Glossary TEM - THA
Homepage > Glossary T
Temnospondyl
The largest order of primitive amphibians, commonest from the Carboniferous
to the Triassic period, but with late survivors in the early Cretaceous
of Australia (Koolasuchus).
TENDAGURIA
Tendaguria (named for the Tendaguru beds in Tanzania) was a sauropod dinosaur,
a long-necked, long-tailed plant-eater that lived during the late Jurassic
period, about 150 million years ago. Tendaguria was named by Bonaparte,
Heinrich, and Wild in 2000. The type species is T. tanzaniensis.
TENONTOSAURUS
(pronounced ten-ONT-oh-SAWR-us) Tenontosaurus (meaning "sinew lizard")
was a very large (24 feet long and about 500 kg or 1 ton in weight) hypilophodontid
that lived in prehistoric swamps. Most hypsilophodontids were a lot smaller
than Tenontosaurus and ran on two legs - they also had much smaller arms
than Tenontosaurus. Tenontosaurus' front legs were a little smaller than
its rear legs. Although it probably ran on two legs, Tenontosaurus was
large and bulky and probably spent most of its time on four legs, grazing.
It lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 116-113 million years
ago in what is now western North America. Tenontosaurus was named in 1970
by John H. Ostrom and G. E. Meyer.
TERADACTYL
Teradactyl is a common mis-spelling of Pterodactyl. Pterodactyls (meaning
"winged fingers") were flying, prehistoric reptiles. They were
a subgroup of pterosaurs and were not dinosaurs.
TERATORNIS
Teratornis (meaning "monster bird") was an early condor-like,
extinct bird. This giant, extinct predator had a wingspan of roughly 16-25
feet (5-7.6 m). This carnivore (meat-eater) dates from the Pleistocene
epoch, about 1.8-.01 million years ago. Classification: Class Aves, Order
Ciconiformes, Family Teratornithidae (teratorns), Genus Teratornis, species
merriami and incredibilis.
TERATOSAURUS
Teratosaurus (meaning "monster lizard") was an early rauisuchian
thecodont (a primitive, socket-toothed reptile, not a dinosaur). It was
a large carnivore (meat-eater) that walked on four legs, had a long skull,
a long tail, and sharp teeth. It may have been up to 20 ft (6 m) long.
It dates from the late Triassic Period. A partial upper jaw with powerful
teeth was found in Germany. It was named by von Meyer in 1861. When first
discovered by anatomist R. Owen in 1841, it was thought to be a primitive
dinosaur. Its status was disputed for years.
TERTIARY PERIOD
The Tertiary period lasted from 65 to 1.8 million years ago. It followed
the Cretaceous Period (the end of the Mesozoic Era) and the K-T extinction.
Many mammals developed then, including primitive whales, rodents, pigs,
cat, rhinos, etc.
TETANURAE
Tetanurans (meaning "stiff tail") are a major group of theropods.
The rear part of the tails of these bipedal meat-eaters were stiffened
by interlocking zygopophyses on the vertebrae. These saurischian, bipedal
dinosaurs include the group Avetheropoda (bird-like dinosaurs, which includes
allosauridae coelurasauria and the old group carnosauria). Allosaurus,
Compsognathus, and Tyrannosaurus rex were tetanurae. This group was recognized
by J.A. Gauthier in 1986.
TETHYS SEA
The Tethys sea was a shallow sea that existed during the early Mesozoic
Era. It was the body of water that separated the landmass of Laurasia
in the north from Gondwanaland in the south. It covered what is now southern
Europe.
TETRAGONOSAURUS
Tetragonosaurus is an invalid name for Lambeosaurus, a duck-billed dinosaur
with a large crest from the late Cretaceous Period. This plant-eater was
about 30 feet (9 m) long.
