8 New Dinosaurs

[Thom Holmes <70621.2234@compuserve.com>]

Hi Everyone,

I was preparing a summary of new dinosaurs announced at the SVP meeting 
(October, Seattle) for the November Dino Times, and thought I'd post a summary
for everyone. There are eight that I know of, some of which aren't named yet. 
We'll be doing features on many of these in coming months. 


SUMMARY:

1 Einiosaurus (Sampson)
2. Achelousaurus (Sampson)
3. Afrovenator (Sereno)
4. African sauropod, yet unidentified but maybe Rebbachisaurus (Sereno)
5. New Early Cretaceous ornithopod from Texas (Winkler)
6. Primitive hadrosaur or iguanodont from Lower Cretaceous of Utah (Kirkland)
7. Earliest North American theropod, Late Triassic, New Mexico (Heckert, 
Lucas)
8. Largest theropod from South America, Early to Middle Cretaceous, Argentina 
(Coria). It is equal or larger in size than some, but not all, T. rex 
specimens.


DETAILS:

New Dinosaur Name: Einiosaurus 
Pronunciation & Meaning: eye-NEE-oh-SAWR-us, Buffalo Lizard, based on the 
Blackfeet Indian word for buffalo, "eini."
Who Named it? Scott Sampson (N.Y. College of Osteopathic Medicine)
Where Found? Northern Montana, Two Medicine Formation
Age: Late Cretaceous 74 million years
Notes: Two long spikes on back of frill. Nose horn straight or strongly curved
forward. Blunted horns above eyes. Specimens of adults and younger specimens 
were found, and show that these dinosaurs "sprouted" their unusual spikes and 
horns after the onset of adult size. Belongs to a group known as the 
centrosaurinae, which includes Styracosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, and 
Centrosaurus. 


New Dinosaur Name: Achelousaurus 
Pronunciation & Meaning: ah-KEE-loh-SAWR-us, Achelus Lizard, named for the 
Greek river god who changed himself into the shape of a bull to fight 
Hercules. During this mythological battle, Hercules ripped off a horn of 
Achelus. 
Who Named it? Scott Sampson (N.Y. College of Osteopathic Medicine)
Where Found? Northern Montana, Two Medicine Formation
Age: Late Cretaceous 74 million years
Notes: A ceratopsid, or horned dinosaur, but the horns have been replaced by 
roughened bosses. Like Einiosaurus, it also has two large spikes at the rear 
of the frill. It has a bony stump, or boss, above each eye and another on the 
nose. Belongs to a group known as the centrosaurinae, which includes 
Styracosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, and Centrosaurus. 


New Dinosaur Name: Afrovenator
Pronunciation & Meaning: AF-roh-ven-AY-tor, Africa Hunter
Who Named it? Paul Sereno, University of Chicago
Where Found? Niger, Sahara Desert region of northern Africa
Age: Early Cretaceous, 130 million years
Notes: Most complete Cretaceous meat-eater ever found in Africa. It is about 
28 feet long (8.5 m) and most similar to Torvosaurus from North America. It 
was found with the remains of a new long-necked plant eater (see below).

New Dinosaur Name: Sauropod, not yet named
Who is Studying it? Paul Sereno, University of Chicago
Where Found? Niger, Sahara Desert region of northern Africa
Age: Early Cretaceous, 130 million years
Notes: Large sauropod with some similarities to Camarasaurus. 

New Dinosaur Name: Ornithopod, not yet named
Who is Studying it? Dale Winkler (Southern Methodist University)
Where Found? Texas, Proctor Lake area
Age: Early Cretaceous, 110 to 130 million years
Notes: Bipedal plant eater somewhat like Hypsilophodon. Could have been up to 
7 or 8 feet long (2 to 2.5 m). More than 10 specimens found including those of
juveniles, sub-adults, and adults.

New Dinosaur Name: Hadrosaur, not yet named
Who is Studying it? Jim Kirkland (Dinamation International Society)
Where Found? Utah, Cedar Mountain Formation
Age: Early Cretaceous, 110 million years
Notes: Primitive hadrosaur similar to Telmatosaurus of eastern Europe. One of 
the earliest hadrosaurs found anywhere in the world. 

New Dinosaur Name: Theropod, not yet named
Who is Studying it? Spencer Lucas (New Mexico Museum of Natural History) and 
Andrew Heckert (University of New Mexico)
Where Found? West central, New Mexico, Blue Water Creek Formation
Age: Late Triassic, about 225 million years
Notes: Earliest dinosaur remains ever found in North America. It was a 3-foot 
long (1 m) meat-eater.


New Dinosaur Name: Theropod, not yet named
Who is Studying it? R. A. Coria (Museo Carmen Funes, Argentina)
Where Found? Argentina, Rio Limay Formation
Age: Early Cretaceous, about 100 million years
Notes: Giant meat-eater is the largest ever found in South America. It may be 
bigger than some T. rex specimens. 

--Thom Holmes
Editor, Dinosaur Society