{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{italictitle}}
{{Taxobox
| name =
Struthiosaurus
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Late Cretaceous}}
| regnum =
AnimalAnimals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously...
ia
| phylum =
ChordataChordates are animals which are either vertebrates or one of several closely related invertebrates. They are united by having, for at least some period of their life cycle, a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail...
| classis =
SauropsidaReptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, generally "cold-blooded" amniotes that generally have skin covered in scales or scutes. They are tetrapods and lay amniote eggs, whose embryos are surrounded by the amnion membrane...
| superordo = Dinosauria
| ordo =
OrnithischiaOrnithischia 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'...
| subordo =
ThyreophoraThe Thyreophora were a subgroup of the ornithischian dinosaurs...
| infraordo =
AnkylosauriaAnkylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are first known to have appeared in the early Jurassic Period of...
| familia =
NodosauridaeNodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs, from the Cretaceous Period of what are now North America, Asia, Australia, Antarctica and Europe.-Characteristics:...
| genus =
Struthiosaurus
| genus_authority = Bunzel, 1871
| subdivision_ranks =
SpeciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
| subdivision =
- S. austriacus Bunzel
Emanuel Bunzel, born 1828, was an Austrian paleontologist.In 1871, he described a skull fragment found in an Austrian coal mine years before by colleagues Ferdinand Stoliczka and Eduard Suess as the type specimen for the dinosaur genus Struthiosaurus, the first discovered in the region. Another...
, 1871 (typeIn taxonomy, a type species is a technical phrase, involved in the application of formal names...
)
- S. transylvanicus Nopcsa
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás was a Hungarian-born aristocrat, adventurer, scholar, and paleontologist...
, 1915
- S. languedocensis Garcia and Pereda-Suberbiola, 2003
| synonyms =
- Crataeomus Seeley, 1881
- Danubiosaurus Bunzel, 1871
- Leipsanosaurus Nopcsa, 1918
- Pleuropeltis Seeley, 1881
- Rhodanosaurus Nopsca, 1929
}}
Struthiosaurus (
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
struthio = ostrich +
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
sauros = lizard) is one of the smallest known and most
basalIn 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:...
generaIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
nodosauridAnkylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are first known to have appeared in the early Jurassic Period of...
dinosaur{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...
s, from the Late
CretaceousThe Cretaceous , Latin language for "chalky", usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period (
CampanianThe Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
-
MaastrichtianThe Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...
) of
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
and
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. Although estimates of its length vary, it may have been as small as {{convert|2.2|m|ft}} long.
Taxonomy and Valid Species
Originally described in 1871, many
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
have been referred to
Struthiosaurus, most based on very fragmentary and nondiagnostic material. Three valid species are currently recognized by paleontologists:
S. austriacus Bunzel, 1871;
S. transylvanicus NopcsaBaron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás was a Hungarian-born aristocrat, adventurer, scholar, and paleontologist...
, 1915; and
S. languedocensis Garcia and Pereda-Suberbiola, 2003. Along with
Hungarosaurus-Overview:Hungarosaurus tormai is a nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Csehbánya Formation of the Bakony Mountains of western Hungary. It is presently the most completely known ankylosaur from the Cretaceous of Europe...
Osi, 2005,
Struthiosaurus is currently one of only two valid members of the
AnkylosauriaAnkylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are first known to have appeared in the early Jurassic Period of...
known from
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. A number of invalid taxa have been shown to be junior synonyms of
Struthiosaurus, including:
Crataeomus Seeley, 1881;
Danubiosaurus Bunzel, 1871;
Pleuropeltis Seeley, 1881; and
Lepisanosaurus Nopcsa, 1918. Another European ankylosaurid,
Rhodanosaurus Nopsca, 1929, from
CampanianThe Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
-
MaastrichtianThe Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...
-age rocks of southern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, is now regarded as a
nomen dubiumIn zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Note that in the ICBN and ICNB the phrase "nomen dubium" has no status In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium (Latin for "doubtful name", plural nomina dubia) is a scientific name that...
and referred to Nodosauridae
incertae sedisIncertae sedis , abbreviated "inc. sed.", is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined.-Examples:The taxonomy for humans is usually recognized as follows:...
.
The three valid species of
Struthiosaurus differ from one another in that
S. austricus is smaller than
S. transylvanicus and possesses less elongate
cervicalIn anatomy, cervical is an adjective that has two meanings:# of or pertaining to any neck.# of or pertaining to the female cervix: i.e., the neck of the uterus.*Commonly used medical phrases involving the neck are...**cervical lymph nodes...
vertebrae. Also, though the quadrate-paroccipital process contact is fused in
S. transylvanicus, it is unfused in
S. austricus. The skull of
S. languedocensis is presently unknown, but the taxon differs from
S. transylvanicus in the shape of the
dorsalIn anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
vertebrae. It differs from
S. austricus in the shape of the ischium. (Vickaryous, Maryanska, and Weishampel 2004)
Some workers (Vickaryous, Maryanska, and Weishampel 2004) consider the assignment of
Struthiosaurus to the Nodosauridae to be provisional, pending further study and future discoveries.
Phylogenetics
Cladistic analysis of
Struthiosaurus (Osi, 2004) indicates that the taxon is a basal member of the Nodosauridae and suggests it may be one of the most basal ankylosaurs in the
cladeA clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.[The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article...]
Ankylosauria.