TETRALOPHODON
Tetralophodon (meaning "four-ridged tooth") was an elephant-like
mammal (a mastodon) that lived during the Pliocene Epoch, roughly 5-2
million years ago. It had a massive body (10 feet=3 m tall at the shoulders),
a long trunk, two large incisors (up to 6.5 feet=2 m long), small ears,
and massive, column-like legs. The front legs were slightly longer than
the rear legs. Classification: Class Mammalia, order Proboscidea, suborder
Mastodontoidea, genus Tetralophodon.
TETRAPOD
A tetrapod (which means four legs) is a vertebrate animal that has four
limbs (or has only vestigial limbs, like snakes and whales). Amphibians,
diapsids (reptiles, including the dinosaurs), birds, mammals and some
lobe-finned fish (like Eusthenopteron and Panderichthys) are tetrapods.
The earliest tetrapods evolved from Sarcopterygian fish during the late
Devonian period, roughly 360 million years ago.
TETRAPODOSAURUS
Tetrapodosaurus (meaning "Four-footed lizard") is an ichnogenus
of dinosaur known only from large, quadupedal footprints that date from
the early to middle Cretaceous period (roughly 120-100 million years ago).
These 50-cm-long prints have been found at a large trackways located near
Grande Cache, Alberta, Canada (found by Joe Gienger) and Gething Group
in British Columbia. The fossilized prints of Tetrapodosaurus borealus
represent a genus of plant-eating dinosaur, probably Sauropelta (according
to Ken Carpenter).
TEXASETES
Texasetes (meaning "Texas resident") was a quadrupedal, long-tailed,
armored, plant-eating dinosaur from the middle Cretacaeous period, roughly
112-99 million years ago. This ankylosaurid was about 8-10 feet (2.5-3
m) long. Fossils of this dinosaur were found in Texas, USA. The type species
is T. pleurohalio. Texasetes was named by Coombs in 1995.
TEYUWASU
Teyuwasu (meaning "big lizard" in the Tupi language) was a bipedal
meat-eating dinosaur from the late Triassic Period. Fossils of leg bones
from this dinosaur were found in Brazil. The type species is T. barbarenai.
Teyuwasu was named by Mischlat in 1999.
THAGOMIZER
Thagomizers are the pairs of long, sideways-pointing tail spikes located
at the end of Stegosaurus' tail. The word thagomizer is taken from a Far
Side cartoon (written by Gary Larson) in which a caveman character is
explaining in a lecture that the spiky tail of a Stegosaurus is called
the thagomizer, named for the late Thag Simmons.
THALASSOMEDON
Thalassomedon (meaning "lord of the seas") was a plesiosauroid
plesiosaur (not a dinosaur, but an extinct marine reptile from the Mesozoic
Era that lived in the open oceans and breathed air). It had a long neck
(with 63 vertebrae), a long snout, long, sharp teeth (up to 5 cm long),
a short, pointed tail and four flippers. This reptile was about 40 feet
(12 m) long; its skull was about 18.7 inches (47 cm) long. Fossils have
been found in the USA. The type species, Thalassomedon haningtoni (named
by Welles in 1943), is pictured above at the Denver Museum of Nature and
Science (photo courtesy of Jim Puckett); this late Cretaceous (95 my)
specimen was found in 1939, in Graneros shale in Baca County, Colorado,
USA.
THALATTOSAURS
Thalattosaurs (meaning "sea lizards"), also known as Thallatosaurians,
were large lizard-like marine reptiles (roughly 6-13 ft = 2-4 m long)
from the middle to late Triassic Period, over 200 million years ago. These
primitive diapsids (neodiapsids and primitive archosauromorphs) were distantly
related to the dinosaurs. They had a long body, a long tail and four short
limbs (that may have had webbed feet, were not paddle-like). The nostrils
were towards the middle of the snout, not at the tip. Fossils of this
obscure reptile have been found in western North America and Italy.
THALATTOSUCHIAN
Thalattosuchians (meaning "sea crocodiles"), were large marine
crocodilians that lived from the early Jurasic period to the early Cretaceous
period. They were well-adapted to sea life, having four padle-like limbs,
a long tail with a tail fin and a long snout. It probably ate fish. Geosaurus
was a thalattosuchian.