Incisivosaurus
Name:
Incisivosaurus
(Incisor lizard).
Phonetic: In-si-se-vo-sore-us.
Named By: X. Xu, Y.-N. Cheng, X.-L. Wang
& C.-H. Chang - 2002.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria.
Species: I. gauthieri
(type).
Diet: Herbivore/Omnivore.
Size: Skull 10 centimetres long. Body
estimated to be about 1 meter long.
Known locations: China, Liaoning Province -
Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Skull.
Incisivosaurus
was a rather bizarre looking dinosaur thanks to its oversized front
teeth of the upper jaw. More interesting though is the fact that
these teeth show wear patterns that fit in with a herbivorous diet,
an indication that although a theropod, Incisivosaurus
was at the
very least partially herbivorous. Apart from this, Incisivosaurus
was a primitive oviraptosaur
and possible ancestor to the later
oviraptosaurids that lived at the end of the Cretaceous. Later
oviraptorids would have toothless beaks, but the discovery of
Incisivosaurus indicates how their toothed ancestors
may have looked.
There
has been speculation
that Incisivosaurus may be the same genus as the
earlier named
Protarchaeopteryx, though a lack of fossils for
both genera makes it
impossible to be certain of this at the time of writing.
Further reading
- An unusual oviraptorosaurian dinosaur from China. - X. Xu,
Y.-N. Cheng, X.-L. Wang & C.-H. Chang - 2002.
- Cranial Osteology of the Theropod Dinosaur Incisivosaurus
gauthieri (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria). - Amy M.
Balanoff,
Xing Xu, Matsufune Yoshimura & Mark A. Norell -
2009.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random favourites
 |
 |
 |