Glossary TIN - TRI
Homepage > Glossary T
TINKER
Tinker is the nickname of a young Tyrannosaurus rex (meaning "tyrant
lizard king") that was found near Belle Fourche, South Dakota, USA
(in the Hell Creek Formation of western S.D.). Tinker's roughly 70%-complete
fossilized skeleton dates from about 70 million years ago, during the
late Cretaceous Period. This theropod (carnivorous dinosaur) was about
5 to 6 years old when it died; it was abut 20 feet long and may have weighed
1,200 pounds. This is about two-thirds the size of an adult Tyrannosaurus
rex. but only about 1/4 of an adult's weight. Tinker was found by Kim
Hollrah and Ron Frithiof.
TITANOSAURUS
(pronounced ti-TAN-oh-SAWR-us) Titanosaurus (meaning "titanic lizard")
was a large sauropod, having a long neck, long tail, and small head. It
walked on four legs and had a heavy body with bony armor on the back.
It was about 40-60 feet (12-18 m) long and may have weighed roughly 14,700
kg. This giant herbivore (plant-eater) lived during the late Cretaceous
Period (83-65 million years ago). It is only known from incomplete fossils
that were found in India, Europe, and perhaps South America. Titanosaurus
was named by the British paleontologist Richard Lydekker in 1877. The
type species is T. indicus.
TITANOSAURIDS
(pronounced ti-TAN-oh-SAW-rids) Titanosaurids (meaning "titanic lizards")
were a group of large sauropods, having a long neck, long tail, and small
head. They included the largest land animals that ever lived: Andesaurus,
Antarctosaurus, Argyrosaurus, Chubutisaurus, Hypselosaurus, Titanosaurus
and many other giants. They walked on four legs, ate plants and had a
heavy body with armor on the back. They lived mostly during the late Cretaceous
Period up until the K-T extinction. The family of Titanosaurids were named
by British paleontologist Richard Lydekker in 1885.
TITANOSUCHUS
(pronounced ti-TAN-oh-SOOK-us) Titanosuchus (meaning "titanic crocodile")
was a therapsid (it was not a dinosaur). This meat-eater lived during
the late Permian period (just before the dinosaurs evolved). Titanosuchus
walked on four short, sprawling legs. It has a long tail and a huge skull
with many sharp teeth (including fang-like canines, sharp incisors, and
shearing-type teeth toward the back of the jaw). Titanosuchus was about
8 ft (2.5 m) long. Fossils have been found in South Africa. Classification:
Subclass Synapsida, Order Therapsida, Suborder Dinocephalia ("terrible
heads"), Family Titanosuchidae, Genus Titanosuchus.
TITANOTHERE
The titanotheres (also known as brontotheres) are extinct family of large,
rhinoceros-like mammals that were ancestors of the horse, rhinoceros,
and tapir. Titanotheres had horn-like structures on their snout; bony
knobs protruded from their skull and were covered with thick skin. Males
had larger knobs than females. These herbivores ate soft forest vegetation
and were up to 8 feet (2.5 m) tall at the shoulder. Titanotheres each
had a tiny brain, only as big as a fist. They had four hoofed toes on
each front foot and three hoofed toes on each rear foot They lived from
the early Eocene until the middle Oligocene (from 58-30 million years
ago). Some titanotheres include Brontops (8 ft tall, from North America),
Brontotherium (8 ft tall, from North America), Dolichorhinus (4 ft tall,
from North America), Eotitanops (1.5 ft tall, from North America and Asia),
and Embolotherium (8 ft tall, from Mongolia).
TOP PREDATOR
A top predator is an animal at the top of the food chain, like the jaguar
or bald eagle. Top predators have little or no natural enemies.
TORNIERIA
Tornieria is an invalid name for Barosaurus, a diplodocid sauropod (a
long-necked, long-tailed, small-headed, short-legged giant). It was an
herbivore, a plant-eater. It was huge, perhaps over 60 feet (20 m) long,
and was slow-moving. Its primary defense against predators was its size.
Barosaurus lived during the late Jurassic Period, about 156 to 145 million
years ago. Its fossils have been found in western North America and East
Africa.
Torosaurus
This medium sized herbivore lived in the Late Cretaceous period. It lived
on coastal plains, and probably was able to tackle the tough vegetation
there with a powerful beak. It is thought that Torosaurus also had an
enormous, vibrantly colored head crest, which was used in mating rituals
or hierarchy fights. It was eight meters long, and weighed eight tonnes
and had the largest skull of all land animals.
TORVOSAURUS
(pronounced TOR-voh-SAWR-us) Torvosaurus (meaning "savage lizard")
was a very large theropod dinosaur. This bipedal meat-eater was up to
40 feet (12 m) long and had extremely short arms. It lived during the
late Jurassic Period, about 156-145 million years ago in what is Colorado,
USA, North America. The type species is T. tanneri. Torvosaurus was named
by paleontologists Galton and Jensen in 1979.
TRACE FOSSILS
Also known as ichnofossils, these are fossilized footprints, nests, dung,
gastroliths, etc., but not actual body parts. They record the movement
and behavior of animals.
TRACHODON
(pronounced TRACK-oh-don) Trachodon (meaning "rough tooth")
is a plant-eating dinosaur that is known only from a few teeth and parts
of the jaw that were found in Montana, USA. It dates from the late Cretaceous
Period, about 77-73 million years ago. From the teeth, it has been surmised
that it was probably a duck-billed dinosaur (a lambeosaurine hadrosaur).
Trachodon was named in 1856 by Joseph Leidy; the typs species is T. mirabilis.
This is a dubious genus due to the sparsity of fossils.
TRACKWAYS
Many animal track fossils (fossilized footprints) have been found. They
can indicate the animal's speed, weight, and herding behavior. Determining
which animal made the tracks can be difficult.
TRANSGRESSION
Transgression is the flooding of a continent as the sea level increases,
usually caused by melting polar ice. Another cause is sea floor spreading
and underwater volcanism, in which large amounts of underwater lava cause
water to be displaced onto land.
TREE FERN
Tree ferns are tall vascular plants that live in warm climates. These
ferns have a clump of fronds on top of a fibrous trunk.
TRIADOBATRACHUS
Triadobatrachus massinoti is the earliest-known salientian, a proto-frog.
Morphologically, it is between a salamander and a frog. This 4 inch (10
cm) long amphibian lived during the early Triassic Period, about 250 million
years ago. A single fossils was found in Madagascar. Triadobatrachus had
long jumping hind legs and a well-developed eardrum. It had a short body,
a short tail, and 14 back vertebrae (compared to 5 to 9 vertebrae in modern
frogs). Classification: Order Proanura.
Triassic Period
Lasted from about 245 million years ago to 208 million years ago
Triceratops
A three horned dinosaur with a bony crest that lived during the Late Cretaceous
period. It is the best known of the horned dinosaurs. It was unusual because
its head crest was solid bone and did not have holes in it.
TRICONODONT
Triconodonts (meaning "three-coned teeth") were small, early
mammals that lived from the Triassic period until the Cretaceous period
(from about 200-100 million years ago). These long-tailed, quadrupedal
mammals had three-cusped teeth (hence their name) and ranged from a just
a few inches long to the size of a cat. They had relatively advanced,
grasping hands, but a primitive pelvis and hind limbs. These insectivores
may have had large eyes, and may have been nocturnal (most active at night).
The most complete triconodont, the 5 inch long, 125 million-year-old Jeholodens
jenkinsi, was recently found in Lianong, China.