Tenontosaurus

Tenontosaurus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous (Aptian to Albian), 115–108 Ma
T. dossi on exhibit in the Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: †Ornithischia
Clade: †Neornithischia
Clade: †Ornithopoda
Clade: †Tenontosauridae
Genus: †Tenontosaurus
Ostrom, 1970
Species
  • †T. tilletti Ostrom, 1970 (type)
  • †T. dossi Winkler, Murry & Jacobs, 1997

Tenontosaurus (/tɪˌnɒntəˈsɔːrəs/ ti-NON-tə-SOR-əs; lit. 'sinew lizard') is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur. It had an unusually long, broad tail, which like its back was stiffened with a network of bony tendons.

The genus is known from the late Aptian to Albian ages of the Early Cretaceous period sediments of western North America, dating between 115 and 108 million years ago. It contains two species, Tenontosaurus tilletti (described by John Ostrom in 1970[1]) and Tenontosaurus dossi (described by Winkler, Murry, and Jacobs in 1997).[2] Many specimens of T. tilletti have been collected from several geological formations throughout western North America. T. dossi is known from only a handful of specimens collected from the Twin Mountains Formation of Parker County, Texas.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ostrom1970 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference winkler1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).