Year of Description 2005
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APPALACHIOSAURUS montgomeriensis Saurischia Theropoda Tyrannosauria Tyrannosauridae Montgomery County, Alabama, Georgia, US First Fossil found in Georgia Based on the partial skeleton of a partially-grown individual, including a partial skull (the biting portion, mostly), much hindlimb material, parts of the lower pelvic bones, and a few caudals (including two that are fused).Appalachiosaurus was smaller and more primitive than T.rex and had a narrower snouth. Autapomorphies include a wide jugal process of the ectopterygoid, a caudal pneumatic foramen of the palatine that pierces the rostral half of the vomeropterygoid process of the bone, an articular surface for the lacrimal on the palatine that is distally positioned on the dorsolateral process, and pedal unguals that have a distinct proximodorsal lip over the articular surface. Alabama's second named dinosaur (the other being Lophorhothon), Appalachiosaurus had been floating around in conversation as Albertosaurus sp. for more than fifteen years. It is based on the partial skeleton of a partially-grown individual, including a partial skull (the biting portion, mostly), much hindlimb material, parts of the lower pelvic bones, and a few caudals (including two that are fused). The known remains are not vastly unlike Albertosaurus or Gorgosaurus, especially a young, gracile individual, and another analysis finds it to be an albertosaurine. This find also extends our information on East Coast Late Cretaceous (well, anytime, really, since the East Coast is pretty barren after the early Jurassic) dinosaurs. Early
Relative of T. Rex Discovered in Georgia The 25-foot-long creature roamed the earth 10 million years before T. rex and was smaller and more primitive, with a narrower snout. David R. Schwimmer of Columbus State University; Thomas Carr of Carthage College of Kenosha, Wis.; and Thomas Williamson of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science were credited with the discovery when the dinosaur's name was recognized by the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. "We've been finding teeth and odd bones from this animal
for 20 years, and it's nice to finally have a name for it,''
Schwimmer said. The researchers said Appalachiosaurus
montgomeriensis was buried in mud at the bottom of a shallow
sea about 77.8 million years ago, after currents carried it
away from shore. -- Associated Press A new genus and species of tyrannosauroid from the
Late Cretaceous (Middle Campanian) Demopolis Formation of
Alabama The discovery of a new genus and species of tyrannosauroid from the Demopolis Formation (middle Campanian) of Alabama increases the known diversity of the clade, although it does not elucidate the place of initial dispersal. This subadult tyrannosauroid is the most complete non-avian theropod collected and described from the Cretaceous of eastern North America. In contrast to tyrannosaurids, the new taxon possesses several plesiomorphic characters, including lacrimals that lack a distinct peaked cornual process, and a dorsoventrally shallow horizontal ramus of the maxilla. Autapomorphies include a wide jugal process of the ectopterygoid, a caudal pneumatic foramen of the palatine that pierces the rostral half of the vomeropterygoid process of the bone, an articular surface for the lacrimal on the palatine that is distally positioned on the dorsolateral process, and pedal unguals that have a distinct proximodorsal lip over the articular surface. Cladistic analysis indicates the new taxon is a basal tyrannosauroid and its presence in eastern North America suggests that the recent common ancestor of Tyrannosauridae probably evolved following the transgression of the Western Interior Seaway. Cladistic analysis indicates that Dryptosaurus aquilunguis is also a basal tyrannosauroid but is less derived than the new genus.
