View source for Biology:Turanoceratops

{{Short description|Extinct genus of dinosaurs}}
{{automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Earth:Turonian|Turonian]], {{fossil range|90}}
| image = Turanoceratops tardabilis life restoration.jpg
| image_caption = Life restoration of ''Turanoceratops tardabilis''
| image_upright = 1.15
| display_parents = 3
| taxon = Turanoceratops
| authority = Nesov ''et al.'', 1989
| type_species = '''''Turanoceratops tardabilis'''''
| type_species_authority = Nesov ''et al.'', 1989
}}

'''''Turanoceratops''''' ("[[Place:Turan|Turan]] horned face") is a [[Biology:Genus|genus]] of herbivorous ceratopsian [[Biology:Dinosaur|dinosaur]] from the late [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] [[Earth:Bissekty Formation|Bissekty Formation]] of Uzbekistan. The fossils dated from the mid-late [[Earth:Turonian|Turonian]] stage, roughly 90 million years ago. The skull bore a pair of long brow horns like those seen in the Ceratopsidae, although ''Turanoceratops'' appears to have been transitional between earlier ceratopsians and ceratopsids, and not a ceratopsid itself.

==Discovery and naming==
From the 1920s onwards, Soviet scientists discovered fragmentary fossils near Dzharakuduk in the district Navoi Viloyat, leading them to the conclusion that some ceratopsid must have been present. In 1988, paleontologist Lev Aleksandrovich Nesov based on these published the name ''Turanoceratops tardabilis'',<ref>Nessov L.A., 1988, "[Assemblages of vertebrates of the late Mesozoic and Paleocene of Middle Asia]", ''Trudy XXXI Sess. Vsesoyuz Paleont. Obshchestva. Nauka, Leningrad'', pp 93–101</ref> but did not provide a description so that for the time being it remained a ''[[Biology:Nomen nudum|nomen nudum]]''. In 1989, Nesov, L.F. Kaznysjkina and Gennady Olegovich Cherepanov validly named the [[Biology:Type species|type species]] ''Turanoceratops tardabilis''. The generic name is a combination of ''Turan'', an old Persian name for [[Place:Turkestan|Turkestan]], the general region of the finds, and ~ceratops, "horned face", a usual suffix in ceratopian names. The [[Biology:Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] means "retarding" in [[Social:Latin|Latin]], referring to the protracted research.<ref>L.A. Nessov, F. Kaznyshkina, & G.O. Cherepanov, 1989, "Ceratopsian dinosaurs and crocodiles of the middle Mesozoic of Asia", In: Bogdanova & Khozatsky (eds.) ''Theoretical and applied aspects of modern paleontology'', pp 142-149</ref>

The [[Biology:Holotype|holotype]], '''CCMGE No. 251/12457''', consists of a damaged left [[Biology:Maxilla|maxilla]], the tooth-bearing upper jaw bone. Other fossils have been referred but some of these later were proven to have belonged to other types of dinosaur. A braincase e.g. (specimen CCGME 628/12457) was shown to be of a sauropod, while presumed frill material actually represented ankylosaur armour plates. Authentic material includes postorbitals with brow horn cores, teeth, a predentary and limb elements.

In 2004, Peter Dodson considered it a ''[[Biology:Nomen dubium|nomen dubium]]'',<ref>H. You and P. Dodson, 2004, "Basal Ceratopsia". In: D. B. Weishampel, H. Osmolska, and P. Dodson (eds.), ''The Dinosauria'' (2nd edition). University of California Press, Berkeley pp 478-493</ref> but in 2009 Hans-Dieter Sues concluded that it was a valid [[Biology:Taxon|taxon]].<ref name="sues2009"/>

==Description==
[[File:Turanoceratops tardabilis scale diagram.jpg|thumb|Size of ''Turanoceratops tardabilis'' compared to a [[Biology:Human|human]]]]
''Turanoceratops'' was a relatively small animal. In 2010, [[Biography:Gregory S. Paul|Gregory S. Paul]] estimated its length at two metres, its weight at 175 kilogrammes.<ref>Paul, G.S., 2010, ''The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs'', Princeton University Press p. 283</ref>

