Pantydraco
Encyclopedia
Pantydraco was a genus
of basal
sauropodomorph
dinosaur
from the Late Triassic
of United Kingdom
. It is based on a partial juvenile
skeleton once thought to belong to Thecodontosaurus
.
) of a juvenile dinosaur, with additional material known for it. This material had been known in the scientific literature since 1984, and had been used to represent the genus Thecodontosaurus. However, changed understanding of the relationships and characteristics of basal sauropodomorphs (also known as prosauropods) has led Peter Galton, Yates, and D. Kermack to give T. caducus its own genus.
, probably mostly bipedal.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
sauropodomorph
Sauropodomorpha
Sauropodomorpha is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs which includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The...
dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
from the Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
of United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is based on a partial juvenile
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
skeleton once thought to belong to Thecodontosaurus
Thecodontosaurus
Thecodontosaurus is a genus of herbivorous basal sauropodomorph dinosaur which lived during the late Triassic period ....
.
History
In 2003, Adam Yates named the new species Thecodontosaurus caducus for a skull and partial skeleton (neck, partial shoulder girdle, and humeriHumerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
) of a juvenile dinosaur, with additional material known for it. This material had been known in the scientific literature since 1984, and had been used to represent the genus Thecodontosaurus. However, changed understanding of the relationships and characteristics of basal sauropodomorphs (also known as prosauropods) has led Peter Galton, Yates, and D. Kermack to give T. caducus its own genus.
Paleobiology
As a basal sauropodomorph, Pantydraco would have been an omnivoreOmnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, probably mostly bipedal.