New data on small theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Como Bluff, Wyoming, USA
Journal Title: Volumina Jurassica - Year 2014, Vol 12, Issue 2
Abstract
In 1879, Othniel C. Marsh and Arthur Lakes collected in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation Quarry 12 at Como Bluff, Wyoming, USA, several isolated axial and appendicular skeletal elements of small theropod dinosaurs. Since the discovery the specimens remained unnoticed for over a century. The skeletal remains of small theropods are rare at Como Bluff and throughout the Morrison Formation. Their bones are delicately constructed, so they are not as well-preserved as the bones of large-bodied theropods. The bones of small theropods described here were found mixed with isolated crocodile teeth and turtle shells. Comparison of the skeletal materials with other known theropods from the Morrison Formation reveals that some of the bones belong to a very small juvenile [i]Allosaurus fragilis[/i] and [i]Torvosaurus tanneri[/i] and also to a new ceratosaur taxon, here named [i]Fosterovenator churei[/i], whereas the other bones represent previously unidentified juvenile taxa of basal tetanuran and coelurid theropods. The discovery and description of these fossil materials is significant because they provide important information about the Upper Jurassic terrestrial fauna of Quarry 12, Como Bluff, Wyoming. The presence of previously unidentified theropod taxa in the Morrison Formation indicates that the diversity of basal tetanuran and coelurid theropods may have been much greater than previously expected. Although the fossil material here described is largely fragmentary, it is tenable that theropods of different clades co-existed in the same ecosystems at the same time and most likely competed for the same food sources.
Authors and Affiliations
Sebastian G. DALMAN
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP67991
- DOI 10.5604/17313708 .1130142
- Views 69
- Downloads 0
Indirect biostratigraphy in condensed successions: a case history from the Bajocian of Normandy (NW France)
The fossil assemblages of the Bajocian of Normandy are affected by taphonomic condensation, and the use of these assemblages for biostratigraphy must be carried out with great care because of the taphonomic reworking (re...
Facies and diagenetic evolution of the Bathonian-Oxfordian mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sediments of the Habo Dome, Kachchh Basin, India
This paper examines the depositional environment and diagenetic aspects of the exposed Patcham and Chari formation within the Habo Dome. The Patcham Formation is represented by the Black Limestone Member. The Chari Forma...
[i]Haplocanthosaurus [/i](Saurischia: Sauropoda) from the lower Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) near Snowmass, Colorado
A small sauropod dinosaur collected from the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado (north of the Elk Range, Pitkin County) is assigned to the rare genus [i]Haplocanthosaurus[/i]. The specimen, MWC 8028, consists of four d...
Korelacja podziałów amonitowych i dinocystowych przy granicy oksfordu i kimerydu na podstawie profilów wierceń Bartoszyce IG 1 i Kcynia IG IV
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN A FAMILY BUSINESS