Revueltosaurus
Encyclopedia
Revueltosaurus is a genus
of prehistoric crurotarsan
from Late Triassic
New Mexico
and Arizona
.
According to William Parker, who discovered the partial skeleton, "we have pretty much erased the record of Triassic ornithischian dinosaurs from North America, Europe and worldwide, except for South America." His co-author Randall Irmis said, "because the teeth look like those we know from herbivorous ornithischians, people assigned them to the dinosaurs. We think we've shown that you can't rely on the dentition to determine what is an early dinosaur, which casts doubt on all the ornithischians from the Triassic of North America".
n dinosaur
based on several discoveries of teeth, but was reclassified when a partial skeleton
was discovered in 2004. Since all purported Triassic ornithischians are known only from teeth and jaw fragments (with the exceptions of Eocursor
and Pisanosaurus
), the discovery has challenged their validity.
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 prehistoric crurotarsan
Crurotarsi
The Crurotarsi are a group of archosauriformes, represented today by the crocodiles,...
from Late Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
According to William Parker, who discovered the partial skeleton, "we have pretty much erased the record of Triassic ornithischian dinosaurs from North America, Europe and worldwide, except for South America." His co-author Randall Irmis said, "because the teeth look like those we know from herbivorous ornithischians, people assigned them to the dinosaurs. We think we've shown that you can't rely on the dentition to determine what is an early dinosaur, which casts doubt on all the ornithischians from the Triassic of North America".
Classification
It was originally described as an ornithischiaOrnithischia
Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'...
n 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...
based on several discoveries of teeth, but was reclassified when a partial skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
was discovered in 2004. Since all purported Triassic ornithischians are known only from teeth and jaw fragments (with the exceptions of Eocursor
Eocursor
Eocursor was a primitive genus of dinosaur which lived during the Late Triassic , around 210 million years ago. It was an ornithischian which lived in what is now South Africa...
and Pisanosaurus
Pisanosaurus
Pisanosaurus is a genus of primitive ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic of what is now South America. It was a bipedal herbivore described by Argentine paleontologist Rodolfo Casamiquela in 1967. Only one species, the type, Pisanosaurus mertii, is known, based on a single partial skeleton...
), the discovery has challenged their validity.