Uronautes
Encyclopedia
Uronautes is a dubious
genus
of extinct plesiosaur
from the family
Rhomaleosauridae
. Uronautes is known from several fossil
ized vertebra, portions of a few limbs, and rib
s.
words Ουρα, meaning "tailed," and Ναυτεσ, meaning "sailor", or "mariner". The species
name of U. cetiformis comes from the Greek word for whale
(or any large sea monster
), κῆτος and the Latin
word forma, which means "shaped", of "formed" meaning "shape".
paleontologist, Edward Drinker Cope
in 1876. Because of the small number of supposed Uronautes fossils, Samuel Paul Welles
described the genus as a "nomen dubium", doubting that the remains were evidence of a true genus in 1956. The genus Uronautes is still considered a nomen dubium which means "dubious name". In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
, Uronautes was a short-necked plesiosaur. The Cervical vertebrae
are short, with partially attached processes
and double-headed ribs.
Supposed Urounautes fossils are known from only a few locations: the Cretaceous
deposits of the Fox Hills
, and in similar deposits near Fort Pierre, and the Judith River
, all in Montana
..
Nomen dubium
In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of extinct plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
from the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Rhomaleosauridae
Rhomaleosauridae
Rhomaleosauridae is a family of extinct reptiles in the Plesiosauria order. It includes the Macroplata, Maresaurus, Rhomaleosaurus, Yuzhoupliosaurus and Meyerasaurus genera....
. Uronautes is known from several fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized vertebra, portions of a few limbs, and rib
Rib
In vertebrate anatomy, ribs are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. In most vertebrates, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the chest cavity. They serve to protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax...
s.
Etymology
The word Uronautes comes from a fusion of the two GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words Ουρα, meaning "tailed," and Ναυτεσ, meaning "sailor", or "mariner". The species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
name of U. cetiformis comes from the Greek word for whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
(or any large sea monster
Sea monster
Sea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...
), κῆτος and the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word forma, which means "shaped", of "formed" meaning "shape".
Taxonomy
Uronautes was first described by the AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
paleontologist, Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
in 1876. Because of the small number of supposed Uronautes fossils, Samuel Paul Welles
Samuel Paul Welles
Samuel Paul Welles was an American palaeontologist, who was Research Associate at the Museum of Palaeontology, University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the 'Placerias Quarry' in 1930 and the Shonisaurus discoveries of 1954 and later, in what is now the Berlin-Ichthyosaur...
described the genus as a "nomen dubium", doubting that the remains were evidence of a true genus in 1956. The genus Uronautes is still considered a nomen dubium which means "dubious name". In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Description
Like many other rhomaleosaurids, such as RhomaleosaurusRhomaleosaurus
Rhomaleosaurus is an extinct genus of Early Jurassic rhomaleosaurid pliosauroid known from Northamptonshire and from Yorkshire of the United Kingdom. It was first named by Harry Seeley in 1874 and the type species is Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni...
, Uronautes was a short-necked plesiosaur. The Cervical vertebrae
Cervical vertebrae
In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull.Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also...
are short, with partially attached processes
Process (anatomy)
In anatomy, a process is a projection or outgrowth of tissue from a larger body. The vertebra has several kinds of processes,such as: transverse process, prezygapophysis, postzygapophysis.-Examples:Examples of processes include:...
and double-headed ribs.
Distribution
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
deposits of the Fox Hills
Fox Hills Formation
The Fox Hills Formation is a Cretaceous geologic formation in the northwestern Great Plains of North America. It is present from Alberta on the north to Colorado in the south....
, and in similar deposits near Fort Pierre, and the Judith River
Judith River
The Judith River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 124 mi long, running through central Montana and the United States. It rises in the Little Belt Mountains and flows northeast past Utica and Hobson...
, all in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
..
External links
- http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id428614/
- http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=36526
- http://www.plesiosaur.com/database/genusIndividual.php?i=117