Mantellisaurus

Man-tel-le-sore-us.
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Emerson Winslow

Paleoichthyologist

Emerson Winslow delves into the underwater world of prehistoric fish, uncovering the mysteries of early marine life. His discoveries have enhanced understanding of vertebrate evolution in aquatic environments.

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Name

Mantellisaurus ‭(‬Mantell’s liazrd‭)‬.

Phonetic

Man-tel-le-sore-us.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Ornithopoda,‭ ‬Styracosterna,‭ ‬Hadrosauriformes.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

M.‭ ‬atherfieldensis‭

Size

About‭ ‬7‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

England,‭ ‬Isle of Wight‭ ‬-‭ ‬Wessex Formation.

Time Period

Barremian-Aptian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Several individuals,‭ ‬some of which are almost complete.

In Depth

       Mantellisaurus was originally described as a species of Iguanodon,‭ ‬I.‭ ‬atherfieldensis,‭ ‬but in‭ ‬2007‭ ‬Gregory S.‭ ‬Paul renamed the species as new genus.‭ ‬Paul chose the name Mantellisaurus in honour of Gideon Mantell,‭ ‬the man who discovered and named Iguanodon.‭ ‬Mantellisaurus was capable of movement in either a quadrupedal or bipedal posture,‭ ‬and is noted for having a similarity with the dinosaur Ouranosaurus from North Africa.‭ ‬Trackways from the same location that the Mantellisaurus holotype fossils are known from indicate that Mantellisaurus travelled in family groups.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Turning the old into the new:‭ ‬a separate genus for the gracile iguanodont from the Wealden of England.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Horns and Beaks:‭ ‬Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs‭ ‬69-77.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Gregory S.‭ ‬Paul‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. -‭ ‬A revised taxonomy of the iguanodont dinosaur genera and species.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cretaceous Research‭ ‬29‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬192‭–‬216.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Gregory S.‭ ‬Paul‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.

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