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74-719: Alioramus ( / ˌ æ l i oʊ ˈ r eɪ m ə s / ; meaning 'different branch') is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia . It currently contains two species. The type species , A. remotus is known from a partial skull and three foot bones recovered from the Mongolian Nemegt Formation , which was deposited in a humid floodplain about 70  million years ago . These remains were named and described by Soviet paleontologist Sergei Kurzanov in 1976. A second species, A. altai , known from

148-533: A comparably smaller adult size. Lastly, Brusatte and team argued against the skull shape and cranial ornamentation of Alioramus being juvenile traits, given that: IGM 100/1844 is smaller and slender than comparably aged Tyrannosaurus and has a longer snout than any known juvenile of large tyrannosaurids ( Albertosaurus or Tarbosaurus ); and several well-documented ontogenic (growth) series of other dinosaurs evidence that ornamentation increases throughout growth. The latter may suggest that adult Alioramus possessed

222-437: A distinct branch of tyrannosaurs, namely the tribe Alioramini . Alioramus were bipedal like all known theropods, and their sharp teeth indicate that they were carnivores . Known specimens were smaller than other tyrannosaurids like Tarbosaurus bataar and Tyrannosaurus rex , but their adult size is difficult to estimate since both Alioramus species are known only from juvenile or sub-adult remains. The genus Alioramus

296-651: A later homonym of a validly published name is a nomen illegitimum or nom. illeg. ; for a full list refer to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010. In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is " correct name " or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split. Prokaryote and virus codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as

370-521: A locking mechanism in the lower jaw between the dentary and angular bones, and both lacked the prong of the nasal bones which connected to the lacrimal bones in all other tyrannosaurids except adult Daspletosaurus . The two genera may be closely related, representing an Asian branch of the Tyrannosauridae. Some specimens of Tarbosaurus have a row of bumps on the nasal bones like those of Alioramus , although much lower. The long and low shape of

444-628: A long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the World Register of Marine Species presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus Physeter Linnaeus, 1758, and 13 for the bivalve genus Pecten O.F. Müller, 1776. Within the same kingdom, one generic name can apply to one genus only. However, many names have been assigned (usually unintentionally) to two or more different genera. For example,

518-688: A member of the group Tyrannosaurinae. However, a second analysis in the same paper found it to be located outside of the clade including Albertosaurinae and Tyrannosaurinae, and therefore the sister group of Tyrannosauridae. Below is the first analysis found by the authors: Gorgosaurus [REDACTED] Albertosaurus [REDACTED] Qianzhousaurus [REDACTED] Alioramus altai [REDACTED] Alioramus remotus [REDACTED] Teratophoneus [REDACTED] Daspletosaurus [REDACTED] Tyrannosaurus [REDACTED] Tarbosaurus [REDACTED] Brusatte and colleagues in 2009 indicated that Alioramus lacks many of

592-698: A mix of archaic and apomorphic (derived) features that have only been sorted out via comparison with other angiosperms and their positions within the phylogenetic tree (the fossil record could potentially also be helpful in this respect, but is absent in this case). The cladogram below is based on Ramírez-Barahona et al. (2020), with species counts taken from the source indicated. Amborellales (1 species) Nymphaeales (about 90 species) Austrobaileyales (about 95 species) Magnoliids (about 9,000 species) Chloranthales (about 80 species) Monocots (about 70,000 species) Ceratophyllales (about 6 species) Eudicots (about 175,000 species) Within

666-656: A more diverse and generally larger dinosaur fauna than in earlier times. Kurzanov reported that other theropods, including Tarbosaurus , ornithomimosaurs and therizinosaurs were discovered at the same locality, but these remains have never been reported in detail. If the Nogon Tsav fauna was similar to that of the Nemegt Formation, troodontid theropods, as well as pachycephalosaurs , ankylosaurids and hadrosaurs would also have been present. Titanosaurian sauropods were also potential prey for predators in

740-413: A more precise classification had remained elusive until the discovery of A. altai . A cladistic analysis published in 2003 found Alioramus could be further classified into the family Tyrannosauridae and the subfamily Tyrannosaurinae, alongside Tyrannosaurus , Tarbosaurus and Daspletosaurus . A 2004 study supported this result but suggested it was equally probable that Alioramus belonged outside

