia
- a concave proximal articular surface for the reception of the distal end of the calcaneum
As a result, alternative hypotheses place Silesaurus at or near the base of the
Systematic position after Nesbitt (2011):[3]
Ornithodira
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Palaeobiology
Diet
Herbivory has been suggested for silesaurids in general and Silesaurus in particular based on tooth shape, and a 2014 study by the paleontologists Tai Kubo and Mugino O. Kubo of microwear on its teeth found it consistent with herbivory on soft objects, by comparing with wear on the teeth of extant mammals, though omnivory could not be ruled out.[4]
A 2019 study by paleontologist Martin Qvarnström and colleagues examining
Locomotion
Silesaurus and silesaurids in general have been considered quadrupedal due to their long, gracile forelimbs. In 2010, the paleontologists Rafał Piechowski and Jerzy Dzik considered such proportions typical of fast-running, quadrupedal animals, but noted that the long tail of Silesaurus which would have acted as a counterweight to the body, as well as the very gracile forelimbs, indicates it retained the ability for fast bipedal running.[6] Piechowski and the paleontologist Mateusz Tałanda concluded in 2020 that the short hindlimbs combined with the elongated forelimbs supported the idea that it was an obligate quadruped.[7]
Palaeoenvironment
Silesaurus lived in a subtropical environment similar to the modern
References
- ^ S2CID 128580897.
- PMID 31031991.
- S2CID 83493714.
- S2CID 55024625.
- PMID 31031991.
- S2CID 86296113.
- PMID 32003023.
- ^ John W. M. Jagt, Grzegorz Hebda, Sławomir Mitrus, Elena Jagt-Yazykova, Adam Bodzioch, Dorota Konietzko-Meier, Klaudia Kardynał, Kamil Gruntmejer. 2015. Field Guide, Conference Paper, European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists XIII Annual Meeting.