Kulindadromeus
Name:
Kulindadromeus
(Kulinda dromeus).
Phonetic: Ku-lin-ah-dro-me-us.
Named By: P. Godefroit, S. M. Sinitsa, D.
Dhouailly, Y. L. Bolotsky, A. V. Sizov, M. E.
McNamara, M. J. Benton & O. Spagna - 2014.
Synonyms: Kulindapteryx ukureica,
Daurosaurus olovus.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia, Neornithischia.
Species: K. zabaikalicus
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About 1.5 meters long.
Known locations: Russia - Ukureyskaya Formation.
Time period: Mid-Late Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Several individuals,
ranging from juvenile to adult.
As
far as the skeleton of Kulindadromeus is
concerned, this genus was
pretty much like any other small ornithischian dinosaur of the
Jurassic. However, while most other ornithischian dinosaurs have
been described from bones, extra fossils were available for
Kulindadromeus, and these revealed a startling
revelation:
Kulindadromeus had a body that was covered in
feathers.
To
be fair Kulindadromeus was not the first
ornithischian (bird hipped)
dinosaur discovered to have feathers. In 2009 a genus called
Tianyulong
was discovered to have primitive feather structures similar
to quills growing up from its back, and the genus Psittacosaurus
also
had quill-like feathers growing from the tail. What Kulindadromeus
shows us though is that feathers were not just more common in
ornithischian dinosaurs, but that they were far more diverse than
previously thought. The feathers on Kulindadromeus
seem to have
created a downy fluff covering that grew over most of the body, the
only exceptions being the tail and lower legs. This also reinforces
the theory that feather growth was not just the preserve of some
theropod dinosaurs, but that all dinosaurs could potentially have the
genetic markers buried within their DNA to grow hair-like feathers.
Kulindadromeus
was a small plant eating dinosaur that like its relatives, would have
relied upon a combination of keen reflexes and speed to evade the
mouths of predatory dinosaurs.
Further reading
- A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers
and scales. - Science 345(6):451-455. - P. Godefroit,
S. M. Sinitsa, D. Dhouailly, Y. L. Bolotsky, A. V.
Sizov, M. E. McNamara, M. J. Benton & O.
Spagna - 2014.
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