Siluosaurus

Taxobox
name = "Siluosaurus"
fossil_range = Early Cretaceous
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Ornithischia
subordo = Ornithopoda
familia = ?Hypsilophodontidae
genus = "Siluosaurus"
genus_authority= Dong, 1997
subdivision_ranks=Species
subdivision=
*"S. zhanggiani" Dong, 1997 (type)

"Siluosaurus" (meaning "Silu (Chinese for Silk Road, referring to the discovery location) lizard") is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Barremian-Albian-age Lower Cretaceous Xinminbao Group of Gansu, China. It is based on IVPP V.11117 (1-2), two teeth. It is an obscure genus, with no papers doing more than mentioning it since it was described.

History

The teeth that would be named "Siluosaurus" were recovered during the 1992 Sino-Japanese Silk Road Dinosaur Expedition. One tooth was from the upper beak (premaxilla), and the other was from the cheek region of the upper jaw (maxilla). Dong Zhiming, who named the genus, suggested that it was a hypsilophodontid, and described the teeth as the smallest ornithopod teeth yet known.cite book |last=Zhiming |first=Dong |authorlink=Dong Zhiming |editor=Dong Zhiming (ed.) |title=Sino-Japanese Silk Road Dinosaur Expedition |year=1997 |publisher=China Ocean Press |location=Beijing |isbn=7-5027-4298-0 |pages=24-26 |chapter=A small ornithopod from Mazongshan area, Gansu Province, China ] It was regarded without comment as a dubious name in the most recent review of basal ornithopods,cite book |last=Norman |first=David B. |authorlink=David B. Norman |coauthors=Sues, Hans-Dieter; Witmer, Larry M.; and Coria, Rodolfo A. |editor=Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.)|title=The Dinosauria |edition=2nd |year= 2004|publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0-520-24209-2 |pages=393-412 |chapter=Basal Ornithopoda] a not-uncommon fate for dinosaur names based on teeth.

Paleobiology

As a hypsilophodontid or other basal ornithopod, "Siluosaurus" would have been a bipedal herbivore. Its size has not been estimated, but as most adult hypsilophodonts were 1-2 meters long (3.3-6.6 ft), this genus would have been of similar to smaller size, based on Dong's comments.

References

External links

* [http://www.dinoruss.com/de_4/5a930fb.htm "Siluosaurus" in The Dinosaur Encyclopaedia] at Dino Russ's Lair
* [http://www.users.qwest.net/~jstweet1/ornithopoda.htm "Siluosaurus"] at "Thescelosaurus"!, under Ornithopoda "i.s."