Glossary H
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HUAYANGOSAURUS
(pronounced hwah-YANG-oh-SAWR-us) Huayangosaurus was a stegosaurid, a
dinosaur with a double row of spiky triangular plates and spikes running
along its back. It was an quadrupedal herbivore (a plant-eater) 13 feet
(4 m) long that lived during the mid-Jurassic Period (about 170 million
years ago). It was found in China and was named in 1982 by Zhiming Dong.
HUENE, FRIEDRICH VON
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named: Altispinax
(1922), Avipes (1932), Antarctosaurus (1929), Betasuchus (1932), Cetiosauriscus
(1927), Coeluroides (1932), Compsosucus (1932), the family Dicraeosauridae
(1956), Dolichosuchus (1932), Dryptosauroides (1932), Erectopus (1922),
Fulgurotherium (1932), the family Halticosauridae (1956), Halticosaurus
(1908), Iliosuchus (1932), Indocuchus (1933), Jubbulpuria (1932), Laevisuchus
(1932), the family Lambeosauridae (1948), Laplatasaurus (1927), Loricosaurus
(1929), Magyarosaurus (1932), the family Melanorosauridae (1929), Ornithomimoides
(1932), the family Podokesauridae (1914), the infraorder Prosauropoda
(1920), Proceratosaurus (1926), the family Procompsognathidae (1929),
Rapator (1932), Saltopus (1910), the suborder Sauropodomorpha (1932),
Sellosaurus (1908), Thecocoelurus (1923), Velocipes (1932), and Walgettosuchus
(1932).
HUMERUS
The humerus is the bone in the upper part of the arm.
HUXLEY, THOMAS H.
Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895) was a British scientist and friend of Charles
Darwin. He was the first scientist to notice the similarity between birds
and dinosaurs. He named: Acanthopholis (1865), the family Archaeopteryglidae
(1871), Euskelosaurus (1866), Hypsilophodon (1869), and the family Megalosauridae
(1869).
Hybodus
A carnivorous shark, it lived in the Late Jurassic period. It inhabited
both deep and freshwater sea, searching for fish, baby Ophthalmosaurus
and small Cryptoclidus. It could grow up to 2.5 metres long. Although
sharks evolved in the Silurian period the Hybodus was one of the first
of the modern sharks.
HYDROTHEROSAURUS
Hydrotherosaurus (meaning: "water beast lizard") was an elasmosaurid
plesiosaur (not a dinosaur, but an extinct marine reptile from the late
Cretaceous Period (roughly 65 million years ago) that lived in the open
oceans and breathed air). It had a long neck (with 60 vertebrae), a long
snout, long, sharp teeth, a short, pointed tail, a streamlined body, and
four flippers. This reptile was about 42 feet (12.75 m) long; its skull
was about 12 inches (33 cm) long. It was found with fish and gastroliths
(indicating that it ate fish and used stomach stones to aid digestion).
Fossils have been found in California, USA, North America. The type species,
Hydrotherosaurus alexandrae (named by Welles in 1943 to honor Annie Montague
Alexander (1867-1950), a fossil collector). Hydrotherosaurus is known
from a complete skeleton (with the skull).
Hylaeosaurus
Hylaeosaurus was a four-legged, armoured plant-eater from the Early Cretaceous
period of England closely resembling Polacanthus (indeed they may be the
same animal). Hylaeosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered
and was one of the three animals on which Richard Owen based his idea
of a group of extinct giant reptiles that he called ‘Dinosauria’.
HYLONOMUS
(pronounced high-LON-oh-mus) Hylonomus is one of the earliest-known reptiles;
it was NOT a dinosaur. Hylonomus was about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) long
and looked much like a modern-day lizard. It had a long tail, a short
neck, and a deep skull with conical teeth (the front teeth were longer
than the back teeth). It has a typical reptilian sprawling leg stance;
each of the four legs went out to the side instead of under the body (unlike
dinosaur legs which went directly under the body). Hylonomus had five
long toes on each of its four feet. Hylonomus ate insects and other small
invertebrates. Hylonomus evolved from amphibians, which layed their egg
and lived part of their lives in the water - Hylonomus lived entirely
on land and laid its eggs on land. Hylonomus was the ancestor of lizards,
crocodiles, turtles, and birds. It may have been preyed upon by pelycosaurs
like Archaeothyris. It lived during the late Carboniferous period, about
300 million years ago. Fossils of Hylonomus were found in Nova Scotia,
Canada. Classification: Subclass Anapsida, Order Captorhinida, Family
Protorothyrididae, Genus Hylonomus.
HYPACROSAURUS
(pronounced hi-PACK-roh-SAWR-us) Hypacrosaurus (meaning: "under the
top lizard") was a large, plant-eating, hollow-crested duck-billed
dinosaur (a hadrosaur) similar to Corythosaurus. It was about 30 feet
(9 m) long, had almost 40 rows of cheek teeth, a short toothless beak,
and a row of short spines coming out of its vertebrae, forming a small
fin along its back. It lived in humid forests during the late Cretaceous
period, about 72 to 70 million years ago. Fossils (mostly skulls) have
been found in Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA. It was found and named
by fossil hunter Barnum Brown.
HYPSELOSAURUS
(pronounced HIP-sel-oh-SAWR-us) Hypselosaurus (meaning: "high ridge
lizard") was a long-tailed, long-necked plant-eater from the late
Cretaceous Period, about 73 to 65 million years ago. This titanosaurid
was about 27 feet (8 m) long, weighing about 10 tons, small for a sauropod.
Its fossils, including bones from 10 individuals and many eggs have been
found in France and Spain. The eggs were the first dinosaur eggs found.
Many of these eggs have been found in France; they are half-gallon (2-liter)
in volume and about 1 foot (30 cm) long. Some eggs were found in groups
of 5. Hypselosaurus was named by Matheron in 1869. The type species is
H. priscus.
HYPSIBEMA
(pronounced HIP-seh-BEE-muh) Hypsibema (meaning: "high platform,"
referring to its feet) is a doubtful genus of plant-eating dinosaur; it
may be a duck-billed dinosaur (hadrosaur). It is only known from a few
bones, some tail vertebrae, a humerus (upper arm bone), a tibia (a lower
leg bone), and a metatarsal (ankle bone). Hypsibema was found in North
Carolina, USA. This ornithopod lived during the late Cretaceous Period,
about 83-73 million years ago. Hypsibema was named by paleontologist E.D.
Cope in 1869. The type species is H. crassicauda. Hypsibema may be the
same as Parrosaurus.
HYPSILOPHODON
(pronounced hip-seh-LOFF-oh-don ) Hypsilophodon was a small, bipedal,
plant-eating dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period, about 125 to 115
million years ago. It was an ornithischian dinosaur about 7. 5 feet (2.3
m) long. It was one of the first dinosaur fossils found. The type species
is H. foxii. Hypsilophodon was named by Thomas Huxley in 1869.
Hypsilophodontid
A group of lightly built, herbivore dinosaurs that resembled small Iguanodon.
They were bird-hipped dinosaurs or ornithopods and evolved in the Middle
Jurassic period. They died out at the end of the Cretaceous period in
the mass dinosaur extinction.
HYRACOTHERIUM
Hyracotherium is the genus of the earliest-known horse. Another name for
this genus is Eohippus (meaning: "dawn horse"). This tiny horse
dates from the early Eocene Epoch and lived in the Northern hemisphere.
It was about 2 feet (60 cm) long and 9 inches (23 cm) high at the shoulder
(the size of a small dog!). It had 4 hoofed toes on each front foot and
3 hoofed toes on each hind foot.