Thescelosaurus

Thescelosaurus
	Skeletal reconstruction of a Thescelosaurus neglectus in the Burpee Museum of Natural History in the (USA).
Temporal occurrence
	Upper Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian )
	69.9 to 66 million years
Locations
	South Dakota , North America ;
Systematics
	Dinosaur (dinosauria)
	Pelvic dinosaur (Ornithischia)
	Cerapoda
	Ornithopoda
	Hypsilophodontidae
	Thescelosaurus
Scientific name
	Thescelosaurus
	Gilmore , 1913
Art
	Thescelosaurus neglectus;

Thescelosaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Hypsilophodontidae family thatlivedin what is now North America at the end of the Upper Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian ).

A specimen of this dinosaur caused a sensation in 2000 when, with the help of computed tomography, structures were found that were interpreted as a fossilized four-chamber heart and aorta similar to the archosaurs (birds and crocodiles) living today . The authors interpreted this as an indication of an increased metabolic rate . The findings were questioned by other scientific investigators and interpreted as merely fossil-like iron concretion , an interpretation that was rejected by the original authors.

description

Thescelosaurus reached a length of about 2.5 meters to 4 meters with a total weight of about 200 to 300 kilograms. The variance in body size is interpreted as a gender-related difference ( sexual dimorphism ).

gallery

Size comparison of Thescelosaurus and humans
Live reconstruction of Thescelosaurus neglectus
Petrified heart of the Thescelosaurus

Web links

Commons : Thescelosaurus - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 277, online .
↑ Der Spiegel : First dinosaur heart discovered.
^ Paul E. Fisher, Dale A. Russell , Michael K. Stoskopf, Reese E. Barrick, Michael Hammer, Andrew A. Kuzmitz: Cardiovascular Evidence for an Intermediate or Higher Metabolic Rate in an Ornithischian Dinosaur. In: Science . Vol. 288, No. 5465, 2000, pp. 503-505, doi : 10.1126 / science.288.5465.503 .
↑ Timothy Rowe , Earle F. McBride, Paul C. Sereno : Dinosaur with a Heart of Stone. In: Science. Vol. 291, No. 5505, 2001, p. 783, doi : 10.1126 / science.291.5505.783a .
↑ ^a ^b Peter M. Galton : Notes on Thescelosaurus, a conservative ornithopod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of North America, with comments on ornithopod classification. In: Journal of Paleontology. Vol. 48, No. 5, 1974, ISSN 0022-3360 , pp. 1048-1067.

[1] Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 277, online .

[2] Der Spiegel : First dinosaur heart discovered.

[3] Paul E. Fisher, Dale A. Russell , Michael K. Stoskopf, Reese E. Barrick, Michael Hammer, Andrew A. Kuzmitz: Cardiovascular Evidence for an Intermediate or Higher Metabolic Rate in an Ornithischian Dinosaur. In: Science . Vol. 288, No. 5465, 2000, pp. 503-505, doi : 10.1126 / science.288.5465.503 .

[4] Timothy Rowe , Earle F. McBride, Paul C. Sereno : Dinosaur with a Heart of Stone. In: Science. Vol. 291, No. 5505, 2001, p. 783, doi : 10.1126 / science.291.5505.783a .

[Galton-5] Peter M. Galton : Notes on Thescelosaurus, a conservative ornithopod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of North America, with comments on ornithopod classification. In: Journal of Paleontology. Vol. 48, No. 5, 1974, ISSN 0022-3360 , pp. 1048-1067.