Silesaurus is a genus of silesaurid dinosauriform. It lived during the Late Triassic of Poland, around 230 million years ago.
Description[]
Credit: Gabriel N.U
Silesaurus likely ate small vertebrae, insects and plants, and could run after them because of its long legs. Some scientists think that Silesaurus was an early ornithischian dinosaur. This kind of small tracks – pedal prints length is approximately 4 inches (10 cm). The footprints of Atreipus are found in the Middle Triassic and Late Triassic of eastern and western United States, Germany, Poland, Italy and Morocco. In Utah, Atreipus was recognized by M. Lockley in the Chinle Group of Glen Canyon and by G. Gierliński in the Chinle Group outcrops near Moab.
Several Silesaurus Specimens. Credit: Gabriel N.U
Since the discovery of a Silesaurus, ornithishian-like dinosauromorph in Poland, researchers suggest the Silesaurus‘s origin for Atreipus. This seems to be also supported by the discovery of G. Gierliński, G. Niedżwiedzki and D. Mazurek. In 2009, they found Atreipus track in the same strata where the Silesaurus bones are found in Krasiejów.
The systematic position of Silesaurus opolensis, a Late Triassic herbivorous archosaur from Poland is not clear. They are more primitive than dinosaurs that are already known, therefore they are often placed among the so-called dinosauromorphs. At the present day, the family called Silesauridae comprises six different genera from Europe, Africa, South and North America, including Eucoelophysis from the Chinle Group of New Mexico. The basal Dinosauriformes were worldwide distributed.
References[]
- http://moabgiants.com/dinosaur/silesaurus-opolensis/
- https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-proposed-coprolite-producer-Silesaurus-opolensis-and-some-anatomical-characters-a_fig5_331741628
- https://kidadl.com/dinosaur-facts/silesaurus-facts
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13155
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