Sciurumimus

Sciurumimus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 150 Ma
↓
The juvenile type specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Orionides
Genus: †Sciurumimus
Rauhut et al., 2012
Species:
†S. albersdoerferi
Binomial name
†Sciurumimus albersdoerferi
Rauhut et al., 2012

Sciurumimus ("Squirrel-mimic," named for its tail's resemblance to that of the tree squirrel, Sciurus[1]) is an extinct genus of tetanuran theropod from the Late Jurassic Torleite Formation of Germany. It is known from a single juvenile specimen representing the type species, Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, which was found in a limestone quarry close to Painten in Lower Bavaria.[2] The specimen was preserved with traces of feather-like filaments.[3]

The Sciurumimus specimen was first announced in an informal presentation by Rauhut and Foth (2011),[4] but not formally described and named until the following year by Rauhut et al. (2012). Although originally classified as a basal megalosauroid,[2] later phylogenetic analyses dispute this placement.[5] However, a recent analysis on immature coelurosaurs, including compsognathids, finds Sciurumimus back in Megalosauroidea.[6]

  1. ^ "Newly Discovered Dinosaur Implies Greater Prevalence of Feathers". American Museum of Natural History. July 2, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Rauhut, O. W. M.; Foth, C.; Tischlinger, H.; Norell, M. A. (2012). "Exceptionally preserved juvenile megalosauroid theropod dinosaur with filamentous integument from the Late Jurassic of Germany". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (29): 11746–11751. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10911746R. doi:10.1073/pnas.1203238109. PMC 3406838. PMID 22753486.
  3. ^ Switek, B. (2012). "Rise of the fuzzy dinosaurs". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.10933. S2CID 123219913.
  4. ^ Rauhut and Foth, (2011). New information on Late Jurassic theropod dinosaurs from Southern Germany. IV Congresso Latinoamericano Paleontologia de Vertebrados.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cau2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).