
This list of informally named dinosaurs is a listing of
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 ...
s (excluding
Aves
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
; birds and their extinct relatives) that have never been given formally published
scientific names
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
. This list only includes names that were not properly published ("
unavailable names In zoological nomenclature, an unavailable name is a name that does not conform to the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and that therefore is not available for use as a valid name for a taxon. Such a name does not fulfil th ...
") and have not since been published under a valid name (see
list of dinosaur genera
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 annum, million years ago, although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of d ...
for valid names). The following types of names are present on this list:
* ''
Nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
'', Latin for "naked name": A name that has appeared in print but has not yet been formally published by the standards of the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries.
Orga ...
. ''Nomina nuda'' (the plural form) are invalid, and are therefore not italicized as a proper generic name would be.
* ''
Nomen manuscriptum'', Latin for "manuscript name": A name that appears in manuscript but was not formally published. A ''nomen manuscriptum'' is equivalent to a ''nomen nudum'' for everything except the method of publication, and description.
* ''
Nomen ex dissertationae
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate desc ...
'', Latin for "dissertation name": A name that appears in a dissertation but was not formally published.
* Nicknames or descriptive names given to specimens or taxa by researchers or the press.
A
Alamotyrannus
"Alamotyrannus" ("Ojo Alamo tyrant") is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed genus of
tyrannosaur
Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent b ...
id from the
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
period of
North America. The fossils of this animal originate from the
Ojo Alamo Formation
The Ojo Alamo Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico spanning the Mesozoic/Cenozoic boundary. Non-avian dinosaur fossils have controversially been identified in beds of this formation dating from after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinc ...
in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
and they were discovered during the Early 2000s (discovered by anonymous). It may be either a distinct genus or just a synonym of ''
Tyrannosaurus
''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
''. The suggested binomial "Alamotyrannus brinkmani", was created when the paper describing the genus was written in 2013. "Alamotyrannus" lived during the
Campanian
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...
, around 70 million years ago, which was two million years before the first ''
Tyrannosaurus
''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
'' existed.
Alan the Dinosaur

"Alan the Dinosaur" is the name given to a sauropod caudal vertebra (YORYM:2001.9337) found in the
Saltwick Formation
The Saltwick Formation is a Middle Jurassic geologic formation in Yorkshire and the western North Sea. It is primarily Aalenian in age. Fossil footprints, assigned to the tetrapod ichnogenus ''Characichnos'', as well as stegosaur tracks have bee ...
(
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
,
Aalenian
The Aalenian () is a subdivision of the Middle Jurassic Epoch/ Series of the geologic timescale that extends from about 174.1 Ma to about 170.3 Ma (million years ago). It was preceded by the Toarcian and succeeded by the Bajocian.
Stratigraphic ...
) of Whitby, England. It is the oldest sauropod found in the United Kingdom, dating back 176-172 million years ago. It gained the nickname after Alan Gurr, who found it in 1995 and because it is not identifiable to species level. An analysis done in 2015 found that it was a member of Eusauropoda, could be excluded from Diplodocoidea, and was most similar to ''
Cetiosaurus
''Cetiosaurus'' () meaning 'whale lizard', from the Greek '/ meaning 'sea monster' (later, 'whale') and '/ meaning 'lizard', is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period, living about 168 million years ago in what ...
''.
The fossil of "Alan" is housed in the
Yorkshire Museum
The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy.
History
The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...
, where it forms part of the Yorkshire's Jurassic World exhibit, featuring a VR recreation.
Allosaurus robustus

"Allosaurus robustus" is an informal name used for specimen "NMV P150070", a theropod
astragalus
''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to te ...
known from the
Wonthaggi Formation
The Wonthaggi Formation is an informal geological formation in Victoria, Australia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. It is part of the Strzelecki Group within the Gippsland Basin. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have bee ...
(
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
) of Victoria, Australia. When first studied, it was thought to have belonged to a species of ''
Allosaurus
''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alludi ...
''.
Samuel Welles challenged this identification as he thought that the astragalus belonged to an ornithomimid, but the original authors defended their classification. Sometime in the early 2000s, Daniel Chure examined the bone and found that it did not represent a new species of ''Allosaurus'', but could still represent an allosauroid. At the same time, Yoichi Azuma and
Phil Currie
Philip John Currie (born March 13, 1949) is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the ...
noted that the astragalus resembled that of their new genus ''
Fukuiraptor
''Fukuiraptor'' ("thief of Fukui") was a medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur of the Early Cretaceous epoch (either Barremian or Aptian) that lived in what is now Japan. ''Fukuiraptor'' is known from the Kitadani Formation and possibly ...
''.
It may well represent an theropod related to or the same as ''
Australovenator
''Australovenator'' (meaning "southern hunter") is a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous)-age Winton Formation (dated to 95 million years ago) of Australia. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial ...
'', though some argue that it could represent an abelisauroid. A 2019 study strongly supported a
megaraptoran
Megaraptora is a clade of carnivorous tetanuran theropod dinosaurs with controversial relations to other theropods. Its derived members, the Megaraptoridae are noted for their elongated hand claws and proportionally large arms, which are usua ...
affinity for the astragalus.
