Phaedrolosaurus
| Phaedrolosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, ~
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|---|---|
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| Only known tooth of Phaedrolosaurus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Coelurosauria |
| Genus: | †Phaedrolosaurus Dong, 1973 |
| Type species | |
| †Phaedrolosaurus ilikensis Dong, 1973
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Phaedrolosaurus (meaning "elated lizard") is a dubious genus of possible dromaeosaurid coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur, based on a single isolated and non-diagnostic tooth from the Valanginian-Albian aged Lianmuqin Formation of Wuerho, in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China.
Discovery and naming
[edit]The first known remains of Phaedrolosaurus were discovered in China during an Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) expedition to China's Wuerho area in 1964.[1] The tooth, IVPP V 4024-1, was in 1973 described and named by Dong Zhiming as a new genus and species. The type species is Phaedrolosaurus ilikensis. The generic name is derived from the Greek φαιδρός, phaidros, "elated", referring to the agility of the animal. The specific name refers to the Ilike Formation. Dong stated the thirty-one millimetre long tooth was like those of Deinonychus, albeit thicker, shorter, and more solid. He regarded the new genus as a possible dromaeosaurid.[2]
As part of the type material of this genus Dong described several skeletal elements from other sites, among them a partial, articulated right leg.[2] Because this latter limb material showed autapomorphies, distinctive characteristics, and there was no reason to connect it to the non-diagnostic tooth, Rauhut and Xu in 2005 gave this material its own name, Xinjiangovenator parvus. They also recommended regarding Phaedrolosaurus as a nomen dubium, a dubious name.[3] Because Dong had not designated a holotype among the several specimens in 1973 assigned to Phaedrolosaurus, in 1977 Hans-Dieter Sues had made the tooth the lectotype.[4]
Description
[edit]Phaedrolosaurus was likely a small-medium sized theropod, probably around 3-4 meters (9.8-13 ft), and similar to that of a dromaeosaur, which was also first interpreted by Dong. It would've been quite agile and relatively bulky, capable of running at high speeds and probably also having feathers. From the shape of its teeth, it's possible that the skull of Phaedrolosaurus was rather more broad and not as streamlined as the many other members of the Coelurosauria. It likely also had sickle toes on its feet as well as a plumage of feathers covering its body, like that of a dromaeosaurid.
Classification
[edit]Phaedrolosaurus was initially described by Dong as a potential dromaeosaurid, but it has since been regarded as a nomen dubium. Now, Phaedrolosaurus is seen as a doubtful early coelurosaurian theropod. It is still possible that Phaedrolosaurus could be an actual dromaeosaurid, or possibly within the clade Maniraptora, as the teeth were noted to bare a resemblance similar to those of Deinonychus teeth.
References
[edit]- ^ Oliver W. M. Rauhut and Xing Xu (2005) "The Small Theropod Dinosaurs Tugulusaurus and Phaedrolosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of Xinjiang, China".
- ^ a b Z.-M. Dong. (1973). [Dinosaurs from Wuerho]. Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academic Sinica 11:45-52. [Chinese]
- ^ Rauhut, O.W.M., and Xu, X. (2005). The small theropod dinosaurs Tugulusaurus and Phaedrolosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of Xinjiang, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(1):107-118
- ^ Sues, H.-D., 1977, "The skull of Velociraptor mongoliensis, a small Cretaceous theropod dinosaur from Mongolia", Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 51: 173-184
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