Pronunciation: THIGH-ree-OFF-ruh
Author: Nopsca
Year: 1915
Meaning: Shield Bearers (see etymology)
Locomotion: Mainly quadrupedal
Synonyms: Tyreophorus (Huene, 1929) = mispelling
[Sereno, 1998]Definition
All genasaurians more closely related to Ankylosaurus magniventris than to Parasaurolophus walkeri, Triceratops horridus, and Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis.
About
The thyreophorans (members of Thyreophora) are the armoured batallion of dinosaurs containing Ankylosauria and Stegosauria. Even the biggest and baddest predator would approach these guys and
guyesses with caution but, for all their weapons and armour, they
were about as bright as a miner's boots. Thyreophorans were all herbivorous and mostly quadrupedal, but one or two were bipedal.
Together with Neornithischia (or Cerapoda depending on which paleontologist you follow), the thyreophorans make up Genasauria.
Click here to search Dinochecker for Thyreophorans.
(Shield bearer)
Etymology
Thyreophora is derived from the Greek "thyreos" (shield) and "phoros" (bearer), in reference to their various types of armour.
Relationships
References
• Nopcsa F (1915) "Die dinosaurier der Siebenbürgischen landesteile Ungarns". Mitteilungen aus dem Jahrbuche der KGL, 23: 1–24.
• Currie PJ and Padian K (1997) "Encyclopedia of dinosaurs".
• Norman DB, Witmer LM and Weishampel DB (2004) "Basal Thyreophora". Page 335—342 in Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska (eds.) "The Dinosauria: Second Edition".
• Madzia D, Arbour VM, Boyd CA, Farke AA, Cruzado-Caballero P and Evans DC (2021) "The phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs". PeerJ, 9: e12362. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12362.
• Raven TJ, Barrett PM, Joyce CB and Maidment SCR (2023)
The phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the armoured dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Thyreophora)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 21(1): 2205433. DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2023.2205433.