The name "Allosaurus robustus", first confined as a museum label, was first published by Chure in 2000.
Amargastegos
"Amargastegos" is an informal genus of
extinct stegosaurid
Stegosauridae is a family of thyreophoran dinosaurs (armoured dinosaurs) within the suborder Stegosauria. The clade is defined as all species of dinosaurs more closely related to ''Stegosaurus'' than ''Huayangosaurus''.David B. Weishampel, Peter ...
ornithischian
Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek ...
dinosaur known from the
La Amarga Formation
The La Amarga Formation is a geologic formation with outcrops in the Argentine provinces of Río Negro, Neuquén, and Mendoza. It is the oldest Cretaceous terrestrial formation in the Neuquén Basin.
The type locality is La Amarga Arroyo a ...
of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, named by Roman Ulansky in 2014 on the basis of MACN N-43 (some dorsal
osteoderms
Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct ...
, the cervical and caudal vertebrae, and one skull bone). In 2016,
Peter Malcolm Galton
Peter Malcolm Galton (born 14 March 1942 in London) is a British vertebrate paleontologist who has to date written or co-written about 190 papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosau ...
and
Kenneth Carpenter
Kenneth Carpenter (born September 21, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan) is a paleontologist. He is the former director of the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum and author or co-author of books on dinosaurs and Mesozoic life. His main research interests ar ...
declared it a ''nomen nudum'', establishing it as an indeterminate stegosaur.
Amphicoelias brontodiplodocus/Barackosaurus
"Barackosaurus" is the informal name created in 2010 which is used for a
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 ...
found in
Kimmeridgian
In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age in the Late Jurassic Epoch and a stage in the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 157.3 ± 1.0 Ma and 152.1 ± 0.9 Ma (million years ago). The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxford ...
-aged sediments pertaining to the
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, ...
,
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...
. It was found in the Dana Quarry and "Barackosaurus" was supposedly 20 meters long and weighed 20 tons.
In 2010, an article was made available, but not formally published, by Henry Galiano and Raimund Albersdorfer in which they dubbed the Dana Quarry specimens which had already been referred to as "Barackosaurus" as "Amphicoelias brontodiplodocus". The specific name referred to their hypothesis based on these specimens that nearly all Morrison diplodocid species are either growth stages or represent sexual dimorphism among members of the genus ''
Amphicoelias
''Amphicoelias'' (, meaning "biconcave", from the Greek ἀμφί, ''amphi'': "on both sides", and κοῖλος, ''koilos'': "hollow, concave") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during ...
'',
but this analysis was met with skepticism and the publication itself has been disclaimed by its lead author, explaining that it is "obviously a drafted manuscript complete with typos, etc., and not a final paper. In fact, no printing or distribution has been attempted".
As of 2015, they are now on display at the
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) (Chinese: 李光前自然历史博物馆) is a museum of natural history at the Kent Ridge Campus of the National University of Singapore. It is named after Lee Kong Chian, a prominent Chinese ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
Andhrasaurus
"Andhrasaurus indicus" is an informal
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 ...
of
extinct armored
ornithischian
Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek ...
dinosaur from the
Kota Formation
The Kota Formation is a geological formation in India. The precise age of Kota Formation are uncertain, but it dates from the Early to Middle Jurassic, and is split into a Lower Member and Upper Member.Prasad GVR, and Manhas BK. 2007A new docodont ...
of India. Ulansky (2014) coined the name for skull elements, about 30
osteoderms
Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct ...
, and the extremities of vertebrae and limbs, all preserved in the collections of the GSI and assigned to Ankylosauria by Nath et al. (2002). In 2016,
Peter Malcolm Galton
Peter Malcolm Galton (born 14 March 1942 in London) is a British vertebrate paleontologist who has to date written or co-written about 190 papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosau ...
and
Kenneth Carpenter
Kenneth Carpenter (born September 21, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan) is a paleontologist. He is the former director of the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum and author or co-author of books on dinosaurs and Mesozoic life. His main research interests ar ...
noted that "Andhrasaurus" did not meet ICZN requirements and therefore declared it a ''nomen nudum'', listing it as
Thyreophora
Thyreophora ("shield bearers", often known simply as "armored dinosaurs") is a group of armored ornithischian dinosaurs that lived from the Early Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous.
Thyreophorans are characterized by the presence of bod ...
indet., while noting that the jawbones described by Nath et al. (2002) belonging to crocodylomorphs.
[Galton, Peter M. & Carpenter, Kenneth, 2016, "The plated dinosaur ''Stegosaurus longispinus'' Gilmore, 1914 (Dinosauria: Ornithischia; Upper Jurassic, western U.S.), type species of ''Alcovasaurus'' n. gen.", ''Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen'' 279(2): 185–208] The dermal armor informally named "Andhrasaurus" was redescribed by Galton (2019).
Angeac ornithomimosaur
The "Angeac ornithomimosaur" is an informal name given to an unnamed
ornithomimosaur taxon known from the Early Cretaceous (previously thought to be
Hauterivian
The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.9 ± 2 Ma and 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by t ...
-
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma ( million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is pre ...
in age, but now thought to be
Berriasian
In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/ stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years a ...
aged
[Ronan Allain, Romain Vullo, Lee Rozada, Jérémy Anquetin, Renaud Bourgeais, et al.]
