Sciurumimus ("Squirrel-mimic," named for its tail's resemblance to that of the tree squirrel, Sciurus[1]) is an extinct genus of tetanuran theropod from the Late Jurassic Torleite Formation of Germany. It is known from a single juvenile specimen representing the type species, Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, which was found in a limestone quarry close to Painten in Lower Bavaria.[2] The specimen was preserved with traces of feather-like filaments.[3]
The Sciurumimus specimen was first announced in an informal presentation by Rauhut and Foth (2011),[4] but not formally described and named until the following year by Rauhut et al. (2012). Although originally classified as a basal megalosauroid,[2] later phylogenetic analyses dispute this placement.[5] However, a recent analysis on immature coelurosaurs, including compsognathids, finds Sciurumimus back in Megalosauroidea.[6]
^"Newly Discovered Dinosaur Implies Greater Prevalence of Feathers". American Museum of Natural History. July 2, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
^ abRauhut, O. W. M.; Foth, C.; Tischlinger, H.; Norell, M. A. (2012). "Exceptionally preserved juvenile megalosauroid theropod dinosaur with filamentous integument from the Late Jurassic of Germany". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (29): 11746–11751. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10911746R. doi:10.1073/pnas.1203238109. PMC 3406838. PMID 22753486.
^Switek, B. (2012). "Rise of the fuzzy dinosaurs". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.10933. S2CID 123219913.
^Rauhut and Foth, (2011). New information on Late Jurassic theropod dinosaurs from Southern Germany. IV Congresso Latinoamericano Paleontologia de Vertebrados.
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immature coelurosaurs, including compsognathids, finds Sciurumimus back in Megalosauroidea. Sciurumimus is known from a single holotype fossil that is exceptionally...
exceptions being particularly basal species such as Zuolong salleei or Sciurumimus albersdoerferi. Several recently-named clades have been proposed to define...
Comparison of the Preserved Integument in the Juvenile Theropod Dinosaurs Sciurumimus and Juravenator from the Kimmeridgian Torleite Formation of Southern...
megalosaurids may have had feathers. However, subsequent analyses have placed Sciurumimus as a basal coelurosaur, and several supposed megalosauroid synapomorphies...
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