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Herbivore dinosaurs...
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" Borealopelta markmitchelli is a species of nodosaur, a type of ankylosaur. It roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago.
Its spectacularly detailed ‘mummy’ was found by accident in March 2011 by excavator operator Shawn Funk at the Suncor Millennium Mine in Alberta, Canada. The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta, was notified and sent a group of paleontologists to take a look. The researchers soon realized that the rocks contained an armored dinosaur. “Finding the remains of an armored dinosaur that was washed far out to sea was huge surprise. The fact that it was so well preserved was an even bigger surprise,” said Dr. Donald Henderson, Curator of Dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum." 
Phylogeny of the ankylosaurian dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Thyreophora)
Abstract Ankylosauria is a diverse clade of quadrupedal ornithischian dinosaurs whose remains are known from Middle Jurassic to latest Cretaceous sediments worldwide. Despite a long history of research, ankylosaur interrelationships remain poorly resolved and existing cladistic analyses suffer from limited character and taxon sampling. Here, we present the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the group attempted to date. The traditional ankylosaurid–nodosaurid dichotomy is maintained. Ankylosauridae forms a well-resolved clade, which includes Zhongyuansaurus, the first ankylosaurid known to lack a tail club. Nodosauridae includes a number of taxa that were resolved either as ‘polacanthids’ or basal ankylosaurids in previous analyses. The use of a broader character sample allows analysis of the interrelationships of all valid ankylosaur species; this has revealed several previously unrecognized relationships. Stegosauria is recovered as the sister taxon to Ankylosauria, while Scelidosaurus is found to be a basal thyreophoran. Dedicated methods for coding continuous characters could be used in future to improve the resolution of ankylosaur phylogeny, particularly in order to explore the relationships within the poorly resolved nodosaurid clade. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230854852_Phylogeny_of_the_ankylosaurian_dinosaurs_Ornithischia_Thyreophora
" Properly termed hadrosaurs (or hadrosaurids), ‘duckbills’ – or ‘duckbilled dinosaurs’ – are a mostly Late Cretaceous group, mostly associated with eastern Asia and western North America (though with an actual range extending well beyond those regions). The exemplar for the group is the enormous Edmontosaurus, the several species of which have a tangled taxonomic history. At various times, the names Hadrosaurus, Diclonius, Claosaurus, Thespesius, Trachodon, Anatosaurus and Anatotitan have all been used for specimens now included in Edmontosaurus (Creisler 2007). Edmontosaurus reached 9 metres, weighed around 3 tons, and occurred from Colorado, USA, in the south to Alaska in the far north. Thanks to excellent, articulated skeletons and even mummified specimens that preserve large patches of skin, we know quite a lot about its life appearance. Despite long being regarded as a flat-headed, ‘plain’ hadrosaur, one specimen appears to demonstrate the presence of a soft, mound-shaped head crest (Bell et al. 2013), and others preserve substantial sections of the dorsal crest and scalation pattern (Osborn 1912, Horner 1984, Bell 2014). "
Christian Reno: " Agustinia " by Phil Wilson.
Agustinia was a sauropod living during the Early Cretaceous (116-100 millions years ago), only one specie described from a single specimen discovered in Argentina.
" Omeisaurus vs Gasosaurus by PaleoGuy
Omeisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered in the lower Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province. Like other sauropods, Omeisaurus was herbivorous and large. Mass: 9,800 kg Height: 4 m (At the hips) Length: 10 – 15 m Scientific name: Omeisaurus (Omei lizard) Lived: 174.1 million years ago - 145 million years ago (Aalenian - Tithonian) 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 Gasosaurus is a genus of tetanuran theropod that lived approximately 171.6 to 161.2 million years ago during the middle of the Jurassic Period. The name "Gasosaurus" is derived from the English "gasoline" and the Greek σαῦρος/sauros. Mass: 150 kg Height: 1.5 m (At the hips) Scientific name: Gasosaurus (Gas lizard) Length: 3.5 – 4 m Lived: 170.3 million years ago - 163.5 million years ago (Bajocian - Callovian) "
Turiasaurus by Raul Martin.
Turiasaurus is perhaps the biggest dinosaur ever found in Europa, known from a single fossil discovered in Spain (formation of Teruel). Estimated length: 36-39 meters Estimated weigth: 40-48 tons.
Christian Reno: " Bothriospondylus " by Zhao Chuang
Bothriospondylus was a medium-sized sauropod dinosaur (20 meters long) of the Late Jurassik described by Richard Owen in 1875, and seemingly the small pterodactyl flying above its neck is one of the dimorphodon family...
" Fossilized in-ground Stegosaurus, Houston Museum of Natural Science ?
Stegosaurus is a genus of armored dinosaur. Fossils of this genus date to the Late Jurassic period, where they are found in Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian aged strata, between 155 and 150 million years ago, in the western United States and Portugal. Several species have been classified in the upper Morrison Formation of the western U.S, though only three are universally recognized; S. stenops, S. ungulatus and S. sulcatus. The remains of over 80 individual animals of this genus have been found. Stegosaurus would have lived alongside dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Allosaurus, and Ceratosaurus; the latter two may have been predators of it. As the archetypal thyreophoran, Stegosaurus is one of the best-known dinosaurs, and has been featured in film, postal stamps, and many other types of media. "
" Borealopelta: ‘Sleeping dragon’ Fossil the Best Preserved Armored Dinosaur Ever Found ?
Some 110 million years ago, this armored plant-eater lumbered through what is now western Canada, until a flooded river swept it into open sea. The dinosaur’s undersea burial preserved its armor in exquisite detail. Its skull still bears tile-like plates and a gray patina of fossilized skins. The ancient fossil was accidentally discovered by machine operator Shawn Funk at a mine near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, in 2011. Further investigation revealed that the extraordinary fossil was a newfound species of plant-eating ‘nodosaur.’ The beast was so remarkably well preserved because its remains ended up in a river, possibly swept up by a flood, shortly after it died. Its carcass was then carried out to sea where it sank to the ocean floor, becoming enveloped in mud which both preserved and petrified the nodosaur’s remains, giving the fossil the appearance of a sleeping dragon. Usually just a dinosaur’s bones and teeth survive long enough to be fossilized, however, in this case because of its quick burial, intricate details of the nodosaur’s scale armor were preserved."
" Giraffatitan, by Phil Wilson "
Having lived on Earth during Late Jurassik in Africa (especally Tanzania). 22-25 meters long, 12-14 meters high. Weight: 45-78 tons.
" Bajadasaurus…where extremes reach a tipping point!
Dinosaurs continue to be the source of amazement beyond all expectations. Now is the turn of sauropods, with the newly described South American dicraeosaurid Bajadasaurus. If you thought that the elongated cervical spines along the neck of Amargasaurus were a bit too much (and source of a lot of controversy)… think again while looking at Bajadasaurus: Same spines but twisted, facing permanently forward! Were the elongated vertebral spines really covered in keratin and used as “horns” or were they props for a fantastic double dorsal neck sail that served as display, swinging from one side to another? If we think about it: a theropod would have also been extremely impressed by such expanded neck, probably ornate with strips of colour for effect. I see the option I’m depicting more feasible: It would have been indeed a fantastic display if they were sporting forward facing sails, tipped with pointy keratin sheaths, like exaggerated Trojan Horse manes. I can’t picture them as some sort of antelopes, unless the horns were exclusively for rattling noisy displays. The controversy continues…. and our fascination for the Dinosauria never wanes! Source: Luis V. Rey blog " |
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