Drinker
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Neelix
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{{Taxobox
|
| name = ''Drinker''
| fossil_range = [[Late Jurassic]]
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Sauropsida]]
| superordo = [[Dinosaur]]ia
| ordo = [[Ornithischia]]
| subordo = [[Cerapoda]]
| infraordo = [[Ornithopoda]]
| familia = [[Hypsilophodont]]idae
| genus = '''''Drinker'''''
| binomial = ''Drinker nisti''
| binomial_authority = [[Robert Bakker|Bakker]] ''et al.'', 1990
}}
'''''Drinker''''' (for [[Edward Drinker Cope]]) was a [[genus]] of [[hypsilophodont]] [[dinosaur]] from the [[late Jurassic]] period of [[North America]]. Although based on good remains, the lack of post-naming publications, combined with what [[Robert Bakker]] (one of its describers) has said and written about it, have led to some mystery surrounding this animal.
==Description==
A relatively small dinosaur, ''Drinker'' was approximately 2 [[metre|meters]] (6 [[foot (unit of length)|feet]]) long and may have weighed up to 10 [[kilogram]]s (22 [[pound (mass)|pounds]]).<ref name=JF03>Foster, J.R. (2003). ''Paleoecological Analysis of the Vertebrate Fauna of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Rocky Mountain Region, U.S.A.'' ''New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 23''.</ref> It was a [[bipedalism|biped]] with short arms, a small head, and long, strong legs.
==Classification==
''Drinker'' has sometimes been regarded informally as a possible synonym of contemporaneous ''[[Othnielia]]'' (now ''[[Othnielosaurus]]''), but the latest reviews have kept it separate.<ref name=NSWC04>Norman, D.B., Sues, H.-D., Witmer, L.M., and Coria, R.A. (2004). Basal Ornithopoda. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H., (eds), ''The Dinosauria'' (second edition). University of California Press:Berkeley, pp. 392-412. ISBN 0-520-24209-2</ref><ref name=PMG06>Galton, P.M. (2006). Teeth of ornithischian dinosaurs (mostly Ornithopoda) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of the western United States. In: K. Carpenter (ed.). ''Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs''. Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, pp. 17-47. ISBN 0-253-34817-X</ref> It has usually been regarded as a "hypsilophodont" of uncertain but basal affinities; ''[[Phyllodon]]'' from the Late Jurassic of [[Portugal]] may have been related.<ref name=OR01>{{cite journal |last=Rauhut |first=Oliver W.M. |year=2001 |title=Herbivorous dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Guimarota, Portugal |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |volume=112 |pages=275–283 }}</ref><ref name=PMG06/>
==Discovery and history==
In 1990, Bakker, [[Peter Galton]], [[James Siegwarth]], and [[James Filla]] described the partial remains of ''Drinker nisti''. The name is somewhat ironic; ''Drinker'', named for renowned [[palaeontologist]] [[Edward Drinker Cope]] whose infamous "[[bone wars]]" with rival [[Othniel Charles Marsh]] produced many dinosaur fossils which are world-famous today, was described as a probable close relative of ''Othnielia'', named for Marsh. The species name refers to the '''N'''ational '''I'''nstitute of '''S'''tandards and '''T'''echnology ([[NIST]]).<ref name=BGSF90/>
Discovered by Siegwarth and Filla in upper [[Morrison Formation]] beds at [[Como Bluff]], [[Wyoming]], ''Drinker'' was [[holotype|based on]] a partial [[juvenile (organism)|subadult]] skeleton (CPS 106) including partial jaws, vertebrae, and partial limbs. Numerous additional specimens from the age spectrum found in the same area were assigned to it, mostly consisting of vertebral and hindlimb remains, and teeth. The authors considered it to be too archaic to be a true "[[hypsilophodont]]", particularly in teeth lacking a strong central vertical ridge, and placed it with ''Othnielia'' (''Othnielosaurus'') in a separate unnamed group.<ref name=BGSF90>Bakker, R.T., Galton, P.M., Siegwarth, J., and Filla, J. (1990). A new latest Jurassic vertebrate fauna, from the highest levels of the Morrison Formation at Como Bluff, Wyoming. Part IV. The dinosaurs: A new ''Othnielia''-like hypsilophodontoid. ''Hunteria'' 2(6): 8-14.</ref> Since 1990, little has been published on this genus.
==Paleobiology==
Bakker (1990) described its [[Natural environment|environment]] as [[swamp]]y ([[lungfish]] [[teeth]] and [[marsh]] vegetation were found in the area), and interpreted its broad feet with spreading toes as being well-suited to such an environment, especially compared to the narrow-footed [[Stegosauridae|stegosaurs]] and [[Sauropoda|sauropods]] found elsewhere in the Morrison.<ref name=RTB90>Bakker, R.T. (1990). A new latest Jurassic vertebrate fauna, from the highest levels of the Morrison Formation at Como Bluff, Wyoming, with comments on Morrison biochronology. Part I. Biochronology. ''Hunteria'' 2(6):1-3.</ref> He later claimed, in a 1993 television show [http://dml.cmnh.org/1998Mar/msg00313.html] and other venues, that the animal had been found in [[burrow]]s, although this has not been addressed in print. If ''Drinker'' was indeed a burrower, it would be among the first known for dinosaurs; the only well-supported published case of a [[fossorial]] nonavian dinosaur is the more recently discovered, distantly related ''[[Oryctodromeus]]''.<ref name=VMK07>{{cite journal |last=Varricchio |first=David J. |coauthors=Martin, Anthony J.; and Katsura, Yoshihiro |year=2007 |title=First trace and body fossil evidence of a burrowing, denning dinosaur |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=274 |pages=1361–1368 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.0443 |url=http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/uj1k12wh01587821/fulltext.pdf |accessdate=2007-03-22 }}</ref> Otherwise, it appears to have been like other basal ornithopods: a small bipedal [[herbivore]]. It lived alongside [[turtle]]s, lungfish, and early [[multituberculata|mammals]] (''[[Zofiabaatar]]'', ''[[Foxraptor]]'').<ref name=JF03/> <!--It is regarded as one of the smallest of all nonavian dinosaurs, although the size is controversial.-->
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{portalpar|Dinosaurs}}
* [http://dml.cmnh.org/1998Mar/msg00313.html ''Drinker'' and burrowing]
* [http://www.users.qwest.net/~jstweet1/ornithopoda.htm Brief capsule description] at ''Thescelosaurus''!
[[Category:Jurassic dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs of North America]]
[[Category:Ornithopods]]
[[Category:Morrison fauna]]
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