Reptiles On The Rocks by William T. Blows

Glossary Of Terms

Ankylosauria (Ankylosaurs).....Term given to the heavily armoured dinosaurs that lived in the Cretaceous period.
Ankylosed......................Joined together, fused, stiffened.
Anterior.......................Towards the front.
Articulated (Articular)........Fitted together as in normal life.
Arundel........................American geological formation of the Lower Cretaceous period.
Bipedal (Bipeds)...............Walking on two hind legs.
Bivalves.......................Shell having two halves hinged together.
Carnivorous (Carnivores).......Flesh eating animals.
Caudal.........................Tail.
Centrum (Centre)...............The solid body of a vertebra.
Cervical.......................Neck.
Chalk..........................Upper Cretaceous limestone deposit.
Chevron........................Small bone suspended under the tail.
Classification.................Grouping of animals.
Condyle........................Rounded end of bone forming a joint.
Cretaceous.....................Last period of the Mesozoic Era.
Dermal.........................Skin.
Digit..........................Finger or toe.
Dinosaur.......................Popular term for two groups of extinct reptiles; the word means 'terrible lizard'.
Dorsal.........................The back of the creature; dorsal vertebrae support ribs.
Entomology.....................Study of insects.
Eurasia........................Combined land masses of Europe and Asia.
Facets.........................Surfaces on bones (usually vertebrae) used for articulation.
Faults.........................Fractures or breaks in rock strata.
Fauna..........................Collection of animal life.
Femur..........................Thigh bone, between hip and knee.
Fibula.........................Collection of plant life.
Fossil.........................Petrified remains of ancient life.
Gastropods.....................Shells of the snail family.
Genera (Genus).................Class of animals having very similar characteristics.
Greensands.....................The uppermost portion of the Lower Cretaceous on top of the Weald.
Haemal.........................Blood. Haemal arch is a bone supporting blood vessels.
Herbivorous (Herbivore)........Plant eating animals.
Humerus........................Upper arm bone between shoulder and elbow.
Ilium (Iliac)..................Top bone of the pelvis attached to the vertebral column.
Ischium........................Rear bone of the pelvis beneath ilium.
Jurassic.......................Middle period of the Mesozoic Era.
Juxtaposition..................Placed side by side, as in normal anatomy.
Lateral........................The side or outer edge.
Laurasia.......................Combined land masses of North America, Europe and Asia, which existed as a single continent until about the end of the Cretaceous.
Lignite........................Fossil wood.
Limestone......................Geological deposits of calcium carbonate.
Marl...........................Clay and limestone mixture.
Matrix.........................Mass of rock.
Mesozoic.......................Major era of Earth history, started 225 million years ago.
Metacarpal.....................Hand bone.
Metatarsal (Metatarsus)........Bones of the foot.
Neural (Neural canal)..........Nerves; bony tube through vertebrae for the spinal nerves.
Occipital......................Rear bone of the skull forming some of the base of the brain.
Ornithischia...................Bird-hipped dinosaurs.
Ornithopoda....................One group of bird-hipped dinosaurs that were bipedal herbivores.
Ossicles.......................Small rounded bones developing as armour in the skin of Ankylosaurs.
Palaeontology (Palaeontologist)..The study of fossils; a fossil collector.
Phalanges (Phalanx)............Toe or finger bone.
Posterior......................Towards the rear.
Predator.......................Hunting, flesh eating animals.
Premaxilla.....................Bone set before the maxilla at the front of the upper jaw.
Pubis (Pubic)..................Front lower bone of the pelvis.
Quadrupedal (Quadruped)........Animals walking on all four limbs.
Sacrum (Sacral)................Section of vertebral column fused to, and set between, the iliums.
Sauropod (Sauropodomorpha).....Group of large dinosaurs noted for long necks and and tails with small heads.
Scapula........................Shoulder blade.
Scute..........................Horny or bony scale in the skin.
Shales.........................Fine grain clay deposits.
Suborders......................A major grouping in classification.
Terrestrial....................Land living animals and plants.
Theropoda......................The flesh eating group of dinosaurs.
Tibia..........................Shin bone between knee and ankle.
Vertebra (e) (Vertebral).......Sections of the spine.
Wealden........................Lower Cretaceous deposits of Europe.