Re: Quantasaurus

["Timothy Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

It's spelled "Qantassaurus", after Australia's airline QANTAS - back when it 
was just a domestic carrier QANTAS was an acronym of "Queensland and 
Northern Territory Airline Service".


Qantassaurus

This is a small ornithopod from the Early Cretaceous of southeastern 
Australia.  Based on the available material - lower jaws and teeth - 
Qantassaurus seems to have had a shorter face compared to Atlascopcosaurus, 
although the cheek-teeth of the two genera were identical.

Rich and Rich (1999) recognise three taxa of hypsilophodontids from Victoria 
based on cranial remains (jaws and teeth): Leaellynasaura, Atlascopcosaurus, 
and Qantassaurus.  The teeth of Leaellynasaura are distinctive from the 
other two, but the cheek-teeth of Atlascopcosaurus and Qantassaurus are 
indistinguishable.  In both, the cheek-teeth possess a strong primary ridge 
with eight secondary ridges that cover the buccal and lingual aspects of the 
maxillary and dentary teeth, respectively.

Their teeth may be impossible to tell apart, but the dentaries of 
Atlascopcosaurus and Qantassaurus are quite different.  The dentary of 
Qantassaurus is extremely "foreshortened", in contrast to the comparatively 
elongated dentary of Atlascopcosaurus.  With its truncated dentary, there is 
less space for the teeth, and Qantassaurus has no more than ten teeth per 
dentary.  Also, whereas the top and bottom edges of Atlascopcosaurus' 
dentary are almost parallel, the dorsal and ventral margins of Qantassaurus' 
dentary converge at the anterior of this element, making this portion of the 
jaw rather wedge-shaped, a condition also seen in Hypsilophodon.



Species

Qantassaurus intrepidus

Genus: Qantassaurus Rich and Rich, 1999
Species: Q. intrepidus Rich and Rich, 1999 (type)

Material.
NMV P199075 (holotype): Complete dentary with one tooth.
NMV P199087: Dentary fragment.
NMV P198962: Complete dentary with four teeth.
Above material referred to Q. intrepidus by Rich and Rich (1999).
Locality: Flat Rocks, marine platform of Bunarong Marine Park, Victoria, 
southeatern Australia.
Horizon: Wonthaggi Formation, Strzelecki Group; Early Cretaceous (early 
Aptian).


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com