Drinker
Encyclopedia
Drinker was a genus
of hypsilophodont
dinosaur
from the late Jurassic
period of North America
. Although based on good remains, it remains obscure due to a lack of post-naming publications.
(now Othnielosaurus
), but the latest reviews have kept it separate. It has usually been regarded as a "hypsilophodont" of uncertain but basal affinities; Phyllodon
from the Late Jurassic of Portugal
may have been related.
, Peter Galton
, James Siegwarth, and James Filla described the partial remains of Drinker nisti. The name is somewhat ironic; Drinker, named for renowned palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope
whose infamous "bone wars
" with rival Othniel Charles Marsh
produced many dinosaur fossils which are world-famous today, was described as a probable close relative of Othnielia, named for Marsh. The species name refers to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Discovered by Siegwarth and Filla in upper Morrison Formation
beds at Como Bluff
, Wyoming
, Drinker was based on
a partial subadult
skeleton (CPS 106) including partial jaws, vertebrae, and partial limbs. Numerous additional specimens from the age spectrum found in the same area were assigned to it, mostly consisting of vertebral and hindlimb remains, and teeth. The authors considered it to be too archaic to be a true "hypsilophodont
", particularly in teeth lacking a strong central vertical ridge, and placed it with Othnielia (Othnielosaurus) in a separate unnamed group. Since 1990, little has been published on this genus. Drinker remains are present in stratigraphic zones 5 and 6.
as swamp
y (lungfish
teeth and marsh
vegetation were found in the area), and interpreted its broad feet with spreading toes as being well-suited to such an environment, especially compared to the narrow-footed stegosaurs
and sauropods
found elsewhere in the Morrison. He later described tightly-packed pods of 6 to 35 individuals which he interpreted as representing groups of Drinker in burrows, perhaps drowned by flooding or killed by disease. This interpretation has not attracted much attention from other workers. If Drinker was indeed a burrower, it would be among the first known for dinosaurs; the only well-supported published case of a fossorial
nonavian dinosaur is the more recently discovered, distantly related Oryctodromeus
. Otherwise, it appears to have been like other basal ornithopods: a small bipedal herbivore
. It lived alongside turtle
s, lungfish, and early mammals
(Zofiabaatar
, Foxraptor
).
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of hypsilophodont
Hypsilophodont
Hypsilophodonts were small ornithopod dinosaurs, regarded as fast, herbivorous bipeds on the order of 1–2 meters long . They are known from Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, North America, and South America, from rocks of Middle Jurassic to late Cretaceous age...
dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
from the late Jurassic
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago , which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...
period of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Although based on good remains, it remains obscure due to a lack of post-naming publications.
Description
A relatively small dinosaur, Drinker was approximately 2 meters (6 ft) long and may have weighed up to 10 kilograms (22 lb). It was a biped with short arms, a small head, and long, strong legs.Classification
Drinker has sometimes been regarded informally as a possible synonym of contemporaneous OthnieliaOthnielia
Othnielia is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur, named after its original describer, Professor Othniel Charles Marsh, an American paleontologist of the 19th century...
(now Othnielosaurus
Othnielosaurus
Othnielosaurus is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived about 155 to 148 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic-age Morrison Formation of the western United States. It is named in honor of famed paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, and was formerly assigned to the genus...
), but the latest reviews have kept it separate. It has usually been regarded as a "hypsilophodont" of uncertain but basal affinities; Phyllodon
Phyllodon
Phyllodon was a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur from the Kimmeridgian-age Upper Jurassic Guimarota Formation of Leiria, Portugal. It may have been closely related to contemporaneous dinosaurs in North America....
from the Late Jurassic of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
may have been related.
Discovery and history
In 1990, Robert BakkerRobert T. Bakker
Robert T. Bakker is an American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic...
, Peter Galton
Peter Galton
Peter M. Galton is a British vertebrate paleontologist working in America, who has to date written or co-written about a hundred papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosauropod dinosaurs.With Robert Bakker in a joint article...
