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Information about Claosaurus

Claosaurus

Scientific classification


Claosaurus, (CLAY-oh-sawr-us) meaning 'broken lizard', referring to the odd position of the fossils when discovered (Greek klao meaning 'broken' and sauros meaning 'lizard') was a primitive hadrosaurid (duck-billed dinosaur) living during the Late Cretaceous Period (Santonian).

Enlarge picture
early restoration of Claosaurus
Evidence of its existence was first found near the Smoky Hill River in Kansas, USA in the form of partial skull fragments and as an articulated postcranial skeleton. Originally named Hadrosaurus agilis (Marsh, (1872), it was placed in a new genus and renamed Claosaurus agilis in 1890 when major differences between this specimen and Hadrosaurus came to light.

Claosaurus had a slender body and slim feet, with long legs, small arms, and a long, stiff tail. It probably grew to a length of about 12 to 16 feet (3.5 meters) and weighed roughly 475 kg.

It appears to have walked on its hind legs, dropping to all fours only to graze. Like other hadrosaurs, it was an herbivore.

Original, as described by Marsh, 1872:

'' 1. Notice of a new species of Hadrosaurus; by O. C. MARSH. Among the Reptilian remains obtained by the Yale College party during the past summer (1871) was the greater part of a skeleton of a small Hadrosaurus, discovered by the writer in the blue Cretaceous shale near the Smoky Hill River, in Western Kansas. This species was somewhat smaller than H. minor Marsh, from New Jersey, and hardly more than one-third the bulk of H. Foulkei of Leidy. It was of more slender proportions, with the tail much elongated. The cervical vertebra are proportionally shorter than in H. Foulkei, and the caudals appear more compressed, Some of the distal caudals have a longitudinal ridge on the lateral surface. The sacrum, which is composed of six confluent vertebræ is 414 mm. in length. The first caudal vertebra is 62 mm. in length. The feet are nearly entire, and are proportionally more slender than the known remains of the other species would indicate. The third metatarsal is 235 mm. in length, and 77 mm. in transverse diameter at its distal end. This species, which may be called Hadrosaurus agilis, will be fully described in this Journal at an early day.


Yale College, New Haven, March 19th, 1872.''
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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For other uses of the term, see Fossil (disambiguation)


FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under the DOS operating system.
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Ancient Greek refers to the second stage in the history of the Greek language[1] as it existed during the Archaic (9th–6th centuries BC) and Classical (5th–4th centuries BC) periods in Greece.
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Hadrosauridae
Cope, 1869

Subfamilies
  • Hadrosaurinae Cope, 1869
  • Lambeosaurinae Parks, 1923
Synonyms
  • Trachodontidae Lydekker, 1888
  • Saurolophidae Brown, 1914
  • Lambeosauridae Parks, 1923 vide Horner, 1990

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Dinosauria *
Owen, 1842

Orders & Suborders
  • Ornithischia
  • Cerapoda
  • Thyreophora
  • Saurischia

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Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya) refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time. Rocks deposited during the Late Cretaceous Period are referred to as the Upper Cretaceous Series.
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A geologic period is a subdivision of geologic time that divides an era into smaller timeframes. The equivalent term used to demarcate rock layers and the fossil record is the system; thus the rocks of the Devonian System were laid down during the Devonian Period.
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The Santonian is a stage (geologic Age [1] ) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch. It spans the time between 85.8 ± 0.7 Ma and 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago).

References

  • GeoWhen Database - Santonian

Cretaceous period
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Smoky Hill River is a 560-mile river in the U.S. states of Colorado and Kansas. It starts in the high plains of eastern Colorado and flows east. The two main tributaries, called the North and South forks, join near Russell Springs, Kansas.
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State of Kansas

Flag of Kansas Seal
Nickname(s): The Sunflower State
Motto(s): Ad astra per aspera

Official language(s) English[1]

Capital Topeka
Largest city Wichita
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1887 1888 1889 - 1890 - 1891 1892 1893

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Hadrosaurus
Leidy, 1858

Species

H. foulkii Leidy, 1858 (type)
Hadrosaurus (Greek: ἁδρος, hadros + σαυρος, sauros = sturdy lizard
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1 foot =
SI units
0 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
0 yd 0 in
A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′
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1 metre =
SI units
1000 mm 0 cm
US customary / Imperial units
0 ft 0 in
The metre or meter[1](symbol: m) is the fundamental unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).
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Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism known as an herbivore, consumes principally autotrophs[1] such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s  1850s  1860s  - 1870s -  1880s  1890s  1900s
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State of New Jersey

Flag of New Jersey Seal
Nickname(s): Garden State[1]
Motto(s): Liberty and prosperity

Official language(s) English de facto

Capital Trenton

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In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are those vertebrae immediately behind (caudal to) the skull.

Variation among species

In some species, some parts of the skull may be composed of vertebra-like elements, e.g.
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In sciences dealing with the anatomy of animals, precise anatomical terms of location are necessary for a variety of reasons. Non-scientists often wonder why zoological and human anatomists use complex terminology to describe locations on a body, when common terms like "up",
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The sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is inserted like a wedge between the two hip bones.
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The metatarsus consists of the five long bones of the foot, which are numbered from the medial side (ossa metatarsalia I.-V.); each presents for examination a body and two extremities. These are analogous to the metacarpals of the hand.
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Yale University is a private university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is a member of the Ivy League.
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New Haven, Connecticut

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Nickname: The Elm City
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA New Haven
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March 19 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s  1850s  1860s  - 1870s -  1880s  1890s  1900s
1869 1870 1871 - 1872 - 1873 1874 1875

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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