| Description | Thescelosaurus (THESS-il-ə-SOR-əs; ancient Greek θέσκελος- (theskelos-) meaning "godlike", "marvelous", or "wondrous" and σαυρος (sauros) "lizard") was a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur that appeared at the very end of the Late Cretaceous period in North America. It was a member of the last dinosaurian fauna before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event around 66 million years ago. The preservation and completeness of many of its specimens indicate that it may have preferred to live near streams.
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| Source Data | |
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| Rank | genus |
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| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Dinosauria : Thescelosauridae : Thescelosaurus |
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| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Ornithischia : Thescelosauridae : Thescelosaurus |
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| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted |
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Classification
(PBDB,GBIF) | |
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| Scientific Name | Thescelosaurus Gilmore, 1913 |
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| Name Published In | Smithson. Misc. Collect., 61 (5) |
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| Opinions (PBDB) | | Name | Rank | Opinion | Evidence | Author |
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| Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Camptosauridae | stated with evidence | Gilmore, 1913 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Gilmore, 1915 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Iguanodontidae | stated without evidence | Matthew, 1915 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated with evidence | Lull, 1924 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Parks, 1926 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Scelidosaurinae | stated without evidence | Huene, 1927 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Camptosaurinae | stated with evidence | Nopcsa, 1928 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Russell, 1930 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Camptosaurinae | stated without evidence | Huene, 1934 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Parks, 1935 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosauridae | stated without evidence | Sternberg, 1937 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosaurinae | stated without evidence | Sternberg, 1940 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Camptosauridae | stated without evidence | Huene, 1956 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | implied | Romer, 1956 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Parsch, 1963 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated with evidence | Estes, 1964 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Kuhn, 1964 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosauridae | stated with evidence | Tatarinov, 1964 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosauridae | stated without evidence | Rozhdestvensky and Tatarinov, 1964 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Simmons, 1965 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Ornithopoda | stated without evidence | Ostrom, 1965 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | implied | Romer, 1966 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Swinton, 1970 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Iguanodontidae | stated without evidence | Galton, 1974 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosauridae | stated without evidence | Thulborn, 1974 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Iguanodontidae | stated without evidence | Thulborn, 1975 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Wolberg, 1980 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontia | stated with evidence | Sereno, 1986 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Clemens, 1986 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | implied | Carroll, 1988 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontia | stated without evidence | Norman, 1989 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Galton, 1989 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated with evidence | Sues and Norman, 1990 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Grigorescu, 1992 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosauridae | stated without evidence | Eberth, 1997 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Eberth et al., 2001 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Euornithopoda | stated with evidence | Norman et al., 2004 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Ryan and Evans, 2005 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Ornithopoda | stated with evidence | Butler et al., 2008 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Neornithischia | stated with evidence | Boyd et al., 2009 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosaurinae | stated without evidence | Brown and Druckenmiller, 2011 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Ornithopoda | stated with evidence | Han et al., 2012 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosaurinae | stated with evidence | Brown et al., 2013 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Hypsilophodontidae | stated without evidence | Alifanov and Saveliev, 2014 | | Thescelosaurus | genus | belongs to Thescelosaurinae | stated with evidence | Madzia et al., 2018 |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct |
