In Depth
Pisanosaurus is easily one of the oldest ornithischian dinosaurs that are currently known to science. Unfortunately the holotype specimen is very fragmentary, and details such as the orientation of the pubic bone are still unknown. Despite this the basic orithopod body form can still be clearly seen, Pisanosaurus is a good indicator for a type of dinosaur that would become common and widespread all the way through the Mesozoic.
Further Reading
- Un nuevo dinosaurio ornitisquio triasico (Pisanosaurus mertii; Ornithopoda) de la Formaci�n Ischigualasto, Argentina [A new Triassic ornithischian dinosaur (Pisanosaurus mertii; Ornithopoda) from the Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina]. - Ameghiniana 4(2):47-64. - R. M. Casamiquela - 1967. – Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela and the origin of the Ornithischia. – Journal of Paleontology. 50 (5): 808–820. – J. F. Bonaparte – 1976. – Nuevas observaciones sobre Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela, 1967 (Dinosauriformes) y sus implicancias taxon�micas. – XXIX Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontolog�a de Vertebrados. 27–29. – Federico L. Agnolin – 2015. – Phylogenetic reassessment of Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela, 1967, a basal dinosauriform from the Late Triassic of Argentina. – Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 16 (10): 853–879. – Federico L. Agnol�n & Sebasti�n Rozadilla – 2017. – Pisanosaurus mertii and the Triassic ornithischian crisis: could phylogeny offer a solution?. – Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. 31 (8): 1–15. – Matthew G. Baron – 2018.