Sinusonasus

Sy-nu-so-a-sus.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Sinusonasus ‭(‬wave nose‭)‬.

Phonetic

Sy-nu-so-a-sus.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Troodontidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

S.‭ ‬magnodens‭

Size

Roughly about‭ ‬1-1.2‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation‭ [‬Lujiatun Member‭]‬.

Time Period

Hauterivian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Skull and partial post cranial skeleton.

In Depth

       Sinusonasus is a‭ ‬genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous.‭ ‬Sinusonasus means‭ ‘‬wave nose‭’‬,‭ ‬and this name was given after the way the snout on the holotype skull has an undulating profile kind of like a wave.‭ ‬The tail vertebrae of Sinusonasus are also noteworthy in that the chevrons‭ (‬the bony projections at the base of the vertebra‭) ‬are so long in the rear caudal vertebrae,‭ ‬that they would have fitted tightly together forming a plate.‭ ‬This would have stiffened the tail so that it could more easily act as a counterbalance as Sinusonasus was running and manoeuvring after prey.‭ ‬Sinusonasus would have been a predator of smaller animals,‭ ‬with the sickle shaped claws on each foot serving as the main killing weapons.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new troodontid‭ (‬Theropoda:‭ ‬Troodontidae‭) ‬from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning,‭ ‬China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Geologica Sinica‭ ‬78‭(‬1‭)‬:22-26.‭ ‬-‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu‭ & ‬X.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004.

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