Vertebrate paleobiodiversity of the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Angeac-Charente Lagerstätte (southwestern France): implications for continental faunal turnover at the J/K boundary
Geodiversitas, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris, In press. ffhal-03264773f)
Angeac-Charente bonebed The Angeac-Charente bonebed is a fossil deposit located near Angeac-Charente in western France. It dates to the Berriasian stage of the Early Cretaceous, and is coeval with the Purbeck Group of Southern England. It has amongst the most diverse ass ...
(part of the stratigraphy of the
Aquitaine Basin
The Aquitaine Basin is the second largest Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary basin in France after the Paris Basin, occupying a large part of the country's southwestern quadrant. Its surface area covers 66,000 km2 onshore. It formed on Varisc ...
) near
Angeac-Charente
Angeac-Charente () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Charente department
The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France
Fran ...
in western France. The taxon is toothless and is known from numerous disarticulated remains representing at least 70 individuals covering almost all of the skeleton,
some remains were described by Allain ''et al.'' (2014).
Angloposeidon

"Angloposeidon" is the informal name given to a
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 from the Early
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
(
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma ( million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is pre ...
)
Wessex Formation
The Wessex Formation is a fossil-rich English geological formation that dates from the Berriasian to Barremian stages (about 145–125 million years ago) of the Early Cretaceous. It forms part of the Wealden Group and underlies the younger Vec ...
of the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
in southern England.
It was a possible
brachiosaur
The Brachiosauridae ("arm lizards", from Greek ''brachion'' (βραχίων) = "arm" and ''sauros'' = "lizard") are a family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the l ...
id but has not been formally named.
Darren Naish
Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator.
As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including '' Eotyrannus'', ''Xeno ...
, a notable vertebrate palaeontologist, has worked with the specimen and has recommended that this name only be used informally and that it not be published.
However, he published it himself in his book ''Tetrapod Zoology Book One'' from 2010.
The remains consist of a single cervical
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
(MIWG.7306), which indicate it was a very large animal, 20 metres or greater in length.
Archaeoraptor

"Archaeoraptor" is the informal
generic
Generic or generics may refer to:
In business
* Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark
* Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
name for an important
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
from China that was later discovered to have been fabricated from multiple unrelated fossils. The name was created in an article published in
''National Geographic'' magazine in 1999, where the magazine claimed that the fossil was a "
missing link" between birds and terrestrial
theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
dinosaurs. Even prior to this publication there had been severe doubts about the fossil's authenticity. Further scientific study showed it to be a
forgery
Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbi ...
constructed from rearranged pieces of real fossils from different species. Zhou ''et al.'' found that the head and upper body actually belong to a specimen of the primitive fossil bird ''
Yanornis
''Yanornis'' () is an extinct genus of fish-eating Early Cretaceous birds. Two species have been described, both from Liaoning province, China: ''Yanornis martini'', based on several fossils found in the 120-million-year-old Jiufotang Formation a ...
'', and another 2002 study found that the tail belongs to a small winged
dromaeosaur
Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning ...
, ''
Microraptor
''Microraptor'' (Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They dat ...
'', named in 2000.
The legs and feet belong to an as yet unknown animal.
Archbishop

"The Archbishop" is a giant
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 ...
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 similar to ''
Brachiosaurus
''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the ...
'' and ''
Giraffatitan
''Giraffatitan'' (name meaning "titanic giraffe") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian stages) in what is now Lindi Region, Tanzania. It was originally named as an African species ...
''. It was long considered a specimen of ''Brachiosaurus'' (now ''Giraffatitan'') ''brancai'' due to being found in the same formation in
Tendaguru
The Tendaguru Formation, or Tendaguru Beds are a highly fossiliferous formation and Lagerstätte located in the Lindi Region of southeastern Tanzania. The formation represents the oldest sedimentary unit of the Mandawa Basin, overlying Neoprote ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. However, the "Archbishop" shows significant differences including a unique vertebral morphology and a proportionally longer neck, that indicates it is a different, previously unknown genus and species. It was discovered by Frederick Migeod in 1930. "The Archbishop" is a nickname that functions as a placeholder – the specimen currently has no scientific name. The specimen is currently housed in the Natural History Museum in London, and will eventually be re-described by Dr.
Michael P. Taylor
Michael Paul Taylor (born 12 March 1968) is a British computer programmer with a Ph.D. in palaeontology. To date, he has published 18 paleontological papers and is co-credited with naming three genera of dinosaur (''Xenoposeidon'' in 2007 with Da ...
of
Bristol University
The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...
. In May 2018, Taylor started to work on describing the Archbishop.
Atlantohadros
"Atlantohadros", more commonly known as the "Merchantville hadrosaur", is an informally named hadosaurid dinosaur that lived in the
Merchantville Formation
The Merchantville Formation is a geological formation in the northeastern United States whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous, around the time of the Santonian and Campanian age. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been rec ...
in the northeastern United States. Brown (2021) found "Atlantohadros" to be more derived than ''
Tethyshadros
''Tethyshadros'' (" Tethyan hadrosauroid") is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur from Trieste, Italy. The type and only species is ''T. insularis''.
