| Nevadadromeus | |
|---|---|
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| Life reconstruction ofNevadadromeus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: | †Thescelosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Thescelosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Nevadadromeus Bondeet al.,2022 |
| Type species | |
| †Nevadadromeus schmitti Bondeet al., 2022 | |
Nevadadromeus (meaning "Nevada runner") is an extinct genus of smallthescelosaurineornithischian dinosaur, from theWillow Tank Formation ofNevada,United States. The genus contains a single species,N. schmitti, which represents the first non-avian dinosaur named from Nevada.[1][2]
TheNevadadromeusholotype specimen,NSC 2008-002 was discovered near theValley of Fire in 2008 and the bones were prepared for an event inHenderson, Nevada in 2021.[3] A secondornithopod from Nevada, ahadrosaur, was also leaked during the event, but it was not ready for public view until 2022.Nevadadromeus was formally published in October 2022.[2][1]
In 2022, Bondeet al.describedNevadadromeus as a new genus and species of thescelosaurine. Thegeneric name, "Nevadadromeus", combines a reference to the Nevada, the state the holotype was discovered in, with theGreek "dromeus", meaning "runner". Thespecific name, "schmitti", honors geologistJames G. Schmitt, who initially described the geology of the Willow Tank Formation.[1]
The fossil remains ofNevadadromeus contain features of boththescelosaurines andorodromines, but the describers find it more likely to be a thescelosaurine. This makes it the oldest member of its subfamily from North America, as all other thescelosaurines date to the Maastrichtian.[1]
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