saurischian

American  

[saw-ris-kee-uhn] / sɔˈrɪs ki ən /

noun

1. any herbivorous or carnivorous dinosaur of the order Saurischia, having a three-pronged pelvis resembling that of a crocodile.

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adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Saurischia.

saurischian British  

/ sɔːˈrɪskɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Saurischia , an order of late Triassic to Cretaceous dinosaurs including the theropods and sauropods

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noun

1. any dinosaur belonging to the order Saurischia ; a lizard-hipped dinosaur

saurischian Scientific  

/ sô-rĭs′kē-ən /

1. Any of various dinosaurs belonging to the group Saurischia, one of the two main divisions of dinosaurs. Saurischians had a pelvis similar to that of modern reptiles, in which the pubis pointed forward. Saurischians include all the carnivorous dinosaurs (theropods) as well as the herbivorous sauropods, and often grew to great size. Birds are descended from one group of saurischians.

2. Compare ornithischian

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Etymology

Origin of saurischian

1885–90; < New Latin Saurischi ( a ) name of the order ( Saur ( ia ) ( -saur ) + Latin -ischi ( um ) ischium + -a -a ¹ ) + -an

Example Sentences

These were the ornithischians, which later included Stegosaurus and Triceratops; and the saurischians, which gave rise to huge, long-necked species such as Brachiosaurus, and theropods such as Tyrannosaurus rex and birds.

From Nature

Modifications from that basic setup - perhaps kept conservative in ornithischian dinosaurs and highly modified with air sac systems in saurischians - allowed for the respiratory diversity that paleontologists are now assessing and studying.

From Scientific American

Birds, which do show a similar hip anatomy, are actually saurischian dinosaurs that independently evolved a convergent hip shape.

From Scientific American

A complete skeleton of a Late Triassic saurischian and the early evolution of dinosaurs.

From Nature

The theropods and sauropods make up the saurischian side of the family tree, sharing a closer common ancestor with each other than the ornithischian dinosaurs that make up the other half of the famous family.

From Scientific American