Re: The Only _Scelidosaurus_ in the Western Hemisphere

["Jerry D. Harris" <jharris@dixie.edu>]

On 2/11/2011 9:33 AM, Dan Chure wrote:
> Kevin Padian referred isolated scutes from the Kayenta Formation of
> Arizona to Scelidosaurus. I'm not sure if that assignment still holds.
>
> Padian, K. 1989. Presence of the dinosaur Scelidosaurus indicates
> Jurassic age for the Kayenta Formation (Glen Canyon Group, northern
> Arizona). Geology; May 1989; v. 17; no. 5; p. 438-441

     Yes -- that'd be terrific if true, and certainly not impossible on 
paleobiogeographic grounds, but it's been largely discounted (e.g., 
Norman et al., 2004) on the basis that the scutes aren't really 
identifiable to that level and could just as well belong to 
_Scutellosaurus_.  Also, given that relatives of _Scelidosaurus_ are 
found far and wide (e.g., _Emausaurus_, _Tatisaurus_, and of course 
_Scutellosaurus_), I'd even expect _Scelidosaurus_ or something very 
much like it to be eventually found 'round these parts in Moenave or 
Kayenta strata...that's why _Scelidosaurus_ fits in so well at the St. 
George Dinosaur Discovery Site!

Norman, D.B., Witmer, L.M., and Weishampel, D.B. 2004. Basal 
Thyreophora; pp. 335-342 in Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, 
H. (eds.), The Dinosauria, Second Edition. University of California 
Press, Berkeley.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
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