, James Siegwarth, and James Filla described the partial remains of Drinker nisti. The name is somewhat ironic; Drinker, named for renowned palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
whose infamous "bone wars
Bone Wars
The Bone Wars, also known as the "Great Dinosaur Rush", refers to a period of intense fossil speculation and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh...
" with rival Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh was an American paleontologist. Marsh was one of the preeminent scientists in the field; the discovery or description of dozens of news species and theories on the origins of birds are among his legacies.Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education...
produced many dinosaur fossils which are world-famous today, was described as a probable close relative of Othnielia, named for Marsh. The species name refers to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Discovered by Siegwarth and Filla in upper Morrison Formation
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish...
beds at Como Bluff
Como Bluff
Como Bluff is a long ridge extending east-west, located between the towns of Rock River and Medicine Bow, Wyoming. The ridge is an anticline, formed as a result of compressional geological folding. Three geological formations, the Sundance, the Morrison, and the Cloverly Formations, containing...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, Drinker was based on
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
a partial subadult
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
skeleton (CPS 106) including partial jaws, vertebrae, and partial limbs. Numerous additional specimens from the age spectrum found in the same area were assigned to it, mostly consisting of vertebral and hindlimb remains, and teeth. The authors considered it to be too archaic to be a true "hypsilophodont
Hypsilophodont
Hypsilophodonts were small ornithopod dinosaurs, regarded as fast, herbivorous bipeds on the order of 1–2 meters long . They are known from Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, North America, and South America, from rocks of Middle Jurassic to late Cretaceous age...
", particularly in teeth lacking a strong central vertical ridge, and placed it with Othnielia (Othnielosaurus) in a separate unnamed group. Since 1990, little has been published on this genus. Drinker remains are present in stratigraphic zones 5 and 6.
Paleobiology
Bakker (1990) described its environmentNatural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
as swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
y (lungfish
Lungfish
Lungfish are freshwater fish belonging to the Subclass Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining characteristics primitive within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and structures primitive within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed...
teeth and marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
vegetation were found in the area), and interpreted its broad feet with spreading toes as being well-suited to such an environment, especially compared to the narrow-footed stegosaurs
Stegosauridae
Stegosauridae is a family of stegosauria, large thyreophorans. They lived longer than other Stegosaurs; while all Huayangosauridae and most of basal stegosaurs died out in Tithonian - Kimmeridgian, stegosauridae survived till Middle Cretaceous. They are usually characterized by triangular plates on...
and sauropods
Sauropoda
Sauropoda , or the sauropods , are an infraorder of saurischian dinosaurs. They had long necks, long tails, small heads , and thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land...
found elsewhere in the Morrison. He later described tightly-packed pods of 6 to 35 individuals which he interpreted as representing groups of Drinker in burrows, perhaps drowned by flooding or killed by disease. This interpretation has not attracted much attention from other workers. If Drinker was indeed a burrower, it would be among the first known for dinosaurs; the only well-supported published case of a fossorial
Fossorial
A fossorial organism is one that is adapted to digging and life underground such as the badger, the naked mole rat, and the mole salamanders Ambystomatidae...
nonavian dinosaur is the more recently discovered, distantly related Oryctodromeus
Oryctodromeus
Oryctodromeus was a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur. Fossils are known from the middle Cretaceous Blackleaf Formation of southwestern Montana and the Wayan Formation of southeastern Idaho, both of the Cenomanian stage, roughly 95 million years ago...
. Otherwise, it appears to have been like other basal ornithopods: a small bipedal herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
. It lived alongside turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s, lungfish, and early mammals
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
(Zofiabaatar
Zofiabaatar
Zofiabaatar is a genus of extinct mammal from the Upper Jurassic period. It was a relatively early member of the extinct order Multituberculata within the suborder "Plagiaulacida". It lived in North America along with dinosaurs such as Diplodocus and Allosaurus.The primary species is named...
, Foxraptor
Foxraptor
Foxraptor is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammal from the Morrison Formation.Present in stratigraphic zone 6.-See also:* Prehistoric mammal** List of prehistoric mammals* Paleobiota of the Morrison Formation...
).
External links
- Drinker and burrowing
- Brief capsule description at Thescelosaurus!