Discovery and naming
Sometime in the 1980s, Alceo Tarlao and Giorgio Rimoli reported finding fra ...
'' but less derived than
Saurolophinae
Saurolophinae is a subfamily of hadrosaurid dinosaurs. It has since the mid-20th century generally been called the Hadrosaurinae, a group of largely non-crested hadrosaurs related to the crested sub-family Lambeosaurinae. However, the name Hadro ...
and
Lambeosaurinae
Lambeosaurinae is a group of crested hadrosaurid dinosaurs.
Classification
Lambeosaurines have been traditionally split into the tribes or clades Parasaurolophini (''Parasaurolophus'', '' Charonosaurus'', others (?).) and Lambeosaurini (''Cor ...
. The name was intended to be used in that publication, but was cut for unknown reasons; initial versions of Brown (2021) contained the word "Atlantohadros" superimposed over "Merchantville Taxon" in a cladogram; subsequent corrections have erased the genus name entirely.
Three specimens were discovered northwest of
Freehold
Freehold may refer to:
In real estate
*Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple
*Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England
*Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...
near Manalapan–Marlboro township line in
Monmouth County during the 1970s. These are: YPM VPPU.021813, YPM VPPU.021813, and AMNH 13704YPM VPPU.021813, possibly belonging to the same individual as YPM VPPU.021813 due similar weathering, size and the same horizon. These specimens consist of both coracoids, both scapulae, a femur, a fragmentary proximal tibia, and a dentary from a cast of the specimen (the original likely lost in YPM's catalogue) in the adult specimen, as well as a rib, a femur and long bone portions in the juvenile. AMNH 13704, id a partial dentary of a probable perinate. Scattered bones associated with these include a quadrate, several partial maxilla portions, a partial jugal, skull roof fragments and several rib fragments.
B
Balochisaurus
"Balochisaurus" (meaning "Balochi lizard", for the
Baloch tribes
The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) is an informal taxon of
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 ...
ian
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
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The proposed species is "B. malkani". The discovery was made (along with other dinosaur specimens) near Vitariki by a team of paleontologists from the Geological Survey of Pakistan.
Described in 2006 by M.S. Malkani, the genus is
based on seven tail
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
e found in the
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age Vitakri Member of the
Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
, with additional vertebrae and a partial skull assigned to it. ''Balochisaurus'' was assigned to the family "Balochisauridae" along with "
Marisaurus", although the family was used as a synonym of older
Saltasauridae
Saltasauridae (named after the Salta region of Argentina where they were first found) is a family of armored herbivorous sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous. They are known from fossils found in South America, Asia, North America, and Europ ...
.
Barnes High Sauropod
The "Barnes High sauropod" is the informal name given to MIWG-BP001, an undescribed sauropod dinosaur specimen from the
Wessex Formation
The Wessex Formation is a fossil-rich English geological formation that dates from the Berriasian to Barremian stages (about 145–125 million years ago) of the Early Cretaceous. It forms part of the Wealden Group and underlies the younger Vec ...
on the Isle of Wight. It was discovered in the cliffs around Barnes High in 1992 and is currently owned by the privately run unaccredited Dinosaur Farm Museum near
Brighstone
Brighstone is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, 6 miles southwest of Newport on the B3399 road. Brighstone was previously known as "Brixton". The name derives from the Saxon name " Ecgbert's Tun".
Brighstone is the largest vi ...
, the ownership situation was described as "complex" and the specimen is currently inaccessible to researchers. It is roughly 40% complete and consists of a "Partial postcranial skeleton, including presacral vertebrae, anterior caudal vertebrae, girdle and limb elements" including a largely complete forelimb. It has been suggested to be a
Brachiosaur
The Brachiosauridae ("arm lizards", from Greek ''brachion'' (βραχίων) = "arm" and ''sauros'' = "lizard") are a family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the l ...
and is possibly synonymous with the earlier named ''
Eucamerotus
''Eucamerotus'' (meaning "well-chambered", in reference to the hollows of the vertebrae) was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation ( Wealden) of the Isle of Wight, England.
History and taxonomy
J ...
'' due to similarities with the vertebrae.
Bayosaurus
"Bayosaurus" is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed
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 ...
of dinosaur. The name was coined by
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 ...
s
Rodolfo Coria
Rodolfo Aníbal Coria (born in Neuquén June 1, 1959), is an Argentine paleontologist.
He is best known for having directed the field study and co-naming of ''Argentinosaurus'' (possibly the world's largest land animal ever) in 1993, and ''Gigano ...
,
Philip J. Currie
Philip John Currie (born March 13, 1949) is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the ...
, and Paulina Carabajal in
2006. It apparently was an
abelisaur
Abelisauroidea is typically regarded as a Cretaceous group, though the earliest abelisauridae remains are known from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina (classified as the species Eoabelisaurus mefi) and possibly Madagascar (fragmentary remains of ...
oid from the
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded ...
Cerro Lisandro Formation
__NOTOC__
The Lisandro Formation, alternatively known as the Cerro Lisandro Formation, is a Late Cretaceous ( Late Cenomanian to Early Turonian) geologic formation with outcrops in the Neuquén, Río Negro and Mendoza Provinces of Argentina. It i ...
of
Neuquén
Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rive ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, around long. The specimen is MCF-PVPH-237, including dorsal and sacral
vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
, a fragmentary
pelvis, and other partial bones, which were discovered in 2000. The name was used in a phylogenetic analysis to indicate the position of MCF-PVPH-237.