814-411: A much more complete skeleton also from the Nemegt Formation, was named and described by Stephen L. Brusatte and colleagues in 2009. Its relationships to other tyrannosaurid genera were at first unclear, with some evidence supporting a hypothesis that Alioramus was closely related to the contemporary species Tarbosaurus bataar . However, the discovery of Qianzhousaurus indicates that it belongs to

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888-403: A rather elaborate cranial ornamentation. Examinations of Qianzhousaurus and its comparisons with both species of Alioramus published in 2022 suggests that both Alioramus species are known from juvenile specimens in different growth stages, and that Qianzhousaurus represents an adult example of the alioramini. The examinations also suggest that the variation seen between the various species

962-409: A reference for designating currently accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature". An available (zoological) or validly published (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for

1036-473: A sister group to Homininae and are the basal genus in the great ape family Hominidae as a whole. Orangutans ( Pongo spp.) Humans ( Homo sapiens ) Chimpanzees ( Pan spp.) Gorillas ( Gorilla spp.) Subfamilies Homininae and Ponginae are both basal within Hominidae, but given that there are no nonbasal subfamilies in the cladogram it is unlikely the term would be applied to either. In general,

1110-405: A statement to the effect that one group (e.g., orangutans) is basal, or branches off first, within another group (e.g., Hominidae) may not make sense unless the appropriate taxonomic level(s) (genus, in this case) is specified. If that level cannot be specified (i.e., if the clade in question is unranked) a more detailed description of the relevant sister groups may be needed. As can be seen, the term

1184-427: A taxon; however, the names published in suppressed works are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question. In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a validly published name . An invalidly published name is a nomen invalidum or nom. inval. ; a rejected name is a nomen rejiciendum or nom. rej. ;

1258-455: A total of c. 520,000 published names (including synonyms) as at end 2019, increasing at some 2,500 published generic names per year. "Official" registers of taxon names at all ranks, including genera, exist for a few groups only such as viruses and prokaryotes, while for others there are compendia with no "official" standing such as Index Fungorum for fungi, Index Nominum Algarum and AlgaeBase for algae, Index Nominum Genericorum and

1332-461: A trait generally viewed as ancestral among the apes. Given that the deepest phylogenetic split in a group is likely to have occurred early in its history, identification of the most basal subclade(s) in a widely dispersed taxon or clade can provide valuable insight into its region of origin; however, the lack of additional species in a clade is not evidence that it carries the ancestral state for most traits. Most deceptively, people often believe that

1406-553: Is a basal clade of extant angiosperms , consisting of the most species, genus, family and order within the group that are sister to all other angiosperms (out of a total of about 250,000 angiosperm species). The traits of Amborella trichopoda are regarded as providing significant insight into the evolution of flowering plants; for example, it has "the most primitive wood (consisting only of tracheids ), of any living angiosperm" as well as "simple, separate flower parts of indefinite numbers, and unsealed carpels". However, those traits are

1480-464: Is a protrusion, called the nuchal crest , arising from the fused parietal bones , a feature shared with all tyrannosaurids. In Alioramus , the nuchal crest is greatly thickened, similarly to Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus . Like the rest of the skull, the lower jaw of Alioramus was long and slender, another possible juvenile characteristic. As in Tarbosaurus , a ridge on the outer surface of

1554-451: Is a subgroup of the sister group of A or of A itself. In the context of large groups, the term "basal" is often used loosely to refer to positions closer to the root than the majority, and in such cases, expressions like "very basal" can appear. A 'core clade' refers to the grouping that encompasses all constituent clades except for the basal clade(s) of the lowest rank within a larger clade, exemplified by core eudicots . No extant taxon

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1628-485: Is characterized by a row of five bony crests along the top of the snout, a greater number of teeth than any other genus of tyrannosaurid, and a lower skull than most other tyrannosaurids. The holotype ( PIN 3141/1) of Alioramus is a partial skull associated with three metatarsals . A joint Soviet -Mongolian expedition to the Gobi Desert in the early 1970s found these remains at a locality known as Nogon-Tsav in

1702-402: Is closer to the root than any other. A basal group in the stricter sense forms a sister group to the rest of the larger clade, as in the following case:   Basal clade #1  Non-basal clade #1  Non-basal clade #2    Non-basal clade #3 While it is easy to identify a basal clade in such a cladogram, the appropriateness of such an identification is dependent on

