Archaeopteryx. Archaeopteryx (/ˌɑrkiːˈɒptərɨks/ AR-kee-OP-tər-iks), sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel ("original bird" or "first bird"), is a genus of early bird that is transitional between feathered dinosaurs and modern birds.
The name derives from the ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (archaīos) meaning "ancient", and πτέρυξ (ptéryx), meaning "feather" or "wing". Since the late nineteenth century, it had been generally accepted by palaeontologists, and celebrated in lay reference works, as being the oldest known bird (member of the group Avialae).[1] However, older potential avialans have since been identified, including Anchiornis, Xiaotingia, and Aurornis.[2] These features make Archaeopteryx a clear candidate for a transitional fossil between dinosaurs and birds.[6][7] Thus, Archaeopteryx plays an important role, not only in the study of the origin of birds, but in the study of dinosaurs. It was named from a feather in 1861. Most of these eleven fossils include impressions of feathers. Mymoorapelta. Mymoorapelta ("Shield of Mygatt-Moore") is an ankylosaur from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) Morrison Formation (Brushy Basin Member) of western Colorado.
The taxon is known from portions of a disarticulated skull, parts of three different skeletons and other postcranial remains. Present in stratigraphic zones 4 and 5 of the Morrison Formation.[1] Classification[edit] Cast at Makuhari Messe References[edit] Jump up ^ Foster, J. (2007). Gargoyleosaurus. Gargoyleosaurus (meaning "gargoyle lizard") is one of the earliest ankylosaurs known from reasonably complete fossil remains.
Its skull measures 29 centimetres (11 in) in length, and its total body length is an estimated 3 to 4 metres (9.8 to 13.1 ft). It may have weighed as much as 1 tonne (2,200 lb). The holotype was discovered at the Bone Cabin Quarry West locality, in Albany County, Wyoming in exposures of the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian stages) Morrison Formation.[1] The type species, G. parkpinorum (originally G. parkpini) was described by Ken Carpenter et al. in 1998. A mounted skeletal reconstruction of Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum can be seen at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Holotype[edit] The holotype specimen of Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum was collected by Western Paleontology Labs in 1996 and is currently held in the collections of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, Colorado.
Kimmeridgian. Stratigraphic definition[edit] Historically the term Kimmeridgian has been used in two different ways.
The base of the interval is the same but the top was defined by British stratigraphers as the base of the Portlandian (sensu anglico) whereas in France the top was defined as the base of the Tithonian (sensu gallico). The differences have not yet been fully resolved, but Tithonian is now seen as the uppermost stage of the Jurassic in the timescale of the ICS.[2] The base of the Kimmeridgian is at the first appearance of ammonite species Pictonia baylei in the stratigraphic column. A global reference profile for the base (the GSSP of the Kimmeridgian stage) had in 2009 not yet been assigned. Subdivision[edit] The Kimmeridgian is sometimes subdivided into Upper and Lower substages. Palaeontology[edit] †Ankylosaurs[edit] Bird[edit] †Ornithopods[edit] †Plesiosaurs[edit] †Sauropods[edit] †Stegosaurs[edit] †Thalattosuchians[edit] †Theropods (non-avian)[edit]