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ARCHAEODONTOSAURUS descouensi A diminutive, 66-million-year-old upper right molar represents the newest addition to faunas from Cretaceous rocks as exposed at the Maastricht ENCI quarry. For the first time these rocks, which date back to the Age of Dinosaurs in Europe, have produced remains of a marsupial. The new find is a molar is that of a so-called herpetotheriid marsupial, an extinct group related to the opossum. known from tooth |
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AURORACERATOPS rugosus - ceratops Auroraceratops rugosus is a basal neoceratopsian dinosaur, hailing from the Early Cretaceous Xinminpu Group beds located in Gansu Province, Northwestern China, that was described in late 2005 by You et al., the remains consisting of a nearly complete subadult cranium and lower jaws, lacking the rostral bone and parietal crest. The etymology of the generic name both refers to the character of this dinosaur as a dawn neoceratopsian and a mention made to Dawn Dodson, wife of Peter Dodson, while the specific epithet refers to the wrinkled expansion of the lacrimal bone. Though most other neoceratopsians are characterized by a long, narrow snout, Auroraceratops has a wider shorter one, the 20-cm-long skull itself being rather flat and wide. The premaxillae have at least two pairs of ornamented fangs. Paired rugose areas, very probably covered in keratin in life, are in front of the eyes and on the jugal with correspondent areas on the lower jaw. A. rugosus is a rather derived moderate-sized basal neoceratopsian that adds diversity to that clade, displaying skull features not present in Archaeoceratops and Liaoceratops. |
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BRACHYTRACHELOPAN mesai Sauropods typically had a huge body, a long neck and stout legs. They were plant-eating dinosaurs and lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. The new dinosaur, named Brachytrachelopan mesai, had an unusually short neck for a sauropod. And, at less than 33 feet (10 meters) long, it was also very small for a member of that group. Brachytrachelopan mesai's short neck shows it ate low-growing plants, unlike its longer-necked relatives who could reach high into the trees. The new dinosaur belongs to a group of sauropods with relatively short necks called dicraeosaurs. The fossil's presence in Argentina indicates a rapid radiation and dispersal of dicraeosaurs in the Late Jurassic period in the Southern Hemisphere, after the separation of Gondwana from the northern continents by the late Middle Jurassic. Reported on the National Geographic website, Oliver Rauhut, a palaeontologist with the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich, Germany, said, 'It is by far the shortest neck reported in any sauropod'. Angela Milner, dinosaur expert at the Natural History Museum added “this new discovery shows that sauropods were more adaptable than we previously thought. We usually think of sauropods as growing bigger and having longer necks through time, but here is one line of evolution that did just the opposite”. The German and Argentinean researchers report the discovery in the journal Nature. The full news article is on the National Geographic website. |
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BUITRERAPTOR gonzalezorum Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Dromaeosauridae Te discovery of B. gonzalezorum ( the most complete small theropod (carnivorous dinosaur) ever discovered in South America ) suggests that dromaeosaurs on northern and southern continents took different evolutionary routes, and proves that dromaeosaurs must have originated when all of the continents were still assembled in a single landmass during the Jurassic as far back as 180 million years ago, much earlier than previously thought. Buitreraptor is remarkably different than other domaeosaurs, most obviously due to its long, slender snout and relatively small, widely spaced teeth. Unlike most other theropods, the teeth of Buitrearaptor lack the steak-knife-like serrations along their edges. Although scientist are unsure why the animal evolved such peculiar head proportions and unusual dentition, it may have been an adaptation to hunt small prey, such as the abundant burrowing snakes, mammals, and lizards that have been discovered alongside Buitreraptor. The long hindlimbs indicate that the animal was a fast runner. The elongated arms and massive shoulder girdle indicate powerful prey-grasping abilities. Like all other dromaeosaurs, Buitreraptor was armed with an enlarged claw on the second toe of each foot. The holotype, of this adult dinosaur is in excellent condition: articulated and nearly complete. An additional partial skeleton discovered on an earlier expedition led by Apesteguía helped fill in missing bones. Since discovering the first two Buitreraptor fossils, the scientists have discovered at least two more in the same area during fieldwork conducted in January 2005.
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CENTROSAURUS brinkmani |
| CHANGCHUNSAURUS parvus |
| CHEBSAURUS algeriensis |
| CONDORRAPTOR currumili |
| DAANOSAURUS zhangi |
| DUBREUILLOSAURUS valesdunesnsis |
| FALCARIUS utahensis |
| FERGANOCEPHALE adenticulatum |
| GALVEOSAURUS herreroi |
| HAGRYPHUS giganteus |
| HEXINLUSAURUS multidens |
| HUNGAROSAURUS tormai |
| KRYZANOWSKISAURUS hunti |
| LANZHOUSAURUS magnidens |
| NEUQUENRAPTOR argentinus |
| PEDOPENNA daohugouensis |
| PENELOPOGNATHUS weishampeli |
| PUERTASAURUS reuili |
| SHIXINGGIA oblita |
| STORMBERGIA dangershoeki |
| TANYCOLAGREUS topwilsoni |
| TYRANNOTITAN chubutensis |
| XINJIANGOVENATOR parvus |