Beelemodon
"Beelemodon" is the informal name given to an undescribed theropod genus from the
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the ...
, possibly belonging to a
coelurosaur
Coelurosauria (; from Greek, meaning "hollow tailed lizards") is the clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs.
Coelurosauria is a subgroup of theropod dinosaurs that includes compsognathids, ty ...
. The fossils include two teeth found in
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...
, United States. The name appeared in print in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, when paleontologist
Robert T. Bakker
Robert Thomas Bakker (born March 24, 1945) is an American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded). Along with his mento ...
mentioned it in a symposium for the
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natu ...
.
[Bakker, R. ''Raptor family values: Allosaur parents brought great carcasses into their lair to feed their young.'' In "Dinofest International", Proceedings of a Symposium, Academy of Natural Sciences, eds Wolberg, Sump and Rosenberg, 51 – 63 (1997).] The teeth are most similar to ''
Compsognathus
''Compsognathus'' (; Greek ''kompsos''/κομψός; "elegant", "refined" or "dainty", and ''gnathos''/γνάθος; "jaw") is a genus of small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Members of its single species ''Compsognathus longipes'' ...
'', but have no unique features and also share similarities with ''
Protarchaeopteryx
''Protarchaeopteryx'' (meaning "before ''Archaeopteryx''") is a genus of turkey-sized feathered theropod dinosaur from China.Ji, Q., and Ji, S. (1997). "Protarchaeopterygid bird (''Protarchaeopteryx'' gen. nov.) – fossil remains of arch ...
'' and dromaeosaurids.
[
]
Biconcavoposeidon
"Biconcavoposeidon" is the placeholder name for AMNH FARB 291, five consecutive posterior dorsal vertebrae of a 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 ...
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 ...
, from the Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the ...
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, ...
, Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...
. Not much else is currently known about "Biconcaveoposeidon", except that it was discovered in the Bone Cabin quarry in 1898.
Bihariosaurus
"Bihariosaurus" (meaning "Bihor lizard") is an invalid genus of iguanodontian
Iguanodontia (the iguanodonts) is a clade of herbivorous dinosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. Some members include ''Camptosaurus'', ''Dryosaurus'', ''Iguanodon'', '' Tenontosaurus'', and the hadrosaurids or "duck-b ...
dinosaur from Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
Bauxite of Cornet, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
, "Bihariosaurus bauxiticus", was named but not described by Marinescu in 1989. It was similar to ''Camptosaurus
''Camptosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of plant-eating, beaked ornithischian dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic period of western North America and possibly also Europe. The name means 'flexible lizard' (Greek (') meaning 'bent' and (') meaning 'lizar ...
'', and was an iguanodont
Iguanodontia (the iguanodonts) is a clade of herbivorous dinosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. Some members include ''Camptosaurus'', ''Dryosaurus'', ''Iguanodon'', ''Tenontosaurus'', and the hadrosaurids or "duck-bi ...
. The original publication of the taxon did not include sufficient description, and the illustrations cannot distinguish it from any other ornithopod.
Biscoveosaurus
"Biscoveosaurus" is the informal name of an ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous worl ...
dinosaur specimen from the Early Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
age Snow Hill Island Formation
The Snow Hill Island Formation is an Early Maastrichtian geologic formation found on James Ross Island, James Ross Island group, Antarctica. Remains of a paravian theropod ''Imperobator antarcticus''Ely & Case, 2019 have been recovered from it, a ...
of James Ross Island
James Ross Island is a large island off the southeast side and near the northeastern extremity of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Prince Gustav Channel. Rising to , it is irregularly shaped and extends in a north–south ...
, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...
. It comes from the Cape Lamb Member of the formation, the same member as ''Morrosaurus
''Morrosaurus'' is an extinct genus of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur member of the Elasmaria, that lived in the late Cretaceous in the Antarctica. The only known species is the type ''Morrosaurus antarcticus''.
Discovery
In 2002 the Argentin ...
'', another basal ornithopod. As such, it's been suggested it may be a secondary specimen of that species, but as the holotype of ''Morrosaurus'' is fragmentary and doesn't overlap with the material of "Biscoveosaurus", this can't as yet be tested. The specimen consists of dentaries, teeth, a braincase, parts of the maxillae, forelimb elements, assorted vertebrae, and the pectoral girdle; this makes it unique compared to the other James Ross Island ornithopods, which do not have both cranial and postcranial remains. It has been estimated the animal would've been about in length.
