Lycorhinus

Name: Lycorhinus ‭(‬Wolf snout‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ly-koe-rhy-nuss.
Named By: Sidney H.‭ ‬Haughton‭ ‬-‭ ‬1924.
Synonyms: Lanasaurus.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Heterodontosauridae,‭ ‬Heterodontosaurinae.
Species: L.‭ ‬angustidens‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬parvidens‭?
Diet: Herbivore/omnivore‭?
Size: Estimates about‭ ‬1.2‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: South Africa,‭ ‬Cape Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Elliot Formation.
Time period: Hettangian to Sinemurian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial skulls,‭ ‬dentaries and teeth.

       Originally thought to be a cynodont,‭ ‬Lycorhinus was not realised to be a dinosaur until‭ ‬1962‭ ‬when Alfred Walter Crompton studied the holotype.‭ ‬Many remains have been attributed Lycorhinus in the past,‭ ‬but most of these have now been moved to other species of different genera,‭ ‬two examples being UCL A100‭ ‬and UCL B54‭ (‬partial skull and partial skull and skeleton respectively‭) ‬being moved to create the genus Abrictosaurus.‭ ‬One genus however,‭ ‬Lanasaurus named by Christopher Gow in‭ ‬1975‭ ‬is now regarded by palaeontolgists‭ (‬including Gow himself‭) ‬as being a synonym to Lycorhinus.‭ ‬Unfortunately this has not done much to increase the known fossils of Lycorhinus since Lanasaurus was based upon only a partial maxilla.

Further reading
-‭ ‬The fauna and stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series,‭ ‬Sidney H.‭ ‬Haughton‭ ‬-‭ ‬1924.
-‭ ‬A tooth-bearing maxilla referable to Lycorhinus angustidens Haughton,‭ ‬Christopher E.‭ ‬Gow‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.

Random favourites