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| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 5 |
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| First Recorded Appearance | 83.5 - 70.6 Ma
Late/Upper Cretaceous |
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| Last Recorded Appearance | 70.6 - 66.0 Ma
Late/Upper Cretaceous |
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| Environment | terrestrial (based on Ornithischia) |
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| Motility | actively mobile (based on Ornithischia) |
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| Diet | herbivore (based on Ornithischia) |
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| Reproduction | oviparous, dispersal=direct/internal,mobile (based on Ornithischia) |
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| Ontogeny | accretion,modification of parts (based on Ornithischia) |
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| Taphonomy | hydroxylapatite,compact or dense (based on Ornithischia) |
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| Primary Reference (PBDB) | C. W. Gilmore. 1913. A new dinosaur from the Lance Formation of Wyoming. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Publications 61(5):1-5 |
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| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thescelosaurus |
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| Year | Name and Author |
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| 1913 | Thescelosaurus Gilmore p. 1 figs. 1-5 |
| 1915 | Thescelosaurus Gilmore pp. 612-613 |
| 1915 | Thescelosaurus Matthew p. 81 |
| 1924 | Thescelosaurus Lull p. 238 |
| 1926 | Thescelosaurus Parks |
| 1927 | Thescelosaurus Huene p. 261 |
| 1928 | Thescelesaurus Nopcsa p. 184 |
| 1930 | Thescelosaurus Russell p. 140 |
| 1934 | Thescelosaurus Huene p. 17 |
| 1935 | Thescelosaurus Parks p. 194 |
| 1936 | Thescelosaurus Swinton |
| 1937 | Thescelosaurus Sternberg p. 375 |
| 1940 | Thescelosaurus Sternberg |
| 1956 | Thescelosaurus Huene |
| 1956 | Thescelosaurus Romer p. 628 |
| 1963 | Thescelosaurus Parsch p. 8 |
| 1964 | Thescelosaurus Estes p. 144 |
| 1964 | Thescelosaurus Kuhn p. 6 |
| 1964 | Thescelosaurus Rozhdestvensky and Tatarinov |
| 1964 | Thescelosaurus Tatarinov p. 570 |
| 1965 | Thescelosaurus Ostrom p. 39 |
| 1965 | Thescelosaurus Simmons p. 68 |
| 1966 | Thescelosaurus Romer p. 370 |
| 1970 | Thescelosaurus Swinton p. 200 |
| 1970 | Thescelosaurus Thulborn p. 244 |
| 1971 | Thescelosaurus Thulborn p. 77 |
| 1974 | Thescelosaurus Galton p. 150 |
| 1974 | Thescelosaurus Thulborn p. 172 |
| 1975 | Thescelosaurus Thulborn p. 99 |
| 1980 | Thescelosaurus Wolberg p. 50 |
| 1981 | Thescelosaurus McIntosh p. 30 |
| 1983 | Thescelosaurus Weishampel and Weishampel p. 44 |
| 1984 | Thescelosaurus Milner and Norman p. 147 |
| 1984 | Thescelosaurus Norman pp. 342-344 fig. 7 |
| 1985 | Thescelosaurus Breithaupt p. 165 |
| Gilmore C. W. (1913) A new dinosaur from the Lance Formation of Wyoming, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Publications 61 5, 1-5 |
| Gilmore C. W. (1915) Osteology of Thescelosaurus, an orthopodous dinosaur from the Lance Formation of Wyoming, Proceedings of the United States National Museum 49 2127, 591-616 |
| Matthew W. D. (1915) , Dinosaurs, with Special Reference to the American Museum Collections. American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1-162 |
| Huene F. v. (1927) Contribución a la paleogeografía de Sud América [Contribution to the paleogeography of South America], Boletín de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de la República Argentina 30, 231-294 |
| Nopcsa B. F. (1928) The genera of reptiles, Palaeobiologica 1, 163-188 |
| Sternberg C. M. (1937) Classification of Thescelosaurus, with a description of a new species, Proceedings of the Geological Society of America 1936, 375 |
| Romer A. S. (1956) , Osteology of the Reptiles, University of Chicago Press, 1-772 |
| Estes R. (1964) Fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous Lance Formation, eastern Wyoming, University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 49, 1-187 |
| Tatarinov L. P. (1964) Nadotryad Dinosauria. Dinozavry [Superorder Dinosauria. Dinosaurs], Osnovy Paleontologii [Fundamentals of Paleontology] 12, 523-589 |
| Ostrom J. H. (1965) Cretaceous vertebrate faunas of Wyoming, Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook 19, 35-41 |