1776-459: Is consistent with the growth trends seen in other tyrannosaurid genera, though specimens that could constitute a full growth series from infant to adult for each species have not been recovered for any of these tyrannosaurs. One part of the growth series across all specimens in this study was discovered to remain unique to alioramin tyrannosaurs; the rugose process of the jugal starts small and conical in early life, but becomes massive and indistinct as

1850-612: Is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants , there are some five thousand such names in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, A list of generic homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names, has been compiled by the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). The type genus forms

1924-592: Is in reference to the Altai Mountains . Alioramus remotus was estimated at 5 to 6 m (16 to 20 ft) in length when originally described by Sergei Kurzanov in 1976. In 1988 Paul gave a similar length of 6 m (20 ft) and a weight of 700 kg (1,500 lb). In 2016 Molina-Pérez and Larramendi estimated A. remotus at 5.5 m (18 ft) and 500 kg (1,100 lb), and A. altai at 5 m (16 ft) and 385 kg (849 lb). Kurzanov, however, did not correct for lengthening of

1998-415: Is likely a source of the mis-use of the term. Other famous examples of this phenomenon are the oviparous reproduction and nipple-less lactation of monotremes , a clade of mammals with just five species, and the archaic anatomy of the tuatara , a basal clade of lepidosaurian with a single species. The flowering plant family Amborellaceae , restricted to New Caledonia in the southwestern Pacific,

2072-515: Is not reflective of ancestral states or proximity to the common ancestor of extant species. In this example, orangutans differ from the other genera in their Asian range. This fact plus their basal status provides a hint that the most recent common ancestor of extant great apes may have been Eurasian (see below), a suggestion that is consistent with other evidence. (Of course, lesser apes are entirely Asiatic.) However, orangutans also differ from African apes in their more highly arboreal lifestyle,

2146-460: Is somewhat arbitrary. Although all species within a genus are supposed to be "similar", there are no objective criteria for grouping species into genera. There is much debate among zoologists about whether enormous, species-rich genera should be maintained, as it is extremely difficult to come up with identification keys or even character sets that distinguish all species. Hence, many taxonomists argue in favor of breaking down large genera. For instance,

2220-474: Is the type species , and the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should the specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed. In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with

2294-418: Is unnecessary and misleading. The term is more often applied when one branch (the one deemed "basal") is less diverse than another branch (this being the situation in which one would expect to find a basal taxon of lower minimum rank). The term may be equivocal in that it also refers to the direction of the root of the tree, which represents a hypothetical ancestor; this consequently may inaccurately imply that

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2368-621: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the " valid " (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question. Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to

2442-824: The International Plant Names Index for plants in general, and ferns through angiosperms, respectively, and Nomenclator Zoologicus and the Index to Organism Names for zoological names. Totals for both "all names" and estimates for "accepted names" as held in the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) are broken down further in the publication by Rees et al., 2020 cited above. The accepted names estimates are as follows, broken down by kingdom: The cited ranges of uncertainty arise because IRMNG lists "uncertain" names (not researched therein) in addition to known "accepted" names;

2516-435: The angular bone of the lower jaw articulated with the rear of the dentary bone , locking the two bones together and removing much of the flexibility seen in other tyrannosaurids. Other tyrannosaurids had four premaxillary teeth, D -shaped in cross section , on each side. Including 16 or 17 in each maxilla , and 18 in each dentary , Alioramus had 76 or 78 teeth, more than any other tyrannosaurid. The braincase of A. altai

2590-432: The basal taxon of that rank within D . The concept of a ' key innovation ' implies some degree of correlation between evolutionary innovation and diversification . However, such a correlation does not make a given case predicable, so ancestral characters should not be imputed to the members of a less species-rich basal clade without additional evidence. In general, clade A is more basal than clade B if B

2664-696: The fauna present in the fossil record indicate it was probably deposited during the Maastrichtian stage , at the end of the Late Cretaceous . The Maastrichtian stage in Mongolia, as preserved in the Nemegt Formation and at Nogon-Tsav, was characterized by a wetter and more humid climate compared with the semi-arid environment preserved in the earlier, underlying Barun Goyot and Djadochta Formations . Nemegt sediments preserve floodplains , large river channels and soil deposits , but caliche deposits indicate periodic droughts. This environment supported