C
Capitalsaurus
"Capitalsaurus" is the informal 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 ...
name given to the species formerly known as ''Creosaurus potens'' and ''Dryptosaurus
''Dryptosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of tyrannosauroid that lived approximately 67 million years ago (mya) during the latter part of the Cretaceous period, New Jersey. ''Dryptosaurus'' was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that grow up to ...
potens''. The only known specimen was discovered in a layer of the Arundel Formation
The Arundel Formation, also known as the Arundel Clay, is a clay-rich sedimentary rock formation, within the Potomac Group, found in Maryland of the United States of America. It is of Aptian age ( Lower Cretaceous). This rock unit had been econ ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
It was a theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
, and it lived during the Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
. It is a nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
, the name having never been formally published. "Capitalsaurus" was discovered in January 1898 at the intersection of First and F Streets S.E., in the District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
– an intersection now designated as Capitalsaurus Court. It was not uncovered by any paleontological
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 fossi ...
activity, but as a by-product of sewer work. The only known specimen of "Capitalsaurus" consists of part of a single vertebra. Some paleontologists feel that this is insufficient justification for a name that suggests an entire genus, and that "Capitalsaurus" is merely an indeterminate theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
. Others note that this is hardly the only dinosaur with a common name that does not helpfully reflect its taxonomy. The "Capitalsaurus" is the official dinosaur
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...
of the District of Columbia.
Changdusaurus
"Changdusaurus" (also known as "Changtusaurus") is the informal name given to 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the ...
Period. It lived in what is now China. "Changdusaurus" is classified as a stegosaur
Stegosauria is a group of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. Stegosaurian fossils have been found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America, Euro ...
id. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
was named "Changdusaurus laminoplacodus" by Zhao in 1986, but it has never been formally described, and remains a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. One source indicates the fossils have been lost.
Comanchesaurus
"Comanchesaurus" is a ''nomen ex dissertationae'' for fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
ized remains from the Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...
of New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
that were initially interpreted as belonging to a theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
dinosaur. The remains, NMMNH
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a natural history and science museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico near Old Town Albuquerque. The Museum was founded in 1986. It operates as a public revenue facility of the New Mexico Departm ...
P-4569, consist of a partial skeleton including vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
l centra
Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the stores are all owned by individual franchisees.
The chain has three different f ...
and hindlimb bones, and came from the Norian
The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age ( geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian.
Stratigraphic ...
-age Upper Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. T ...
Bull Canyon Formation
The Cooper Canyon Formation is a geological formation of Norian age in Texas and New Mexico.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004).Dinosaur distribution (Late Triassic, North America)" In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (ed ...
of Guadalupe County. Adrian Hunt, in his unpublished dissertation, proposed the name "Comanchesaurus kuesi" for the specimen, but the name was never adopted, and was first referred to in the scientific literature in a 2007 redescription of Late Triassic North American material thought to belong to dinosaurs (Nesbitt, Irmis, and Parker, 2007). In the redescription, the authors found the material to belong to a "possible indeterminate saurischia
Saurischia ( , meaning "reptile-hipped" from the Greek ' () meaning 'lizard' and ' () meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two basic divisions of dinosaurs (the other being Ornithischia), classified by their hip structure. Saurischia and Ornithi ...
n".
Cryptotyrannus
"Cryptotyrannus" (meaning "secret/hidden tyrant"), more commonly known as the "Merchantville tyrannosauroid", is an informally named tyrannosauroid dinosaur that lived in the Merchantville Formation
The Merchantville Formation is a geological formation in the northeastern United States whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous, around the time of the Santonian and Campanian age. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been rec ...
. It was informally named by Brown (2021), who found it to be the sister taxon of ''Dryptosaurus
''Dryptosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of tyrannosauroid that lived approximately 67 million years ago (mya) during the latter part of the Cretaceous period, New Jersey. ''Dryptosaurus'' was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that grow up to ...
'', reinstating Dryptosauridae
Eutyrannosauria is a clade of tyrannosauroid theropods whose distribution has been found in what is now Asia and North America. The clade consists of an evolutionary grade of tyrannosaurs such as '' Appalachiosaurus'', '' Dryptosaurus'', and ''B ...
. The name appeared in the initial version of Brown's paper, superimposed over "Merchantville Taxon" in a cladogram; a subsequent correction has erased the name entirely.
"Cryptotyrannus" is known from two specimens discovered during the 1970s, the holotype YPM VPPU.021795 and the paratype YPM VPPU.022416. Similar coloration and weathering indicate that these are probably the same individual. These are a partial foot bone and one caudal vertebrae. However, a skeletal produced for the paper depicts a hand claw. The foot morphology is consistent with Tyrannosaurs
Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent ...
, being extremely similar to the ''Dryptosaurus aquilunguis
''Dryptosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of tyrannosauroid that lived approximately 67 million years ago (mya) during the latter part of the Cretaceous period, New Jersey. ''Dryptosaurus'' was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that grow up to ...
''. Autapomorphies include a metatarsal IV that is far more gracile and IV in proximal view also has a triangular, rather than subrectangular in outline. The holotype was once tentatively assigned to '' "Coelosaurus" antiquus''.
Shark bites present on the holotype suggest that the specimen's fragmentary nature is due to predation or scavenging by marine predators.
D
Dachongosaurus
"Dachongosaurus" is the informal name given to an undescribed 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 ...
of 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 from the Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma  ...
of China. It is known from fossils including at least a partial articulated skeleton from the Dark Red Beds of the Lower Lufeng Series
The Lufeng Formation (formerly Lower Lufeng Series) is a Lower Jurassic sedimentary rock formation found in Yunnan, China. It has two units: the lower Dull Purplish Beds/Shawan Member are of Hettangian age, and Dark Red Beds/Zhangjia'ao Member a ...
(Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.3 ± 2 Ma and 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian an ...
stage) in Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
.[Zhao, 1985. The reptilian fauna of the Jurassic in China. Pages 286–289, 347 in Wang, Cheng and Wang (eds.). The Jurassic System of China. Geological Publishing House, Beijing.] Possibly a cetiosaur
Cetiosauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs which was first proposed by Richard Lydekker in 1888. While traditionally a wastebasket taxon containing various unrelated species, some recent studies have found that it may represent a natural cl ...
, the "type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
" is "Dachongosaurus yunnanensis", coined by Zhao in 1985. An alternate spelling is "Dachungosaurus". As with other informal names coined by Zhao in 1985 and 1983, nothing has since been published, and the remains may have been redescribed under another name.
Damalasaurus
"Damalasaurus" (meaning "Damala lizard") is the informal name given to 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 ...
of herbivorous
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 mouthpart ...
dinosaur from the Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma  ...
. It was a 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 ...
, though its exact classification within the clade is unknown. Fossils of "Damalasaurus", including a rib, have been found in the Middle Daye Group
The Daye Group is a geological formation in China. It dates back to the Hettangian-PliensbachianWeishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Jurassic, Asia)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (e ...
of Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. Species attributed to this genus include "Damalasaurus laticostalis" and "D. magnus", although it is possible that both names refer to the same species.
Duranteceratops
"Duranteceratops" is a purported new taxon of chasmosaurine
Chasmosaurinae is a subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs. They were one of the most successful groups of herbivores of their time. Chasmosaurines appeared in the early Campanian, and became extinct, along with all other non-avian dinosaurs, during ...
ceratopsid
Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a family of ceratopsian dinosaurs including ''Triceratops'', '' Centrosaurus'', and '' Styracosaurus''. All known species were quadrupedal herbivores from the Upper Cretaceous. All but one species ar ...
from the Hell Creek Formation
The Hell Creek Formation is an intensively studied division of mostly Upper Cretaceous and some lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana. The formation stretches over portions of ...
.[ In 2012, a ceratopsid skull reportedly distinguishable from '']Triceratops
''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is ...
'' was unearthed in South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
by a fossil poacher named John Carter. Though it has yet to be published, according to the ''Prehistoric Times'' issue no. 121 from Spring 2017, the specimen is to be named "Duranteceratops".
E
EK troodontid
The "EK troodontid" (specimen SPS 100/44) is an unnamed 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 ...
of troodontid
Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. During most of the 20th century, troodontid fossils were few and incomplete and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with many dinosaurian lineages. More recent fossil disco ...
dinosaur discovered in Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
. In the scientific literature it is referred to as the "EK troodontid", after the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
sediments in which it was found. SPS 100/44 was discovered by Sergei Mikhailovich Kurzanov during the 1979 Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition. It was found in deposits of the Barunbayaskaya Svita at the Khamareen Us locality, Dornogov (southeastern Gobi Desert), in the Mongolian People's Republic. SPS 100/44 was described by Rinchen Barsbold
, Rinchyengiin Barsbold, born December 21, 1935 in Ulaanbaatar) is a Mongolian paleontologist and geologist. He works with the Institute of Geology, at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He is an expert in vertebrate paleontology and Mesozoic stratigraphy.
Bar ...
and colleagues in 1987.[Barsbold, Rhinchen, Osmolska, Halszka, Kurzanov, Sergei Mikhailovich. (1987). "On a new troodontid (Dinosauria. Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia". ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 32(1–2): 121–132]
Its fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
remains include an incomplete skeleton consisting of the braincase, posterior parts of the lower mandibles, a maxillary fragment with teeth, parts of five cervical vertebrae (cervicals ?2-?6), an articulated right manus with partial semilunate, left manus phalanx
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particular ...
I-1, distal end of the left femur, and fragmentary left and right pedes. Barsbold pointed out that the specimen was smaller and from older sediments than other known troodontids, but it had some features of the skull that could have made it a juvenile. Barsbold also indicated the high degree of fusion of the bones of the skull and the unusual foot morphology to indicate that it might be an adult of an unknown taxon. Barsbold took the conservative position and did not name this specimen because it was not complete enough to rule out the possibility that it was a juvenile of a known genus of troodontid. Barsbold also noted that the naturally articulated manus of SPS 100/44 showed no signs of an opposable third digit, as was suggested for ''Troodon
''Troodon'' ( ; ''Troödon'' in older sources) is a wastebasket taxon and a dubious genus of relatively small, bird-like dinosaurs known definitively from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period (about 77 mya). It includes at least ...
'' by Russell and Seguin in 1982. Turner and colleagues, in 2007, found the EK troodontid to be a distinct basal
Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''.
Science
* Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure
* Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...
genus of troodontid, in a polytomy
An internal node of a phylogenetic tree is described as a polytomy or multifurcation if (i) it is in a rooted tree and is linked to three or more child subtrees or (ii) it is in an unrooted tree and is attached to four or more branches. A tr ...
with ''Jinfengopteryx
''Jinfengopteryx'' (from , 'golden phoenix', the queen of birds in Chinese folklore, and grc, πτερυξ , meaning 'feather') is a genus of maniraptoran dinosaur. It was found in the Qiaotou Member of the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, ...
