Pisanosaurus

Pie-san-o-sore-us.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Pisanosaurus ‭(‬Pisano’s lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Pie-san-o-sore-us.

Named By

R.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Casamiquela‭ ‬-‭ ‬1967.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Pisanosauridae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

P.‭ ‬mertii‭

Size

Up to about‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter long.

Known locations

Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ischigualasto Formation.

Time Period

Carnian of the Triassic.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and post cranial skeletal fossils.

In Depth

       Pisanosaurus is easily one of the oldest ornithischian dinosaurs that are currently known to science.‭ ‬Unfortunately the holotype specimen is very fragmentary,‭ ‬and details such as the orientation of the pubic bone are still unknown.‭ ‬Despite this the basic orithopod body form can still be clearly seen,‭ ‬Pisanosaurus is a good indicator for a type of dinosaur that would become common and widespread all the way through the Mesozoic.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Un nuevo dinosaurio ornitisquio triasico‭ (‬Pisanosaurus mertii‭; ‬Ornithopoda‭) ‬de la Formaci�n Ischigualasto,‭ ‬Argentina‭ [‬A new Triassic ornithischian dinosaur‭ (‬Pisanosaurus mertii‭; ‬Ornithopoda‭) ‬from the Ischigualasto Formation,‭ ‬Argentina‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ameghiniana‭ ‬4‭(‬2‭)‬:47-64.‭ ‬-‭ ‬R.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Casamiquela‭ ‬-‭ ‬1967. – Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela and the origin of the Ornithischia. – Journal of Paleontology. 50 (5): 808–820. – J. F. Bonaparte – 1976. – Nuevas observaciones sobre Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela, 1967 (Dinosauriformes) y sus implicancias taxon�micas. – XXIX Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontolog�a de Vertebrados. 27–29. – Federico L. Agnolin – 2015. – Phylogenetic reassessment of Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela, 1967, a basal dinosauriform from the Late Triassic of Argentina. – Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 16 (10): 853–879. – Federico L. Agnol�n & Sebasti�n Rozadilla – 2017. – Pisanosaurus mertii and the Triassic ornithischian crisis: could phylogeny offer a solution?. – Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. 31 (8): 1–15. – Matthew G. Baron – 2018.

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