2738-590: The great apes , gorillas (eastern and western) are a sister group to chimpanzees , bonobos and humans . These five species form a clade, the subfamily Homininae (African apes), of which Gorilla has been termed the basal genus. However, if the analysis is not restricted to genera, the Homo plus Pan clade is also basal. Humans ( Homo sapiens ) Bonobos ( Pan paniscus ) Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) Eastern gorillas ( Gorilla beringei ) Western gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla ) Moreover, orangutans are

2812-419: The nomenclature codes , which allow each species a single unique name that, for animals (including protists ), plants (also including algae and fungi ) and prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ), is Latin and binomial in form; this contrasts with common or vernacular names , which are non-standardized, can be non-unique, and typically also vary by country and language of usage. Except for viruses ,

2886-404: The platypus belongs to the genus Ornithorhynchus although George Shaw named it Platypus in 1799 (these two names are thus synonyms ) . However, the name Platypus had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. A name that means two different things is a homonym . Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia,

2960-544: The Mongolian province of Bayankhongor , Nemegt Formation . Alioramus was named and described by Russian paleontologist Sergei Kurzanov in 1976. Its crests and low skull profile looked so different from other tyrannosaurids that Kurzanov believed his find was far removed from other members of the family. Accordingly, he gave it the generic name Alioramus , derived from the Latin alius ('other') and ramus ('branch'), and

3034-601: The Nemegt. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Genus The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists . The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: Moreover, genera should be composed of phylogenetic units of

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3108-588: The Tsagan Khushu locality, making them sympatric —used different feeding strategies , avoiding competition. Foster with team in 2022 hypothesized that due to their slim and gracile build, Alioramin genera may have been hunters of small, particularly fast and nimble prey, which would have allowed alioramins to avoid competition with larger tyrannosaurs that specialized in killing larger animals. The long and delicate snouts of alioramins like Alioramus and Qianzhousaurus may have also prevented them from killing

3182-412: The accuracy and completeness of the diagram. It is often assumed in this example that the terminal branches of the cladogram depict all the extant taxa of a given rank within the clade; this is one reason the term basal is highly deceptive, as the lack of additional species in one clade is taken as evidence of morphological affinity with ancestral taxa. Additionally, this qualification does not ensure that

3256-514: The animals grow. This same study also suggests Alioramins did not undergo a secondary metamorphosis from slender juveniles to robust adults like other tyrannosaurs such as Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus did, but maintained a unique physiology better suited to pursuit of fast, small prey. The Beds of Nogon-Tsav are considered to be the same age as the Nemegt Formation . This geologic formation has never been dated radiometrically , but

3330-442: The base for higher taxonomic ranks, such as the family name Canidae ("Canids") based on Canis . However, this does not typically ascend more than one or two levels: the order to which dogs and wolves belong is Carnivora ("Carnivores"). The numbers of either accepted, or all published genus names is not known precisely; Rees et al., 2020 estimate that approximately 310,000 accepted names (valid taxa) may exist, out of

3404-498: The better-sampled fossil deposits from North America. Why this may be remains a mystery until more evidence is discovered. Examinations of the skulls of various genera of tyrannosauroids suggest that Alioramus experienced lower stresses to its skull when feeding. Additionally, the same study suggests it and its relative Qianzhousaurus did not use the "puncture-and-pull" feeding method used by larger genera such as Tarbosaurus or Tyrannosaurus. Histological analyses performed on

3478-445: The diversity of extinct taxa (which may be poorly known) is represented. In phylogenetics, the term basal cannot be objectively applied to clades of organisms, but tends to be applied selectively and more controversially to groups or lineages thought to possess ancestral characters, or to such presumed ancestral traits themselves. In describing characters, "ancestral" or " plesiomorphic " are preferred to "basal" or " primitive ",

3552-541: The family Tyrannosauridae entirely, with its supposed juvenile characters actually reflecting a more basal position within Tyrannosauroidea. Another study omitted Alioramus altogether due to the only specimen's fragmentary nature. The description of A. altai in 2009 confirmed the placement of the genus within the Tyrannosaurinae. Tarbosaurus and Alioramus shared several skull features, including

3626-446: The form "author, year" in zoology, and "standard abbreviated author name" in botany. Thus in the examples above, the genus Canis would be cited in full as " Canis Linnaeus, 1758" (zoological usage), while Hibiscus , also first established by Linnaeus but in 1753, is simply " Hibiscus L." (botanical usage). Each genus should have a designated type , although in practice there is a backlog of older names without one. In zoology, this

