Biology:Callovosaurus

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Short description: Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Callovosaurus
Temporal range: Callovian
~164 Ma
The Quarterly journal of the Geological Society of London (13936882312).jpg
Illustration of the holotype femur
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Ornithopoda
Family: Dryosauridae
Genus: Callovosaurus
Galton, 1980
Species:
C. leedsi
Binomial name
Callovosaurus leedsi
Galton, 1980 (Lydekker, 1889)
Synonyms

Callovosaurus (meaning "Callovian lizard") is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur known from most of a left thigh bone discovered in Middle Jurassic-age rocks of England . At times, it has been considered dubious or a valid genus of basal iguanodontian, perhaps a dryosaurid.

History and description

Life restoration

Callovosaurus is based on BMNH R1993, a nearly complete left thigh bone. This specimen was collected from the middle Callovian–age (Middle Jurassic) Peterborough Member (former Lower Oxford Clay) of the Oxford Clay Formation of Fletton, near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, England . The bone is 28 centimetres (0.92 ft) long, and is estimated to have belonged to an animal approximately 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length. A partial shin bone from the same site or nearby, SMC J.46889, may also belong to Callovosaurus.[1]

The type species, C. leedsi, was first described by Richard Lydekker in 1889 as Camptosaurus leedsi, the specific name honouring collector Alfred Nicholson Leeds.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag These rocks were once thought to be somewhat younger, from the Oxfordian of the Late Jurassic, but they are now known to be middle Callovian in age.[1]

The diet of Callovosaurus, like that of other iguanodontians, was plant material. It is one of the earliest known members of the iguanodontian lineage.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ruiz-Omeñaca, José Ignacio; Pereda Suberbiola, Xabier; Galton, Peter M. (2007). "Callovosaurus leedsi, the earliest dryosaurid dinosaur (Ornithischia: Euornithopoda) from the Middle Jurassic of England". in Carpenter, Kenneth. Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 3–16. ISBN 978-0-253-34817-3. 
  2. Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 142. ISBN 1-84028-152-9. 

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q1579204 entry