Kulindadromeus

Ku-lin-ah-dro-me-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

Kulindadromeus ‭(‬Kulinda dromeus‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ku-lin-ah-dro-me-us.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Neornithischia.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

K.‭ ‬zabaikalicus‭

Size

About‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

Russia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ukureyskaya Formation.

Time Period

Mid-Late Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Several individuals,‭ ‬ranging from juvenile to adult.

In Depth

       As far as the skeleton of Kulindadromeus is concerned,‭ ‬this genus was pretty much like any other small ornithischian dinosaur of the Jurassic.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬while most other ornithischian dinosaurs have been described from bones,‭ ‬extra fossils were available for Kulindadromeus,‭ ‬and these revealed a startling revelation:‭ ‬Kulindadromeus had a body that was covered in feathers.

       To be fair Kulindadromeus was not the first ornithischian‭ (‬bird hipped‭) ‬dinosaur discovered to have feathers.‭ ‬In‭ ‬2009‭ ‬a genus called Tianyulong was discovered to have primitive feather structures similar to quills growing up from its back,‭ ‬and the genus Psittacosaurus also had quill-like feathers growing from the tail.‭ ‬What Kulindadromeus shows us though is that feathers were not just more common in ornithischian dinosaurs,‭ ‬but that they were far more diverse than previously thought.‭ ‬The feathers on Kulindadromeus seem to have created a downy fluff covering that grew over most of the body,‭ ‬the only exceptions being the tail and lower legs.‭ ‬This also reinforces the theory that feather growth was not just the preserve of some theropod dinosaurs,‭ ‬but that all dinosaurs could potentially have the genetic markers buried within their DNA to grow hair-like feathers.

       Kulindadromeus was a small plant eating dinosaur that like its relatives,‭ ‬would have relied upon a combination of keen reflexes and speed to evade the mouths of predatory dinosaurs.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers and scales.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Science‭ ‬345‭(‬6‭)‬:451-455.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Godefroit,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Sinitsa,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Dhouailly,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Bolotsky,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬V.‭ ‬Sizov,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬McNamara,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Benton‭ & ‬O.‭ ‬Spagna‭ ‬-‭ ‬2014.

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