New skull of Lesothosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of southern Africa |
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Authors: | Fabien Knoll |
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Institution: | Laboratoire de paléontologie, UMR 8569 CNRS, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 8, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France |
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Abstract: | A new ornithischian skull from the Elliot Formation of southern Africa is described. The specimen is compared in detail with the fabrosaurid Lesothosaurus diagnosticus. It actually shares many characters with specimens of the syntypes of this species or specimens referred to it. It is nevertheless not identical to any of these specimens and it is, moreover, remarkably larger than them. The possibility of attributing this specimen to a so far undescribed ‘large fabrosaur’ from the same formation is discussed. It is concluded that the specimen in question in this paper, while being ascribable to the genus Lesothosaurus, cannot be determined to a specific level until the existence of two fabrosaurid species in the ‘Stormberg Group’ is demonstrated and their range of morphological and size variation is properly appraised. |
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Keywords: | Dinosauria Ornithischia Fabrosauridae Lesothosaurus Elliot Formation Lower Jurassic Southern Africa Cranial anatomy |
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