Ferganocephale
"Fergana head"
Type species Ferganocephale adenticulatum
- Lived
- 165 to 162 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Early ornithischians
- Found in
- Kyrgyzstan
- Named by
- Averianov et al. 2005
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
It lived in the Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan, in a landscape with rivers and lakes. Neighbors included the sauropod Ferganasaurus and the predator Alpkarakush.
Field notes
About Ferganocephale
What it was like
Ferganocephale is known only from teeth. They were first thought to come from a dome-headed dinosaur, but later study suggests they belong to another small plant eater. Because it is known only from teeth, many scientists treat the name as doubtful.
Its world
It lived in the Middle Jurassic in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Its teeth come from the Balabansai Formation, where the sauropod Ferganasaurus and the hunter Alpkarakush also lived.
How it was found
Averianov and colleagues named Ferganocephale in 2005. Three finds are known.
Field gallery
More views of Ferganocephale
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Ferganocephale.
The evidence
The science behind Ferganocephale
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Isolated teeth are the only remains assigned to Ferganocephale.
- Several tooth crowns have broad surfaces worn down during feeding.
Borrowed from relatives
- A body restoration must borrow its general shape from small ornithischians such as Lesothosaurus.
Still unknown
- Whether the teeth define a distinct genus.
- Its skull shape, body size and closest relatives.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2005Named itAVERIANOV, MARTIN & BAKIROV
- 2014Fossil sitesWings et al.
- 2024Same rocksRauhut et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Ferganocephale
Named it
Named Ferganocephale from isolated teeth and originally assigned it to the dome-headed dinosaurs.
Pterosaur and dinosaur remains from the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Svita in the northern Fergana Depression, Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia). Palaeontology 48: 135-155
Read the paper : Pterosaur and dinosaur remains from the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Svita in the northern Fergana Depression, Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia) (opens in a new tab)Fossil sites
Compared dinosaur teeth from China with other Asian finds, including Ferganocephale, to study plant eating and regional faunas.
Dinosaur teeth from the Jurassic Qigu and Shishugou Formations of the Junggar Basin (Xinjiang/China) and their paleoecologic implications. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 89: 485-502
Read the paper : Dinosaur teeth from the Jurassic Qigu and Shishugou Formations of the Junggar Basin (Xinjiang/China) and their paleoecologic implications (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Described Alpkarakush, a large predator from the same formation as Ferganocephale.
A new theropod dinosaur from the Callovian Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 201
Read the paper : A new theropod dinosaur from the Callovian Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Ornithischia
Sources: Wikidata