''Aepisaurus'' (; derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: , ' - 'lofty/high' and , ' - 'lizard', i.e. "lofty lizard") was a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from the

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/ Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± ...

-age

Lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

Grès vert Grès was a French haute couture fashion house founded by Madame Grès in 1942. Parfums Grès is the associated perfume house, which still exists, and is now based in Switzerland. History Germaine Émilie Krebs (1903–1993), known as Alix B ...

of Départment du Vaucluse,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, around 100.5 million years ago. It is an obscure genus from an unknown family, represented by a single

humerus The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...

, now partly lost. Despite its lack of popularity, or perhaps because of it, it has been misspelled several ways in the

scientific literature : ''For a broader class of literature, see Academic publishing.'' Scientific literature comprises scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within an academic field, sci ...

, with multiple dates given to the year of description as well.

History

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

Paul Gervais Paul Gervais full name François Louis Paul Gervais (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine ...

described the new genus in 1852Gervais, P. (1852). ''Zoologie et paléontologie française (animaux vertébrés)'' (1st edition). A. Bertrand:Paris, 271 p.

rench The Rench is a right-hand tributary of the Rhine in the Ortenau ( Central Baden, Germany). It rises on the southern edge of the Northern Black Forest at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is that of the ...

/ref> based on a humerus found at

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; oc, Ventor, label=Provençal ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest ...

, near

Bédoin Bédoin (; oc, Bedoin) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Located at the base of Mont Ventoux, it is the starting point of one of the three routes to the summit o ...

, by Prosper Renaux (1793–1852) in 1841.Brignon, A. (2018). New historical data on the first dinosaurs found in France. ''BSGF - Earth Sciences Bulletin'' 189:4 https://doi.org/10.1051/bsgf/2018003 The bone was 90 cm (35.43 in) long, 33 cm (13 in) wide at the

proximal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position ...

end, 15 cm (5.91 in) wide in the middle, and 25 cm (9.84 cm) wide at the

distal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

end. From the same locality, he referred a

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

tooth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, t ...

he thought could belong to a larger second species, and from elsewhere added to ''A.'' sp. (a practice used to denote that the remains belong to a certain genus, but the species is not known) a partial humerus and

ulna The ulna (''pl''. ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone found in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the smallest finger, and when in anatomical position, is found on the medial side of the forearm. That is, the ulna is on the same side of t ...

. The proximal part of the humerus of ''Aepisaurus elephantinus'' is housed in the University of Montpellier (BED01). A plaster cast of the complete specimen is also displayed in the

Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loca ...

in Paris (MNHN 1868–242). Since the appearance of

Titanosauridae Lithostrotia is a clade of derived titanosaur sauropods that lived during the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous. The group was defined by Upchurch ''et al.'' in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of '' Malawisaurus'' and '' Saltasaurus ...

, it has typically been referred to that family because the slender humerus resembles that of ''

Laplatasaurus ''Laplatasaurus'' (meaning "La Plata lizard", named for La Plata, Argentina) is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in South America, with the holotype and only known specimen found in the Anacleto For ...

''.von Huene, F. (1927). Short review of the present knowledge of the Sauropoda. ''Memoirs of the Queensland Museum'' 9(1):121-126. However, as noted by McIntosh (1990), the bone is also like that of ''

Camarasaurus ''Camarasaurus'' ( ) was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to Titho ...

'' and some

brachiosaurid The Brachiosauridae ("arm lizards", from Greek ''brachion'' (βραχίων) = "arm" and ''sauros'' = "lizard") are a family (biology), family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled the ...

s.McIntosh, J.S. (1990). Sauropoda. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H. (eds.). ''The Dinosauria''. University of California Press:Berkeley 345-401. Le Loeuff (1993), in his review of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

titanosaur Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still th ...

s, could not locate the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

, and found that the illustration of it did not allow it to be placed with any

group. Based on proportions, it could represent either a

camarasaurid Camarasauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs. Among sauropods, camarasaurids are small to medium-sized, with relatively short necks. They are visually identifiable by a short skull with large nares, and broad, spatulate teeth filling a thick ...

titanosaurid Lithostrotia is a clade of derived titanosaur sauropods that lived during the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous. The group was defined by Upchurch ''et al.'' in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of '' Malawisaurus'' and '' Saltasaurus'' ...

.Le Loeuff, J. (1993). European titanosaurids. ''Revue de Paléobiologie, Volume Spéciale'' 7:105-117. The additional remains referred to it by Gervais were removed, and in the case of the tooth, probably belonged to a

crocodilian Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living ...

. Although McIntosh considered the genus to be Sauropoda ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' (uncertain placement), an influential 2004 review agreed with Le Loeuff and listed the genus as a dubious sauropod.Upchurch, P.M., Barrett, P.M., and Dodson, P. (2004). Sauropoda. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H. (eds.). ''The Dinosauria'' (2nd edition). University of California Press:Berkeley 259-322. A 2022 review considered it an indeterminate eusauropod or neosauropod without comment.

Paleobiology

As a sauropod, ''Aepisaurus'' would have been a large

quadruped Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuo ...

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp ...

Misspellings and other errata

The date of description is given as 1853 by Glut (1997) and some online sources,Glut, D.F. (1997). ''Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. 1076 p. althoug
the Paleobiology Database
and both editions of ''

The Dinosauria ''The Dinosauria'' is an extensive book on dinosaurs, compiled by David B. Weishampel, Peter Dodson, and Halszka Osmólska. It has been published in 2 editions, with the first edition published in 1990, consisting of material from 23 scientists.Be ...

'' use 1852. The genus is commonly misspelled ''Aepysaurus''; both editions of ''The Dinosauria'' and a major review use this misspelling.Steel, R. (1970). Part 14. Saurischia. ''Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie/Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology''. Part 14. Gustav Fischer Verlag:Stuttgart p. 1-87. Increasing the confusion,

Friedrich von Huene Friedrich von Huene, born Friedrich Richard von Hoinigen, (March 22, 1875 – April 4, 1969) was a German paleontologist who renamed more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe. He also made key contributions about v ...

once (1932) used ''Aepyosaurus'',von Huene, F. (1932). ''Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihte Entwicklung und Geschichte. Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie'' 1(4). 361 p.

erman Erman Rašiti may refer to: Given name * Erman Bulucu (born 1989), Turkish footballer * Erman Eltemur (born 1993), Turkish karateka * Erman Güraçar (born 1974), Turkish footballer * Erman Kılıç (born 1983), Turkish footballer * Erman Kunte ...

/ref> and Glut incorrectly gives the species as ''A. elephantius''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133074 Sauropods Albian life Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe Fossils of France Fossil taxa described in 1852 Taxa named by Paul Gervais Nomina dubia