|
''Nanosaurus'' ("small or dwarf lizard") is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Late Jurassic. Described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877, it is a poorly known ornithischian of uncertain affinities. Its fossils are known from the Morrison Formation of Colorado and possibly Wyoming. It has often been illustrated in the popular literature (as a "tiny dinosaur"), leaving the impression that more is known about it than actually is. Most representations are actually of what is now called ''Othnielosaurus'' or ''Othnielia''. ==History and taxonomy== Marsh named three species of his new genus in 1877, two of which are today known to be dinosaurian: *''N. agilis'', based on YPM 1913, found by school intendant Oramel Lucas, with remains including impressions of a dentary, and postcranial bits including an ilium, thigh bones, shin bones, and a fibula;〔Marsh, O.C. (1877a). Notice of some new vertebrate fossils. ''American Journal of Science'' (Series 3) 14:249-256.〕 *''N. rex'', based on YPM 1915 (also called 1925 in Galton, 2007), a complete thigh bone;〔Marsh, O.C. (1877b). Notice of new dinosaurian reptiles from the Jurassic formations. ''American Journal of Science'' (Series 3) 14:514-516.〕 *and ''N. victor'',〔 which he soon recognized to be something completely different, and is now known as the small, bipedal crocodylian relative ''Hallopus''. He regarded both dinosaur species as small ("cat sized"〔 or "fox-sized"〔) animals.〔(【引用サイトリンク】George Olshevsky "> Re: Nanosaurus rex )〕 Marsh also named a family for ''Nanosaurus'', Nanosauridae, in which he placed only ''Nanosaurus''.〔 With the 1881 reassignment of ''N. victor'', matters stood static for most of the next century. Marsh had originally set up Nanosauridae for this genus, but it generally was included in Hypsilophodontidae after his death. In 1973, Peter Galton and Jim Jenson described a partial skeleton (BYU ESM 163 as of Galton, 2007〔Galton, P.M. (2007). Teeth of ornithischian dinosaurs (mostly Ornithopoda) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of the western United States. In: K. Carpenter (ed.). ''Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs''. Indiana University Press:Bloomington and Indianapolis, 17-47. ISBN 0-253-34817-X〕) missing the head, hands, and tail as ''Nanosaurus (?) rex''. By 1977, he had determined that ''Nanosaurus agilis'' was quite different from ''N. rex'' and the new skeleton, and coined ''Othnielia'' for ''N. rex''. He referred ''Nanosaurus'' proper to the nebulous "Fabrosauridae", but other authors, including Paul Sereno, regarded it as a dubious basal ornithischian of unknown affinities, or as a dubious hypsilophodontid.〔Norman, D.B., Sues, H.-D., Witmer, L.M., and Coria, R.A. (2004). Basal Ornithopoda. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H. (eds.). ''The Dinosauria'' (second edition). University of California Press:Berkeley, 392-412. ISBN 0-520-24209-2〕 Most recently, Galton (2007) considered it as a possibly valid basal ornithopod, and pointed out similarities with heterodontosaurids in the thigh bone. He also tentatively assigned to it some teeth that had been referred to ''Drinker''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nanosaurus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|