Rugops
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rugops Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||||||
|
Rugops (meaning "wrinkle face") is a genus of theropod dinosaur which inhabited what is now Africa approximately 95 million years ago. The discovery of a Rugops skull in Niger in 2000 was a crucial breakthrough in the understanding of the evolution of theropods in that area, and demonstrates that this landmass was still united with Gondwana at that stage in history.
At 7 - 9 m (24 - 30 ft) long and 2.5 m (8 ft) high at the hip, Rugops was a medium-sized carnivore. The skull bore armour or scales, and other bones had many blood vessels, causing Dr. Paul Sereno, who led the team that discovered the fossil, to say, "It's not the kind of head designed for fighting or bone-crushing", suggesting that it may have been a scavenger. The skull also bears two rows of seven holes each, of unknown purpose, although Sereno has speculated that they may have anchored some kind of crest or horns.
Like other abelisaurs, Rugops probably had very short arms. These were probably useless in fighting. They may have only been balance tools, items to counterbalance the dinosaur's head.
The type species is R. primus (meaning "first wrinkle-face"). Rugops is believed to be an abelisaurid, or closely related, and is related to Majungasaurus.
[edit] External links
- Artist's impressions of Rugops, from Project Exploration
- Rugops in the Dino Directory
