Lepidus
Name: Lepidus
(fascinating).
Phonetic: Lep-e-dus.
Named By: Sterling J. Nesbitt & Martin
D. Ezcurra - 2015.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Coelophysoidea.
Species: L. praecisio
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Unknown due to lack of remains.
Known locations: USA, Texas.
Time period: Late Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial leg bones and a
partial maxilla.
The
full type species name for this dinosaur is Lepidus praecisio
which
means ‘fascinating fragment’. This is because while not many
fossils of this dinosaur are known, we can observe that the
astragalus (talos) and calcaneum are fused into one, which is a
trait of neotheropod dinosaurs. At the same time however, the tibia
shows a similarity to more primitive theropod dinosaur forms such as
Herrerasaurus.
Living
in what is now the USA during the Triassic, it is possible that
Lepidus lived ina same ecosystems as dinosaurs such
as Coelophysis
and
Tawa.
Further reading
- The early fossil record of dinosaurs in North America: A new
neotheropod from the base of the Upper Triassic Dockum Group of Texas.
- Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60. - Sterling J. Nesbitt
& Martin D. Ezcurra - 2015.
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