Canada 20 Dollars Silver Coin 2014 Scutellosaurus - Canadian Dinosaurs
Canadian Dinosaurs Series
When palaeontologists working in the Bay of Fundy (Nova Scotia) uncovered teeth without a fossilized skeleton, they looked to other regions of the globe to find a match. Given that all the continents were connected during the Early Jurassic period, it is possible that a species from another continent could have roamed the landmass that is now Nova Scotia. The palaeontologists found their best possible match in Arizona (USA). Scutellosaurus (little shield lizard) was a small, ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaur, and this coin shows what it may have looked like according to current science—roughly one metre long with an extremely long tail and covered with small pieces of bony armour called “scutes.” Scutellosaurus’ teeth were positioned near the edge of its jaws, suggesting that it lacked well-developed cheeks to keep food in its mouth while chewing. Palaeontologists believe it was an early ancestor of armoured dinosaurs like ankylosaurs and stegosaurs.
Obverse: Susanna Blunt’s design of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Reverse: This coin features an interpretation of what the Nova Scotian ornithischian (a small, bird-hipped dinosaur) may have looked like if similar to Scutellosaurus. The scientific accuracy of the depiction was verified by palaeontologists of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
Mintage: 8500
Composition: fine silver (99.99% pure)
Finish: proof
Weight: 31.39 g
Diameter: 38 mm
Edge: serrated
Artist: Julius Csotonyi (reverse), Susanna Blunt (obverse)
Face value: 20 Canadian Dollars.
Manufacturer: Royal Canadian Mint.
Special features:
• This coin is the second fine silver coin to feature a full, non-skeletal portrait of a dinosaur.
• This coin features a finely engraved, life-like representations of this prehistoric creature discovered in Canada.
• This coin features a proof finish and is beautifully enhanced by select finishes that highlight the textures of the dinosaurs body. Each ‘scute’ was individually polished to contrast the rest of the dinosaurs body!
• This coin features the dinosaur’s latin name, Scutellosaurus, sunk into the coin as if carved into rock.
• This coin is rendered in fine silver (99.99% pure).
• Limited to 8500 worldwide.
Canadian Dinosaur Series
Canada 20 Dollars Silver Coin 2014 Scutellosaurus - Canadian Dinosaurs
Scutellosaurus
Scutellosaurus is an extinct genus of thyreophoran ornithischian dinosaur that lived approximately 196 million years ago during the early part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Arizona, USA. It is classified in Thyreophora, the armoured dinosaurs; its closest relatives may have been Emausaurus and Scelidosaurus, another armored dinosaur which was mainly a quadrupedal dinosaur, unlike bipedal Scutellosaurus. It is one of the earliest representatives of the armored dinosaurs and the basalmost form discovered to date. Scutellosaurus was a small, lighly-built, ground-dwelling, herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long.
Etymology
The genus name Scutellosaurus, means "little-shielded lizard", and is derived from the Latin word "scutellum" meaning "little shield", and the Greek word "sauros" (σαύρα) meaning "lizard". The type and only valid species known today is Scutellosaurus lawleri. The specific name honors David Lawler who collected the fossil.
Discovery and occurrence
The holotype specimen of Scutellosaurus lawleri (MNA V175) was recovered at the West Moenkopi Plateau locality in the Silty Facies Member of the Kayenta Formation, in Coconino County, Arizona on the land of the Navajo Nation. The specimen was discovered and collected by David Lawler in red claystone sediments that were deposited during the Sinemurian stage of the Jurassic period, approximately 196 million years ago.
The holotype specimen was described by Edwin Colbert based on the following: partially preserved premaxillae with teeth, a right maxilla with seven teeth, a left maxilla with five teeth, dentaries that are missing their posterior portions, a left dentary with 18 teeth, a right dentary with 10 teeth, other skull fragments, 21 presacral vertebral centra, several complete and partial neural arches and spines, five sacral vertebrae, 58 caudal vertebrae with neural arches and several chevrons, several incomplete ribs, both scapulae, both coracoids, partially preserved ilia, fragments of the pubic bones and of the ischia, both humeri, the distal end of the right radius, the proximal and distal ends of the left radius and ulna, fragments of the manus, both femora, the right tibia, the proximal end of the right fibula, the right astragalus, the left tibia, the left fibula, various bones of the pedes, including a possible distal tarsal bone, and over 300 osteoderms.