ZoomDinosaurs.com Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary

SCAPHOGNATHUS (pronounced sca-fog-NAYTH-us) Scaphognathus (meaning "canoe jaw") was a pterosaur with a 3.25 feet (1 m) wide wingspan. It had good eyesight, a poor sense of smell, and a diamond-shaped flap of skin at the end of the long, pointed tail. Scaphognathus was the only long-tailed pterosaur that had a bony head crest. It lived in what is now Europe during the late Jurassic period. It was not a dinosaur, but a type of extinct, flying reptile, a pterosaur. It was named by Wagner in 1861. The type species as S. crassirostris (meaning "thick billed"). Two fossil specimens have been found in Germany.

SCAPHONYX (pronounced sca-FON-iks) Scaphonyx (meaning "canoe claw") was a rhynchosaur (it was not a dinosaur). This reptile was a quadruped and an herbivore. probably eating seed ferns. It was a land-dwelling, archosauriform reptile. It lived during the late Triassic period, about 230 million years ago. This short, pig-like reptile had a barrel-shaped body, tusks and a beak. Scaphonyx was named by Woodward in 1908.

SCAPULA (pronounced SKAP-you-lah) The scapula is the shoulder bone. The scapula of Ultrasauros is bigger than a person!

SCAVENGER Scavengers are animals that eat dead animals that they did not kill themselves. Most meat-eaters are scavengers. Hyenas are modern-day scavengers.

SCELIDOSAURUS (pronounced SKEL-eye-doh-SAWR-us) Scelidosaurus (meaning "limb lizard") was a low-slung, armored, plant-eating dinosaur that was 10-13 feet (3-4 m) long and weighed about 440-550 pounds (200-250 kg). It had a small head,a short neck, leaf-shaped teeth, a long, stiff tail, and a heavy body with armored plates embedded in its back. It may have had a bony beak. These bony plates had pointy studs on them. This quadruped lived during the early Jurassic period, roughly 206 million to 200 million years ago. It was an Ornithischian dinosaur from what is now England, and Arizona, USA. It is known from two skeletons, one of which was a juvenile. Scelidosaurus was named by paleontologist Owen in 1868. The type species is S. harrisonii.

SCIPIONYX (pronounced sip-ee-ON-iks) Scipionyx samniticus was a Cretaceous period theropod (from about 113 million years ago), perhaps a maniraptor. It is known from a single, extremely detailed specimen of a hatchling that includes fossilized soft tissues, including muscles and internal organs. It was 9.5 inches (24 cm) long and had a very large head. John A. Ruben, a vertebrate paleobiologist from Oregon State University, used an 80-watt ultraviolet (UV) lamp to help reveal outlines of Scipionyx's fossilized internal organs. Ruben found that the position of Scipionyx's colon (intestines) and liver were similar to that of modern crocodilians (which are cold-blooded), and unlike that of birds (which are warm-blooded). The position of the liver also gives information about the lungs, since a muscle that runs by the liver helps the lungs to expand and contract in crocodilians. Scipionyx probably had reptilian-style lungs (and not highly efficient bird lungs). Although Ruben's work is not absolutely conclusive, it looks like the small theropod Scipionyx may be cold-blooded.

SCLEROTIC RING A sclerotic ring (also called sclerotic ossicles) is a ring of bones (found in some animals) that supported the eye. When present, the sclerotic ring is located in the orbit (the eye hole of the skull). Some dinosaurs had sclerotic rings.

SCOLOSAURUS (pronounced SKOH-loh-SAWR-us) Scolosaurus is an invalid name for Euoplocephalus, an armored, plant-eating dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period. It was about 20-23 feet (6-7 m) long.

SCUTE (pronounced skoot) A scute is a bony plate embedded in the skin. It serves as armor for an animal. Scutes may have been covered by a layer of horn.

SCUTELLOSAURUS (pronounced skoo-TELL-oh-SAWR-us) Scutellosaurus (meaning "little shield lizard") was an early, primitive dinosaur. It was about 4 feet (1.2 m) long and weighed about 22 pounds (10 kg). It had a long tail, a long body and hundreds of bony plates (of six different varieties) that acted as armor. Its thin hind legs were much longer than the front legs. It was a semi-bipedal animal: it could walk on two or four legs. It was an ornithischian dinosaur. This plant-eater lived during the late Jurassic period, about 208 million-200 million years ago. Fossils (two incomplete skeletons and hundreds of bony armor plates) have been found in Arizona, USA. Scutellosaurus was named by Edwin Colbert in 1981. The type species is S. lawleri.

SCYTHIAN EPOCH (pronounced SY-thee-en EP-ock) The Scythian epoch was the early (lower) part of the Triassic period, about 248 million to 242 million years ago, the beginning of the Mesozoic Era.

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