Glossary ANH - APO
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AAC - ACR - ALE - AMA - AMP - ANH - AQU - ARC - ARS
ANHANGUERA
Anhanguera santanae (meaning: "old devil") was a pterosaur (not
a dinosaur). This Pterodactyloid had a skull 1.6 ft (50 cm) long with
a small crest on top of the snout. It had small, widely-spaced teeth in
the long, sturdy jaws. Anhanguera had an estimated wingspan 13.6 feet
(4.1 m). Fossils of this flying reptile were found in northeastern Brazil.
This carnivore lived during the early Cretaceous Period.
ANKYLOSAURIDS
(pronounced AN-kye-loh-SAWR-ids or ang-KY-loh-SAWR-ids) Ankylosaurids
were one division of the ankylosaurs, a group of armored, plant-eating,
ornithischia dinosaurs with tail clubs and massive legs. Ankylosaurus
and Euoplocephalus were ankylosaurids.
ANKYLOSAURS
(pronounced AN-kye-loh-sawrs or ang-KY-loh-sawrs) The ankylosaurs (ankylosauria)
were a group (family) of armored, plant-eating, ornithischia dinosaurs
from the mid-Jurassic to the late Cretaceous periods. The ankylosaurs
are divided into the Nodosaurids (having no tail clubs, like Sauropelta)
and Ankylosaurids (with tail clubs, like Euoplocephalus).
Ankylosaurus
Literally "fused" or "stiff lizard". A medium sized,
herbivore dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous period. It had a heavily plated
back and a club tail. All its bones had fused together so thickly that
there was very little room for a brain. It was up to 10 meters long and
weighed up to 7 tonnes.
ANNING, MARY
Mary Anning (1799-1847) was a British fossil hunter who began finding
fossils as a child, and supported herself and her family by finding and
selling fossils. She lived on the southern coast of England, in Lyme Regis.
Anning found the first fossilized plesiosaur and Ichthyosaurs. She found
many important fossils, including Pterodactylus, sharks, and many other
reptiles and fish.
ANODONTOSAURUS
(pronounced an-oh-DONT-oh-SAWR-us) Anodontosaurus (meaning: "toothless
lizard" was a small plant-eating dinosaur that actually had teeth,
but only in the back of the mouth. It is actually an ankylosaurid, Euoplocephalus
acutosquameus. It dates from the late Cretaceous Period, about 76-70 million
years ago. The type species is A. lambei. This doubtful genus was named
by Sternberg in 1929.
ANOMOEPUS
Anomoepus intermedius is a dinosaur known only from its fossilized tail
prints; these prints are only a few inches long. This ichnogenus lived
during the Triassic Period. Anomoepus was named by E. B. Hitchcock in
1848. Fossils have been found in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and New Jersey,
USA.
ANOPLOSAURUS
(pronounced an-OP-loh-SAWR-us) Anoplosaurus (meaning: "no-weapon
lizard" was a small iguanodontid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous
Period, about 98 million years ago. This plant-eater had thumb spikes.
A very incomplete fossil was found in England. The type species is A.
curtonotus. This doubtful genus was named by British scientist Harry Govier
Seeley in 1879.
ANORBITA FENESTRA
An antorbital fenestra is a hole in the skull immediately in front of
an eye. This fenestra is marks the diapsids.
ANSERIMIMUS
(pronounced AN-ser-i-MIEM-us) Anserimimus (meaning: "goose mimic"
was an ornithomimid theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period,
about 75-70 million years ago. This 3 ft (1 m) long meat-eater was lightly
built (weighing about 62 kg), had long legs, short arms with long claws,
a long tail, a long neck, and very few teeth. One skeleton (without a
skull) was found in Mongolia. The type species is A. planinychus. Anserimimus
was named by Barsold in 1988.
Antarctic
The South Pole.
ANTARCTOSAURUS
Antarctosaurus (meaning: "opposite-of-northern lizard") was
a giant, long-necked, long-tailed, very small-headed, quadrupedal, plant-eating
titanosaurid sauropod from the late Cretaceous Period, about 83 million
to 65 million years ago. It had a bulky body, weak jaws, and had teeth
only at the front of the mouth. It was 60-100 feet (19-30 m) long and
weighed roughly 57900 kg. Its rear legs were much longer than the front
legs. Incomplete fossils have been found in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile,
South America. Antarctosaurus was found in 1916 and named by paleontologist
von Huene in 1929.
ANTHOPHYTA
Anthophyta are flowering plants, the largest group of plants (which includes
the grasses). The flowers are used in reproduction. They evolved during
the Cretaceous Period.
ANTIARCHI
Antiarchs (the Antiarchi) were a type of (mosty) small placoderms that
were abundant during mid- to late-Devonian. These armored fish ranged
from 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) long. Instead of the pectoral fins that other
fish have, these unusual tetrapods had segmented "arms" that
were covered by hard dermal bone, but these arms lacked an internal skeleton.
Arm muscles were attached to the interior of the dermal plates. The "arms"
had two joints, at the shoulder and at the elbow (2/3 the way down from
the shoulder) and may have allowed the fish to move in shallow water or
perhaps on land briefly. Antiarchi also differed from other placoderms
in that most placoderms had a flexible joint between the head and thorasic
shields, but antiarchs lacked this joint, and the head and thorasic shield
were fused together. Bothriolepis, which fed on organic-rich sediment,
was a 20-30 cm long antiarch with auxillary lungs. Pterichthyodes was
a 15 cm Antiarch from the mid-Devonian.
ANTRODEMUS
(pronounced AN-truh-DEE-mus) Antrodemus is an invalid name for Allosaurus.
It was a huge, meat-eating dinosaur from the late Jurassic Period, about
156 million to 135 million years ago. It was a theropod that lived in
what is now the western United States.
ANURA
Anura (or Salienta) is the clade of frogs, toads, and their close fossil
relatives. Anura means "no tail," since these amphibians lose
their tail as an adult. The earliest anuran is Triadobatrachus, from the
early Triassic Period.
Anurognathus
This small flying omnivore lived in the Late Jurassic period. It is possible
it could have spent its life onboard the back of sauropods such as Diplodocus
or Brachiosaurus that wandered the plains. It fed on the insects disturbed
by the feeding of the massive herbivores. It had a wingspan of up to 50
cm and weighed about three to seven grams.
APATODON
(pronounced uh-PAT-uh-don) Apatodon is a doubtful genus; it is probably
an Allosaurus. It was a huge, meat-eating dinosaur from the late Jurassic
Period, about 156 million to 135 million years ago. It was a theropod
that lived in what is now the western United States.
Apatosaurus
A large four-footed herbivore sauropod dinosaur up to 21m long and weighing
more than 20 tonnes, which lived during the Upper Jurassic period. Apatosaurus
used to be known by the name Brontosaurus.
APOMORPHY
An apomorphy is a new genetic characteristic to a clade. Feathers are
an apomorphy for birds.