Silesaurus

Silesaurus is a genus of silesaurid dinosauriform from the Late Triassic, of what is now Poland.

==Discovery and naming== left|thumb|Holotype ZPAL Ab III/361, Museum of Evolution of Polish Academy of Sciences The Krasiejów claypit near Opole, Poland, was first discovered as a fossil locality in the 1980s after quarrying for a nearby cement plant reached the fossil layer, though scientific excavations began in 1993 with the discovery of an almost complete phytosaur skull by Polish paleontologist Jerzy Dzik. Preliminary investigations identified Krasiejów as a diverse vertebrate assemblage, named the "Paleorhinus fauna", preserving partially articulated skeletons of amphibians and reptiles, including possible early dinosaurs from the middle to late Carnian. Following these preliminary reports, extensive excavations of Krasiejów were undertaken from 2000 to 2002, collecting numerous skulls, partially articulated skeletons, and isolated remains. An area with dense skeletons was left intact to construct a museum exhibit of the University of Opole around, allowing viewing of the preparation and excavations of material. From the upper of the fossil layers, nearly 400 bones of a single taxon originally identified as an early dinosaur were collected, including four partially articulated skeletons of individuals. One of these, ZPAL Ab III/361, including a partial skull and most of the skeleton, was chosen by Dzik to be the holotype of the new taxon he named Silesaurus opolensis. While some specimens had at first been thought to have belonged to a herrerasaurid or relative, Dzik revised his classification believing Silesaurus to be close to the origins of dinosaurs, either as an early ornithischian, an early member close to Ornithischia and Sauropodomorpha, or a closely related non-dinosaur showing similar adaptations for herbivory.