| Simmons D. J. (1965) The non-therapsid reptiles of the Lufeng Basin, Yunnan, China, Fieldiana: Geology 15 1, 1-93 |
| Romer A. S. (1966) , Vertebrate Paleontology, 3rd edition, 1-468 |
| Swinton W. E. (1970) , The Dinosaurs, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1-331 |
| Galton P. M. (1974) The ornithischian dinosaur Hypsilophodon from the Wealden of the Isle of Wight, Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History 25, 1-152 |
| Thulborn R. A. (1974) A new heterodontosaurid dinosaur (Reptilia: Ornithischia) from the Upper Triassic red beds of Lesotho, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 55, 151-175 |
| Thulborn R. A. (1975) Teeth of ornithischian dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal, with description of a hypsilophodontid (Phyllodon henkeli gen. et sp. nov.) from the Guimarota lignite, Contribuição para o conhecimento da Fauna do Kimerridgiano da Mina de Lignito Guimarota (Leiria, Portugal). Serviços Geológicos de Portugal, Memória (Nova Série) 22, 89-134 |
| McIntosh J. S. (1981) Annotated catalogue of the dinosaurs (Reptilia, Archosauria) in the collections of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 18, 1-67 |
| Weishampel D. B., Weishampel J. B. (1983) Annotated localities of ornithopod dinosaurs: implications to Mesozoic paleobiogeography, The Mosasaur 1, 43-87 |
| Breithaupt B. H. (1985) Nonmammalian vertebrate faunas from the Late Cretaceous of Wyoming, Wyoming Geological Association 36th Annual Field Conference Guidebook: The Cretaceous Geology of Wyoming, 159-175 |
| Sereno P. C. (1986) Phylogeny of the bird-hipped dinosaurs (order Ornithischia), National Geographic Research 2 2, 234-256 |
| Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698 |
| Galton P. M. (1995) The species of the basal hypsilophodontid dinosaur Thescelosaurus Gilmore (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous of North America, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 198 3, 297-311 |
| Ryan M. J. (1997) Fruitland Formation, Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, 256-257 |
| Winkler D. A., Murry P. A., et al (1997) A new species of Tenontosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Texas, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17 2, 330-348 |
| Eberth D. A., Currie P. J., et al (2001) Alberta's dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates: Judith River and Edmonton groups (Campanian-Maastrichtian), In C. L. Hill (ed), Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 61st Annual Meeting, Bozeman. Guidebook for the Field Trips: Mesozoic and Cenozoic Paleontology in the Western Plains and Rocky Mountains, Museum of the Rockies Occasional Paper 3, 49-75 |
| Norman D. B., Sues H.-D., et al (2004) Basal Ornithopoda, The Dinosauria (2nd edition). University of California Press, Berkeley, 393-412 |
| Butler R. J., Upchurch P., et al (2008) The phylogeny of ornithischian dinosaurs, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6 1, 1-40 doi:10.1017/S1477201907002271 |
| Boyd C. A., Brown C. M., et al (2009) Taxonomic revision of the basal neornithischian taxa Thescelosaurus and Bugenasaura, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 3, 758-770 doi:10.1671/039.029.0328 |
| Brown C. M., Druckenmiller P. S. (2011) Basal ornithopod (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) teeth from the Prince Creek Formation (early Maastrichtian) of Alaska, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 48, 1342-1354 doi:10.1139/E11-017 |
| Han F.-L., Barrett P. M., et al (2012) Postcranial anatomy of Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32 6, 1370-1395 doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694385 |
| Brown C. M., Evans D. C., et al (2013) New data on the diversity and abundance of small-bodied ornithopods (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33 3, 495-520 doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.746229 |
| Alifanov V. R., Saveliev S. V. (2014) Two new ornithischian dinosaurs (Hypsilophodontia, Ornithopoda) from the Late Jurassic of Russia, Paleontological Journal 48 4, 414-425 doi:10.1134/S0031030114040029 |
| Madzia D., Boyd C. A., et al (2018) A basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Cenomanian of the Czech Republic, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 16 11, 967-979 doi:10.1080/14772019.2017.1371258 |
| Nomenclator Zoologicus. A list of the names of genera and subgenera in zoology from the tenth edition of Linnaeus, 1758 to the end of 2004. Digitised by uBio from vols. 1-9 of Neave (ed.), 1939-1996 plus supplementary digital-only volume. http://ubio.org/NomenclatorZoologicus (as at 2006). - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| SN2000: Brands, S. J. (compiler) 1989-2005. Systema Naturae 2000. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2006 version). Available online at http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/. - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| as per family - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| Smithson. Misc. Collect., 61 (5) - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
Thescelosaurus ✝
