Cerapoda
Cerapoda is the most diverse clade of neornithischian dinosaurs, uniting the two great herbivorous lineages Ornithopoda and Marginocephalia; its name is a blend of Ceratopsia and Ornithopoda. As that name suggests, it is split into two branches: the ornithopods, ranging from small bird-footed forms to the more derived iguanodontians and hadrosaurs, and the marginocephalians, which comprise the dome-skulled pachycephalosaurs and the frilled, horned ceratopsians. Cerapodans span an enormous range of body plans, from small bipeds to giant quadrupedal plant-eaters, and share refined tooth and jaw mechanics that let them process tough vegetation efficiently. The clade nests within Neornithischia, more derived than the small-bodied, early-diverging forms such as the thescelosaurids and jeholosaurids.
Diagnosis
- Asymmetrical enamel on the cheek-tooth crowns enabling self-sharpening occlusion
- Dentary crowns bearing prominent ridges on the lingual surface only
- Well-developed coronoid process on the dentary
- Reduction or loss of the premaxillary teeth
- Diastema between the premaxillary and maxillary tooth rows
Clades within Cerapoda
- Marginocephalia 113 genera
- Ornithopoda 205 genera
Genera placed directly in Cerapoda
- Craspedodon Nomen dubium Coniacian–Santonian (89.8–83.6 Ma)Belgiumincertae sedisunder dispute
- Ferenceratops Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Romaniaincertae sedisunder dispute
- Notoceratops Nomen dubium Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Argentinaincertae sedisunder dispute
- Siluosaurus Nomen dubium Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)Chinaincertae sedisunder dispute
References
-
Sereno, P. C. (1986). Phylogeny of the bird-hipped dinosaurs (Order Ornithischia). National Geographic Research 2(2): 234-256.
Erected Cerapoda.
sereno1986a -
Madzia, D.; Arbour, V. M.; Boyd, C. A.; Farke, A. A.; Cruzado-Caballero, P.; Evans, D. C. (2021). The phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs. PeerJ 9: e12362. doi:10.7717/peerj.12362
Provides the modern phylogenetic definition of Cerapoda.
madzia2021a