Zalmoxes

Zal-mocks-ees.
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Maeve Foster

Paleoclimatologist

Maeve Foster explores the Earth's climatic past to understand the forces that shaped life on our planet. Her research into ancient climate events provides valuable context for current environmental challenges.

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Name

Zalmoxes ‭(‬After the Dacian deity Zalmoxis‭)‬.

Phonetic

Zal-mocks-ees.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Ornithopoda,‭ ‬Rhabdodontidae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

Z.‭ ‬robustus‭

Size

About 2-2.5 meters long, but some adults may have been larger.

Known locations

Romania,‭ ‬Transylvania‭ ‬-‭ ‬S�npetru Formation.

Time Period

Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Hundreds of bones have been recovered allowing for reconstruction of the post cranial skeleton with the exception of the outer extremities such as the hands,‭ ‬feet and tail.‭ ‬Skull known from partial remains.

In Depth

       Zalmoxes was discovered when fossils that had been assigned to the genus Rhabdodon as R.‭ ‬robustus‭ (‬originally robustum‭) ‬were discovered to have different distinguishing features.‭ ‬This was actually the second time that the material had been re-named as initially it was known as a species of Mochlodon.‭ ‬Today Zalmoxes is described as an iguanodontid ornithopod dinosaur that sits within the family Rhabdodontidae.‭ ‬This group was created in‭ ‬2003,‭ ‬and aside from Rhabdodon is also thought to be the rightful home of other well-known dinosaurs like Muttaburrasaurus.        Zalmoxes itself was not the only dinosaur to accomplish this,‭ ‬as the hadrosauird Telmatosaurus,‭ ‬as well as the titanosaur Magyarosaurus both attained maximum sizes that were much smaller than similar and related dinosaurs that were living in mainland areas. Carnivores also evolved however as indicated by the presence of the dromaeosaurid Balaur.

Further Reading

– Osteology and phylogeny of Zalmoxes (n. g.), an unusual euornithopod dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. – Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 1(2):65-123. – D. B. Weishampel, C.-M. Jianu, Z. Csiki & D. B. Norman – 2003.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT