Beipiaosaurus Xu, Tang & Wang, 1999
Beipiaosaurus Xu, Tang & Wang, 1999
(Nature (Lond) 399 (6734), 27 May: 351
NcZ) "Beipiao (China) lizard"
bay-pyow-SAWR-us (Beipiao + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
named to indicate a dinosaur found near the city of Beipiao, in the Yixian Formation
in Liaoning Province, northeastern China. Beipiaosaurus is known from an incomplete skeleton
(vertebrae, parts of the front and back limbs, with hands and feet, plus a lower jaw
(dentary bone) with teeth) (Holotype: IVPP V11559 (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology
and Paleoanthropology, Beijing)). The remains come from ancient lake beds in Liaoning famous
for fossils of birds and small dinosaurs preserved with traces
of soft tissue--the Beiopiaosaurus material includes impressions of feather-like filaments
(between 50mm and 70mm long) near the legs, arms and shoulders. The shape of the lower jaw
closely resembles that of therizinosaurs (segnosaurs), a still poorly understood group
of dinosaurs that appear to be plant-eating theropods. Beipiaosaurus differs from known
therizinosaurs in a number of features, most notably a proportionately larger skull,
shorter and more bulbous tooth crowns, feet with three rather than four large toes,
a longer hand, an ilium similar to that of dromaeosaurs in shape, a crest on the tibia,
and compressed metatarsals. The authors conclude that Beipiaosaurus is a basal (primitive)
therizinosaur, retaining some primitive theropod characters as well as others found in
coelurosaurs. They classify Beipiaosaurus as a member of the Coelurosauria that is closer
to the Oviraptorosauria than are other members of the Therizinosauroidea such as Alxasaurus
or the more derived family Therizinosauridae. Estimated 2.2 meters (7.3 ft) long.
Type Species: Beipiaosaurus inexpectus [in-ek-SPEK-tuhs] Xu, Tang & Wang, 1999 "unexpected":
"referring to the surprising features of the animal."
Theropoda Coelurosauria Therizinosauroidea Early Cretaceous(?) China [added 6/99]
Видовой состав
Документы
Иллюстрации без комментариев
