Heterodontosauriformes
Encyclopedia
Heterodontosauriformes are a group of herbivorous dinosaur
s within the order Ornithischia
. The taxon
was named by Xu et al. in 2006 to group the suborder Marginocephalia
with the family Heterodontosauridae
(previously classified as ornithopod
s), after the discovery of Yinlong
revealed the two to be closely related.
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s within the order Ornithischia
Ornithischia
Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'...
. The taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
was named by Xu et al. in 2006 to group the suborder Marginocephalia
Marginocephalia
Marginocephalia is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs that includes the thick-skulled pachycephalosaurids, and horned ceratopsians. They were all herbivores, walking on two or four legs, and are characterized by a bony ridge or frill the back of the skull...
with the family Heterodontosauridae
Heterodontosauridae
Heterodontosauridae is a family of early ornithischian dinosaurs that were likely among the most basal members of the group...
(previously classified as ornithopod
Ornithopod
Ornithopods or members of the clade Ornithopoda are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs that started out as small, bipedal running grazers, and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world, and dominated the North American...
s), after the discovery of Yinlong
Yinlong
Yinlong is a genus of basal ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period of central Asia. It was a small, primarily bipedal herbivore, approximately 1.2 meters long...
revealed the two to be closely related.