Extinct genus of dinosaurs
Geranosaurus (meaning "crane reptile") is a genus of heterodontosaurid ornithischian dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. The type and only species is G. atavus.
Description.
"Geranosaurus" is known only from crushed fragments of the skull, a single jaw bone with nine tooth stubs and limb elements discovered in the Clarens Formation, South Africa in 1871. It was around tall and around long when fully grown.
The type species, G. atavus, was described by Robert Broom in 1911. The genus name is derived from Greek "geranos", "crane", a reference to the crane-like hind-limb. The specific name means "ancestor" in Latin. The limb elements have inventory number SAM 1871.
Classification.
"Geranosaurus" is classified as an ornithischian based on the jaw, probably a heterodontosaurid distinct from "Heterodontosaurus" but not a heterodontosaurine. Because of its limited remains, "Geranosaurus" is generally considered a "nomen dubium," but it may be distinct because it has the unique combination of an enlarged ;dfn id="" ;dentary ;/dfn ; caniniform, which is a synapomorphy of Heterodontosauridae, and no post-caniniform diastema, which excludes it from Heterodontosaurinae.
References.
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