Rhabdodontidae

Rhabdodontids
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 85–66 Ma Barremian stem-group record[1]
Rhabdodon priscus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: †Ornithischia
Clade: †Neornithischia
Clade: †Ornithopoda
Clade: †Rhabdodontomorpha
Family: †Rhabdodontidae
Weishampel, 2003
Type genus
Rhabdodon
Genera

Rhabdodontidae is a family of herbivorous iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaurs whose earliest stem members appeared in the middle of the Lower Cretaceous. The oldest dated fossils of these stem members were found in the Barremian Castrillo de la Reina Formation of Spain, dating to approximately 129.4 to 125.0 million years ago.[1] With their deep skulls and jaws, Rhabdodontids were similar to large, robust iguanodonts. The family was first proposed by David B. Weishampel and colleagues in 2003.[2] Rhabdodontid fossils have been mainly found in Europe in formations dating to the Late Cretaceous.

The defining characteristics of the clade Rhabdodontidae include the spade-shape of the teeth, the presence of three or more premaxillary teeth, the distinct difference between the two maxillary and dentary teeth ridge patterns, and the uniquely shaped femur, humerus, and ulna.[1] Members of Rhabdodontidae have an adult body length of 1.6 to 6.0 meters.[3]

  1. ^ a b c Dieudonné, Paul-Emile; Tortosa, Thierry; Torcida Fernández-Baldor, Fidel; Canudo, José Ignacio; Díaz-Martínez, Ignacio (22 June 2016). "An Unexpected Early Rhabdodontid from Europe (Lower Cretaceous of Salas de los Infantes, Burgos Province, Spain) and a Re-Examination of Basal Iguanodontian Relationships". PLOS ONE. 11 (6): e0156251. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1156251D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156251. PMC 4917257. PMID 27333279.
  2. ^ Weishampel, D.B.; Jianu, C.-M.; Csiki, Z.; Norman, D.B. (2003). "Osteology and phylogeny of Zalmoxes (n. g.), an unusual euornithopod dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Romania". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1 (2): 65_123. Bibcode:2003JSPal...1...65W. doi:10.1017/S1477201903001032. S2CID 86339025.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference osi2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).