3700-737: The generic name (or its abbreviated form) still forms the leading portion of the scientific name, for example, Canis lupus lupus for the Eurasian wolf subspecies, or as a botanical example, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus . Also, as visible in the above examples, the Latinised portions of the scientific names of genera and their included species (and infraspecies, where applicable) are, by convention, written in italics . The scientific names of virus species are descriptive, not binomial in form, and may or may not incorporate an indication of their containing genus; for example,

3774-452: The holotype of A. altai (IGM 100/1844) by Brusatte and colleagues in 2009 determined that this individual had an internal bone structure corresponding to a nine year-old and actively growing Tyrannosaurus . The team however, noted that in terms of body size this individual is closer to a seven/eight year-old Albertosaurus or Gorgosaurus , and a five/six year-old Daspletosaurus or Tyrannosaurus , which may suggest that Alioramus attained

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3848-633: The largest component, with 23,236 ± 5,379 accepted genus names, of which 20,845 ± 4,494 are angiosperms (superclass Angiospermae). By comparison, the 2018 annual edition of the Catalogue of Life (estimated >90% complete, for extant species in the main) contains currently 175,363 "accepted" genus names for 1,744,204 living and 59,284 extinct species, also including genus names only (no species) for some groups. The number of species in genera varies considerably among taxonomic groups. For instance, among (non-avian) reptiles , which have about 1180 genera,

3922-437: The latter of which may carry false connotations of inferiority or a lack of complexity. The terms ''deep-branching'' or ''early-branching'' are similar in meaning, and equally may misrepresent extant taxa that lie on branches connecting directly to the root node as having more ancestral character states. Despite the ubiquity of the usage of basal , systematists try to avoid its usage because its application to extant groups

3996-451: The lizard genus Anolis has been suggested to be broken down into 8 or so different genera which would bring its ~400 species to smaller, more manageable subsets. Basal (phylogenetics) In phylogenetics , basal is the direction of the base (or root) of a rooted phylogenetic tree or cladogram . The term may be more strictly applied only to nodes adjacent to the root, or more loosely applied to nodes regarded as being close to

4070-403: The most (>300) have only 1 species, ~360 have between 2 and 4 species, 260 have 5–10 species, ~200 have 11–50 species, and only 27 genera have more than 50 species. However, some insect genera such as the bee genera Lasioglossum and Andrena have over 1000 species each. The largest flowering plant genus, Astragalus , contains over 3,000 species. Which species are assigned to a genus

4144-428: The name could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800. However, a genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called "homonyms". Although this

4218-437: The only known Alioramus remotus skull indicated that it was immature when it died and might even have been a juvenile Tarbosaurus , which lived in the same time and place. The more prominent nasal crests and much higher tooth count of Alioramus , however, suggested it was a separate taxon, even if it is known only from juvenile remains, confirmed by the discovery of A. altai . Specimens identified as immature Tarbosaurus have

4292-541: The provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated. According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed names (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for

4366-410: The robust and brute skull traits (such as a deep maxilla, robust lower jaws, or peg-like teeth) that are necessary to employ a "puncture-pull" feeding characteristic of large tyrannosaurids. They suggested that Alioramus may have exploited a different feeding style, such as focusing small-sized prey. This would also suggest that both Alioramus and Tarbosaurus —whose remains have also been collected at

4440-465: The root. Note that extant taxa that lie on branches connecting directly to the root are not more closely related to the root than any other extant taxa. While there must always be two or more equally "basal" clades sprouting from the root of every cladogram, those clades may differ widely in taxonomic rank , species diversity , or both. If C is a basal clade within D that has the lowest rank of all basal clades within D , C may be described as

4514-470: The same kind as other (analogous) genera. The term "genus" comes from Latin genus , a noun form cognate with gignere ('to bear; to give birth to'). The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum , but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) is considered "the founder of the modern concept of genera". The scientific name (or

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4588-583: The same prey species that juvenile and adult tyrannosaurids of tyrannosaurids like Tarbosaurus hunted, though these larger tyrannosaurs themselves may have hunted alioramins as prey on occasion. Alioramins may also have had a different feeding strategy than other tyrannosaurids, as their jaws seem to have been weaker than those of the larger genera, and even juveniles of larger species have proportionately higher bite forces than alioramins of equivalent size. Furthermore, Alioramins seemingly remained confined to Asia, suggesting some factor prevented them from colonizing

