Glacialisaurus
Name:
Glacialisaurus
(Frozen lizard).
Phonetic: Clay-she-al-sore-us.
Named By: N. D. Smith & D. Pol -
2007.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Massospondylidae.
Species: G. hammeri (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Unknown due to lack of fossil remains.
Known locations: Antarctica - Hanson Formation.
Time period: Sinemurian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial hind limb including
femur and foot.
Glacialisaurus
is the first genus of sauropodomorph
dinosaur known from Antarctica.
Though only known from a few hind limb bones, these are enough to
identify Glacialisaurus as a massospondylid
sauropodomorph dinosaur,
as well as possible close relative of Lufengosaurus
from China.
From
the same fossil formation that the Glacialisaurus
holotype remains are
known from, the fossils of sauropod dinosaurs are also known. This
is a clear indicator that the sauropod
dinosaurs did not replace the
earlier sauropodomorphs overnight, and that the sauropods
and
sauropodomorph dinosaurs co-existed together for quite some time.
Predatory threats to Glacialisaurus potentially
include
Cryolophosaurus,
a meat-eating theropod dinosaur that is known from
the same Hanson Formation that Glacialisaurus is
known from.
Further reading
- Anatomy of a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic
Hanson Formation of Antarctica. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
52(4):657-674. - N. D. Smith & D. Pol -
2007.
- The Dinosaurs of the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of the Central
Transantarctic Mountains: Phylogenetic Review and Synthesis. -
U.S. Geological Survey and the National Academies. - N. D.
Smith, P. J. Makovicky, D. Pol, W. R. Hammer
& P. J. Currie - 2007.
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