Chungkingosaurus
| Chungkingosaurus | ||||||||||||
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Chungkingosaurus skeleton |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Jurassic ( Oxfordium ) | ||||||||||||
| 163.5 to 157.3 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chungkingosaurus | ||||||||||||
| Dong , Zhou & Zhang , 1983 | ||||||||||||
| Art | ||||||||||||
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Chungkingosaurus was a genus of dinosaurs from the stegosauria group . It was one of the smallest and most primitive representatives of this group.
features
Chungkingosaurus reached an estimated length of 3 to 4 meters. Like all stegosaurs, it was characterized by a double row of bony structures (osteoderms) along the back and tail, the function of which ( thermoregulation , courtship behavior , defense against enemies or a combination of these tasks) has not been finally clarified. The osteoderms above the neck and trunk were large, thin and plate-shaped, but gradually became detached towards the tail by spines. At the tip of the tail were four pairs of long, pointed spines. The high muzzle and the comparatively long front legs, as well as details in the construction of the pelvis and the thighs, are signs of the primeval position of this stegosaur. Like all members of this group, Chungkingosaurus had small teeth that were adapted to plant food.
Discovery and naming
Fossils of chungkingosaurus was in the Shaximiao lineup in the Chinese province of Sichuan discovered and scientifically in 1983 by Dong Zhou and Zhang described . The name is derived from the city of Chungking (Chongqing), then the capital of Sichuan. Several partially preserved skeletons, including parts of the skull, are found. They are dated to the Upper Jurassic ( Oxfordian ) and to an age of about 163 to 157 million years.
Systematics
Chungkingosaurus shows some parallels to the primeval stegosaur Huayangosaurus , which was found in the same region. Together with Dacentrurus, he is considered to be one of the basal representatives of the Stegosauridae, which are compared to the more highly developed Stegosaurinae (see systematics of the Stegosauria ).
literature
- David B. Weishampel , Peter Dodson , Halszka Osmólska (eds.): The Dinosauria . 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 2004, ISBN 0-520-24209-2 .
- David E. Fastovsky , David B. Weishampel: The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005, ISBN 0-521-81172-4 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 221, online .