Sues in 2009 determined some typically basal traits, indicating a lower position in the evolutionary tree, and some more derived traits, showing a higher position. Basal traits are the variably developed secondary ridges on the tooth crowns and the possession of just two or three teeth per tooth position. Derived traits, relative to the more basal ''[[Biology:Zuniceratops|Zuniceratops]]'', are the increase of the number of teeth to two or three and the possession of two roots per teeth. More general derived traits are the exclusion of the frontal bone from the upper rim of the eye socket and the presence of incipient cavities in the skull roof.<ref name="sues2009"/>

==Classification==
''Turanoceratops'' belonged to the Ceratopsia (the name is [[Social:Ancient Greek|Greek]] for "horned face"), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with [[Biology:Parrot|parrot]]-like beaks which thrived in [[Earth:North America|North America]] and [[Earth:Asia|Asia]] during the Cretaceous Period, which ended 66&nbsp;million years ago. All ceratopsians became extinct at the end of this period.
A 2009 study led by Hans-Dieter Sues analysed additional fossil material of ''Turanoceratops'' and concluded that, contrary to expectations, it represented a true (though "transitional") member of the family [[Biology:Ceratopsidae|Ceratopsidae]]. If correct, it would represent an [[Earth:Asia|Asia]]n ceratopsid. At the time of publication this would have been unique, as all other ceratopsids known to that point were from [[Earth:North America|North America]].<ref name="sues2009">Sues, H.-D., and Averianov, A. (2009). "''Turanoceratops tardabilis''—the first ceratopsid dinosaur from Asia." ''Naturwissenschaften'', {{doi|10.1007/s00114-009-0518-9}}.</ref> Some scientists, such as Andrew Farke, disagreed with Sues' findings. Farke and colleagues ran an independent phylogenetic analysis of the new ''Turanoceratops'' fossils and found that it was a close relative of Ceratopsidae (the immediate sister group) but was not a true member of that [[Biology:Clade|clade]].<ref name="farkeetal2009">Farke, A., Sampson, S.D., Forster, C.A., Loewen, M.A. (2009). "''Turanoceratops tardabilis''—sister taxon, but not a ceratopsid." ''Naturwissenschaften'', 7 May 2009. {{doi|10.1007/s00114-009-0543-8}}.</ref> Sues and Alexander Averianov criticised that analysis, arguing that Farke and colleagues misinterpreted or mis-coded some characteristics of the fossil in their analysis.<ref name="sues&averianov2009">Sues, H.-D. and Averianov, A. (2009). "Phylogenetic position of ''Turanoceratops'' (Dinosauria: Ceratopsia)." ''Naturwissenschaften'', 20 May 2009. {{doi|10.1007/s00114-009-0552-7}}.</ref>  However, Xu et al. (2010) conducted a phylogenetic analysis and concluded that ''Turanoceratops'' was more derived than ''Zuniceratops'' and was outside of Ceratopsidae, because it lacks several important synapomorphies of this group.

==Paleobiology==
[[File:Turanoceratops.jpg|thumb|Restoration of a resting individual]]
''Turanoceratops'', like all ceratopsians, was a [[Earth:Herbivore|herbivore]]. During the Cretaceous, flowering plants were "geographically limited on the landscape"{{clarification needed|date=November 2022|reason=What landscape? What does "geographically limited" mean in this context?}}{{citation needed|date=November 2022|reason=This looks like a direct quote from a source, but the source is not given.}}, and so it is likely that this dinosaur fed on the predominant plants of the era: ferns and conifers. It would have used its sharp ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.{{citation needed|date=November 2022|reason=This claim is a further elaboration of the previous, uncited claim about Turanoceratops's diet.}}

==See also==
* [[Biology:Timeline of ceratopsian research|Timeline of ceratopsian research]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q134820}}

[[Category:Ceratopsians]]
[[Category:Turonian life]]
[[Category:Bissekty Formation]]

{{Sourceattribution|Turanoceratops}}