Thescelosaurus

Thescelosaurus
Thescelosaurus restored with a smooth coat of protofeathers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	†Ornithischia
Suborder:	†Ornithopoda
Family:	†Thescelosauridae
Genus:	†Thescelosaurus Gilmore et al., 1913
Species:	†T. neglectus
Binomial name
Thescelosaurus neglectus Gilmore et al., 1913

Thescelosaurus (/ˌθɛsᵻləˈsɔːrəs/ thess-il-ə-sor-əs; ancient Greek θέσκελος-/theskelos- meaning "godlike", "marvelous", or "wondrous" and σαυρος/sauros "lizard")[2] 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.

This bipedal ornithopod is known from several partial skeletons and skulls that indicate it grew to between 2.5 and 4.0 meters (8.2 to 13.1 ft) in length on average. It had sturdy hind limbs, small wide hands, and a head with an elongate pointed snout. The form of the teeth and jaws suggest a primarily herbivorous animal. This genus of dinosaur is regarded as a specialized basal ornithopod, traditionally described as a hypsilophodont, but more recently recognized as distinct from Hypsilophodon. Several species have been suggested for this genus. Three currently are recognized as valid: the type species T. neglectus, T. garbanii and T. assiniboiensis.

The genus attracted media attention in 2000, when a specimen unearthed in 1993 in South Dakota, United States, was interpreted as including a fossilized heart. There was much discussion over whether the remains were of a heart. Many scientists now doubt the identification of the object and the implications of such an identification.

Description

Thescelosaurus was a heavily built bipedal animal, probably herbivorous, but potentially not.[3] There was a prominent ridge along the length of both maxillae (the tooth-bearing "cheek" bones),[1] and a ridge on both dentaries (tooth-bearing bone of the lower jaw).[4] The ridges[4] and position of the teeth, deeply internal to the outside surface of the skull, are interpreted as evidence for muscular cheeks.[5] Aside from the long narrow beak, the skull also had teeth in the premaxilla, or upper beak (a primitive trait among ornithopods).[6] Long rod-like bones called palpebrals were present over the eyes, giving the animal heavy bony eyebrows.[6] Its teeth were of two types: small pointed premaxillary teeth, and leaf-shaped cheek teeth.[7] Six small teeth were present in both premaxillae, with a toothless section at the tip of the beak.[1]

Thescelosaurs had short, broad, five-fingered hands, four-toed feet with hoof-like toe tips, and a long tail braced by ossified tendons from the middle to the tip, which would have reduced the flexibility of the tail.[8] The rib cage was broad, giving it a wide back, and the limbs were robust.[7] The animals may have been able to move on all fours, given its fairly long arms and wide hands,[9] but this idea has not been widely discussed in the scientific literature, although it does appear in popular works.[10][11] Charles M. Sternberg reconstructed it with the upper arm oriented almost perpendicular to the body,[7] another idea that has gone by the wayside. As noted by Peter Galton, the upper arm bone of most ornithischians articulated with the shoulder by an articular surface that consisted of the entire end of the bone, instead of a distinct ball and socket as in mammals. The orientation of the shoulder's articular surface also indicates a vertical and not horizontal upper arm in dinosaurs.[12]

Large thin flat mineralized plates have been found next to the ribs' sides.[13] Their function is unknown; they may have played a role in respiration.[14] However, muscle scars or other indications of attachment have not been found for the plates, which argues against a respiratory function. Recent histological study of layered plates from a probable subadult indicates that they may have started as cartilage and became bone as the animal aged.[15] Such plates are known from several other ornithopods and their cerapodan relatives.

The nature of this genus' integument, be it scales or something else, is currently unknown, although potential evidence exists: Charles Gilmore described patches of carbonized material near the shoulders as possible epidermis, with a "punctured" texture, but no regular pattern,[8] and William J. Morris suggested that armor was present, in the form of small scutes he interpreted as located at least along the midline of the neck of one specimen.[5] Scutes have not been found with other articulated specimens of Thescelosaurus, though, and Morris's scutes could be crocodilian in origin.[16]

Overall, the skeletal anatomy of this genus is well documented, and restorations have been published in several papers, including skeletal restorations[1][8][9][17] and models.[7][8] The skeleton is known well enough that a detailed reconstruction of the hip and hindlimb muscles has been made.[18] The animal's size has been estimated in the 2.5–4.0 m range for length (8.2–13.1 ft)[9] for various specimens, and a weight of 200–300 kilograms (450–660 pounds),[19] with the large type specimen of T. garbanii estimated at 4–4.5 meters (13.1–14.8 feet) long.[5] As discussed more fully under "Discovery, history, and species", it may have been sexually dimorphic, with one sex larger than the other.[9] Juvenile remains are known from several locations, mostly based on teeth.

In popular culture

• In the film We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, a Thescelosaurus that Rex (as a "real animal") chases.

• In the Walking With Dinosaurs episode Death of a Dynasty, a flock of Thescelosaurus were seen drinking from the local river. They were stalked by a hunting Dromaeosaurus, although Thescelosaurus would've never met Dromaeosaurus since Dromaeosaurus went extinct before the K-Pg mass extiction (although they did encounter raptors like Dakotaraptor and Acheroraptor). The theropod ambushed the flock but the Thescelosaurus scattered and outran the Dromaeosaurus.

• It will appear in the upcoming game Saurian. It will be portrayed with a mostly feathered body and a scaly tail, head and legs, much like Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, although there is no known evidence for Thescelosaurus having feathers.