Genus
Valid Extinct

Calvarius

Prieto-Márquez and Sellés 2023

Calvarius is an extinct genus of styracosternan ornithopod from the Late Cretaceous Talarn Formation of Spain. The genus contains a single species, Calvarius rapidus, known from a single metatarsal. The slender morphology of this bone may indicate Calvarius had a cursorial ecology, in contrast to its slower-moving relatives.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Calvarius
click to enlarge
Calvarius is a genus of styracosternan ornithopod from the Late Cretaceous of Spain. The name alludes to its chronostratigraphic proximity to the extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous. The highly modified metatarsal that is known from shows an example of convergent evolution, as it is more similar to non-iguanodontian ornithopods than to other styracosternans. It is thought that this is due to fulfilling a niche in its island habitat, resulting in Calvarius becoming a small-bodied animal, capable of rapid locomotion. © TotalDino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
›
Ornithischia Unranked clade
›
Neornithischia Unranked clade
›
Pyrodontia Unranked clade
›
Cerapoda Unranked clade
›
Ornithopoda Suborder
›
Iguanodontia Infraorder
›
Euiguanodontia Unranked clade
›
Dryomorpha Unranked clade
›
Ankylopollexia Unranked clade
›
Styracosterna Unranked clade
›
Calvarius Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇪🇸 Spain
1
Geological formations
Talarn
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Calvarius rapidus 72 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
A. Prieto-Márquez and A. Sellés. 2023. Evolutionary convergence in a small cursorial styracosternan ornithopod dinosaur from western Europe. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 42(5):e2210632:1-17 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
A. Prieto-Márquez and A. Sellés. 2023. Evolutionary convergence in a small cursorial styracosternan ornithopod dinosaur from western Europe. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 42(5):e2210632:1-17 DOI ↗