4662-485: The same tooth count as adults. The description of Qianzhousaurus in 2014 erected a new branch of the tyrannosaur family named Alioramini; consisting of the long-snouted Q. sinensis and the two known species of Alioramus . This clade had an uncertain placement relative to other members of the tyrannosaur branch in the initial analysis that discovered it. The primary phylogenetic analysis found Alioramini to be closer to Tyrannosaurus than to Albertosaurus , and therefore

4736-408: The scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name ; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature , the system of naming organisms , where it is combined with the scientific name of a species : see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology) . The rules for the scientific names of organisms are laid down in

4810-529: The sister group of a more species-rich clade displays ancestral features. An extant basal group may or may not resemble the last common ancestor of a larger clade to a greater degree than other groups, and is separated from that ancestor by the same amount of time as all other extant groups. However, there are cases where the unusually small size of a sister group does indeed correlate with an unusual number of ancestral traits, as in Amborella (see below). This

4884-481: The skull by deformation during fossilization , which may indicate a shorter overall body length for this individual. If this specimen is a juvenile, then adult Alioramus would have reached greater lengths, but no confirmed adult specimens are known. The skull of A. remotus was approximately 45 cm (1.48 ft) long. In general, it is long and low, a shape typical of more basal tyrannosauroids and juveniles of larger tyrannosaurids. The premaxillary bones at

4958-562: The specific name A. remotus , which means 'removed' in Latin. A second species, A. altai , was discovered back in 2009 at the Tsagan Khushu locality also from the Nemegt Formation. However, several faunal differences may suggest that the respective locations of A. remotus and A. altai differ in age. The holotype IGM 100/1844 is a partial skeleton that includes a very complete skull—more so than A. remotus —with partial vertebrae , pelvic girdle and hindlimbs. The name for this species, altai ,

5032-497: The specific name particular to the wolf. A botanical example would be Hibiscus arnottianus , a particular species of the genus Hibiscus native to Hawaii. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by subspecies names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany . When the generic name is already known from context, it may be shortened to its initial letter, for example, C. lupus in place of Canis lupus . Where species are further subdivided,

5106-412: The standard format for a species name comprises the generic name, indicating the genus to which the species belongs, followed by the specific epithet, which (within that genus) is unique to the species. For example, the gray wolf 's scientific name is Canis lupus , with Canis ( Latin for 'dog') being the generic name shared by the wolf's close relatives and lupus (Latin for 'wolf') being

5180-403: The taxon is termed a synonym ; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names. A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for

5254-463: The tip of the snout in Alioramus remotus have not been found, but are taller than wide in all tyrannosauroids for which they are known. The nasal bones are fused and ornamented with a row of five irregular bony crests that protrude upwards from the midline, where the nasal bones are sutured together. These crests all measure more than 1 cm (0.39 in) tall. At the back of the skull there

5328-576: The values quoted are the mean of "accepted" names alone (all "uncertain" names treated as unaccepted) and "accepted + uncertain" names (all "uncertain" names treated as accepted), with the associated range of uncertainty indicating these two extremes. Within Animalia, the largest phylum is Arthropoda , with 151,697 ± 33,160 accepted genus names, of which 114,387 ± 27,654 are insects (class Insecta). Within Plantae, Tracheophyta (vascular plants) make up

5402-429: The virus species " Salmonid herpesvirus 1 ", " Salmonid herpesvirus 2 " and " Salmonid herpesvirus 3 " are all within the genus Salmonivirus ; however, the genus to which the species with the formal names " Everglades virus " and " Ross River virus " are assigned is Alphavirus . As with scientific names at other ranks, in all groups other than viruses, names of genera may be cited with their authorities, typically in

5476-489: Was intermediate between the basal theropod and avialan conditions. The rest of the skeleton of Alioramus remotus is completely unknown except for three metatarsals (bones of the upper foot), but the discovery of A. altai , which is known from substantially more complete remains, has shed light on the anatomy of the genus. Paleontologists have long classified Alioramus within the superfamily Tyrannosauroidea, but because its remains were for many years poorly known,

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