Saltriosaurus
| Saltriosaurus Temporal range: Early Jurassic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Silhouette of the Metriacanthosaurid Sinraptor, with copies of Saltriosaurus fossils | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Family: | Allosauridae |
| Genus: | Saltriosaurus Dal Sasso, 2000 [1] |
Saltriosaurus (Saltrio-lizard) is the informal name for a theropod dinosaur that lived during the Sinemurian, Early Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago. [2][3][4] The name Saltriosaurus, given to it in 2001 by Della Vecchia, is a nomen nudum. Cristiano Dal Sasso is the official author. [2][5]
Classification
The precise systematic position of Saltriosaurus is uncertain, with an assignment to a more general Theropoda often used for simplicity. [2] [3] Dal Sasso originally assigned "Saltriosaurus" to Tetanurae. [4] He later cosidered it possible that Saltriosaurus was a Carnosaur, although in either case it would predate other members of the clades by roughly 20-30 million years. [6] Benson considered it a member of Coelophysoidea in his review of Magnosaurus. [7][8][9][10]
Fossil records
Saltriosaurus was found in 1996, when Angelo Zanella discovered its remains in a quarry in Saltrio, [2] in northern Italy. Saltriosaurus likely died on the shores of an ancient beach before being washed out to sea. About ten percent of the skeleton has been discovered: lateral tooth, dorsal rib fragments, scapular fragment, a well preserved but incomplete furcula, humeri, metacarpal II, phalanx II-1, phalanx III-1, phalanx III-2, manual ungual III, proximal fibula, distal tarsal III, distal tarsal IV (in all there are 119 bones). [2][3]
Description
Very little is known about this dinosaur. Saltriosaurus is thought to have resembled Allosaurus, but it was smaller and much older and it is the oldest known three-fingered dinosaur. Like Allosaurus, it appears to have been a bipedal carnivorous with a long, stiff tail and is estimated to have weighed about 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). It was 8 metres (26 ft) long and 4 metres (13 ft) tall, with a skull of considerable size, 70 cm (28 in) long and large sharp teeth. The single tooth that has been found was about 7 cm (2.8 in) long. The arms are very similar to those of Allosaurs. They are well developed and end with three clawed fingers. [2][11]
Bibliography
- Walters, M. & J. Paker (1995). Dictionary of Prehistoric Life. Claremont Books. ISBN 1-85471-648-4.
- Weishampel, D.B., P. Dodson & H. Osmólska (eds.) (2004). The Dinosauria, Second Edition. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
- Dalla Vecchia, 2001. A new theropod dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Italy, Saltriosaurus. Dino Press. 3, 81-87.
References
- ↑ Dinosaur Genera List
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Therapod Database
- 1 2 3 Matthew T. Carrano, Roger B. J. Benson, Scott D. Sampson: The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Bd. 10, Nr. 2, 2012
- 1 2 Cristiano Dal Sasso: Dinosauri italiani. Marsilio Editori, Venezia, 2001.
- ↑ Cristiano Dal Sasso: A new theropod dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Italy, Saltriosaurus. In: Dino Press. Bd. 3, 2001.
- ↑ Cristiano Dal Sasso: Dinosaurs of Italy. In: Comptes Rendus Palevol. Bd. 2, Nr. 1, 2003.
- ↑ Roger B. J. Benson: The osteology of Magnosaurus nethercombensis (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) of the United Kingdom and a re-examination of the oldest records of tetanurans. In: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Bd. 8, Nr. 1, 2010, S. 131–146
- ↑ Oliver W. M. Rauhut: The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs (= Special Papers in Palaeontology. Bd. 69). The Palaeontological Association, London 2003
- ↑ Larry F. Rinehart, Spencer G. Lucas, Adrian P. Hunt: Furculae in the Late Triassic theropod dinosaurCoelophysis bauri. In: Paläontologische Zeitschrift. Bd. 81, Nr. 2, 2007]
- ↑ Ronald S. Tykoski, Catherine A. Forster, Timothy Rowe, Scott D. Sampson, Darlington Munyikwa: A furcula in the coelophysoid theropod Syntarsus. In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Bd. 22, Nr. 3, 2002
- ↑ Cristiano Dal Sasso: Update on Italian dinosaurs. In: 6th European Workshop on Vertebrate Palaeontology. Florence and Montevarchi (Italy). Abstract Volume. The University of Florence, Florenz 2001, S. 27, Digitalisat
