Portal:Reptiles

Topics Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology The Reptile Portal Reptiles are (See more…) Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that existed roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids of the mid-Jurassic and the duck-billed dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous. The genus was named in 1825 by English geologist Gideon Mantell, based on fossil specimens that are now assigned to different genera and species. Iguanodon was the second type of dinosaur formally named based on fossil specimens, after Megalosaurus. Together with Megalosaurus and Hylaeosaurus, it was one of the three genera originally used to define Dinosauria. The genus Iguanodon belongs to the larger group Iguanodontia, along with the duck-billed hadrosaurs. The taxonomy of this genus continues to be a topic of study as new species are named or long-standing ones reassigned to other genera. Scientific understanding of Iguanodon has evolved over time as new information has been obtained from fossils. The numerous specimens of this genus, including nearly complete skeletons from two well-known bonebeds, have allowed researchers to make informed hypotheses regarding many aspects of the living animal, including feeding, movement, and social behaviour. As one of the first scientifically well-known dinosaurs, Iguanodon has occupied a small but notable place in the public's perception of dinosaurs, its artistic representation changing significantly in response to new interpretations of its remains. (see more...) Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards is a graphic novel written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by the company Big Time Attic. The book tells a slightly fictionalized account of the Bone Wars, a period of intense excavation, speculation, and rivalry which led to a greater understanding of dinosaurs in the western United States. This novel is the first semi-fictional work written by Ottaviani; previously, he had taken no creative license with the characters he depicted, portraying them strictly according to historical sources. Bone Sharps follows the two scientists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh as they engage in an intense rivalry for prestige. Ottaviani has Cope and Marsh interact and meet many important figures of the Gilded Age, from P. T. Barnum to U.S. Grant, as the two scientists pursue their hotheaded and sometimes illegal acquisitions of fossils. Unlike in his previous books, "the scientists are the bad guys this time". Upon release, the novel received praise from critics for its exceptional historical content, although some reviewers wished more fiction had been woven into the story. (see more...) A skeleton of Steneosaurus, an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Toarcian Lower Jurassic of Holzmaden, Germany. Photo credit: Didier Descouens Template:/box-headerPortal:Reptiles/TopicsTemplate:/box-footer Template:/box-headerFeatured reptile-related articles - Blue iguana - Cyclura nubila - George Went Hensley - Komodo dragon - List of snakes of Trinidad and Tobago - Noronha skink Good reptile-related articles - Agkistrodon piscivorus - Beaded lizard - Bitis arietans - Bitis gabonica - Black mamba - Black-necked spitting cobra - Ctenosaura bakeri - Daboia - Eastern green mamba - Forest cobra - Gila monster - Green iguana - Hydrophiinae - Many-banded krait - Snake scales - Solomon Islands skink - Trachylepis tschudii - Tuatara - Varanus salvadorii - Vipera berus - Virgin Islands dwarf sphaero - Western green mamba Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header ▼ Reptiles ► Prehistoric reptiles Template:/box-headerPortal:Reptiles/Things you can doTemplate:/box-footer Lepidosaurs Snakes Turtles Dinosaurs Birds Paleontology Extinct and Endangered Species Paleozoic Mesozoic Cenozoic Amphibians Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header Template:/box-footer What are portals? List of portals Featured portals