'' and a clade of more derived
Derive may refer to:
* Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments
* ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism
*Dérive, a psychogeographical concept
See also
*
*Derivation (disambiguatio ...
troodontids.
Eoplophysis
"Eoplophysis" is a genus of stegosaur
Stegosauria is a group of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. Stegosaurian fossils have been found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America, Euro ...
known from the Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
Cornbrash Formation
The Cornbrash Formation is a Middle Jurassic geological formation in England. It ranges in age from Bathonian to Callovian, the uppermost part of the Middle Jurassic. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the form ...
, Sharp's Hill Formation
The Sharp's Hill Formation is a Bathonian geologic formation in the United Kingdom, dating to around 167 million years ago. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weish ...
, and Chipping Norton Formation
The Chipping Norton Limestone is a geological formation in the Cotswolds, England. It preserves fossils dating back to the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic).Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, Europe)." In: Weisha ...
of England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It was originally named ''Omosaurus
''Omosaurus'' is a dubious genus of extinct crurotarsan reptile, possibly a phytosaur, from the Late Triassic (Carnian) of North Carolina. Only scant remains are known, which makes ''Omosaurus'' hard to classify. The type, and only species, ...
vetustus'' by the renowned German paleontologist 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 ...
. The holotype, OUM J.14000, is a right femur of a juvenile individual from the Middle Jurassic (upper Bathonian
In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age and stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 168.3 Ma to around 166.1 Ma (million years ago). The Bathonian Age succeeds the Bajocian Age and precedes the Callovian Age.
St ...
) Cornbrash
The Cornbrash Formation is a Middle Jurassic geological formation in England. It ranges in age from Bathonian to Callovian, the uppermost part of the Middle Jurassic. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the forma ...
Formation of Oxfordshire, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, although it was probably reworked from the slightly older Forest Marble Formation
The Forest Marble is a geological formation in England. Part of the Great Oolite Group, it dates to the late Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, Europe)." In: Weish ...
in view of its eroded nature. Because of the renaming of ''Omosaurus'', an occupied name, as ''Dacentrurus'', ''O. vetustus'' was renamed into a ''Dacentrurus vetustus'' in 1964. In the 1980s, researcher Peter Malcolm Galton
Peter Malcolm Galton (born 14 March 1942 in London) is a British vertebrate paleontologist who has to date written or co-written about 190 papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosau ...
reviewed all known stegosaur material from the Bathonian of England and concluded that ''Omosaurus vetustus'' was valid and should be tentatively referred to ''Lexovisaurus
''Lexovisaurus'' is a genus of stegosaur from mid-to-Late Jurassic Europe, 165.7-164.7 mya. Fossils of limb bones and armor fragments have been found in middle to late Jurassic-aged strata of England.
Discovery and taxonomy
In the early ...
''. However, the species was later considered a ''nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
'' in both reviews of Stegosauria. In their alpha-taxonomic review of stegosaurs, Susannah Maidment and her colleagues noted that OUM J.14000 shares characters present in both sauropods and stegosaurs, but that it lacks synapomorphies
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to hav ...
exclusive to Stegosauria
Stegosauria is a group of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. Stegosaurian fossils have been found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America, Euro ...
and assigned it as a Dinosauria indet. Nevertheless, the amateur paleontologist Roman Ulansky coined the new genus "Eoplophysis" ("Dawn Armed Form") for ''O. vetustus'', noting differences with the femora of other stegosaurs.
Eugongbusaurus
"Eugongbusaurus" is the informal name (''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
'') proposed for a neornithischian found in the Oxfordian-age Shishugou Formation
The Shishugou Formation () is a geological formation in Xinjiang, China.
Its strata date back to the Late Jurassic period. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Di ...
of Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, China. The intended type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
, ''"Gongbusaurus" wucaiwanensis'', was described by Dong Zhiming
Dong Zhiming ( Chinese: 董枝明, Pinyin: ''Dǒng Zhimíng''; born January 1937) is a Chinese vertebrate paleontologist formerly employed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing. He began working at th ...
in 1989 for two partial skeletons as a second species of the poorly known tooth taxon
In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...
''Gongbusaurus
''Gongbusaurus'' is a genus of ornithischian, perhaps ornithopod, dinosaur that lived between about 160 and 157 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic period. A small herbivore, it is very poorly known. Two species have been assigned to it, but ...
''. Fragmentary skeleton IVPP 8302, 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 ...
for the new species, included a partial lower jaw, three tail vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
e, and a partial forelimb. Second specimen IVPP 8303 consisted of two hip vertebrae, eight tail vertebrae, and two complete hind limbs. Dong estimated it as around long, and considered it to be a strong runner. He assigned the genus ''Gongbusaurus'' to the Hypsilophodontidae, a paraphyletic grade of small herbivorous bipedal
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...
dinosaurs. Because dinosaur teeth are generally not distinctive enough to hold a name, it is unsurprising that other paleontologists have suggested removing "G." ''wucaiwanensis'' from ''Gongbusaurus'' and giving it its own genus. The possible replacement name "Eugongbusaurus" leaked out accidentally and remains informal.
F
Fendusaurus
"Fendusaurus" is a ''nomen ex dissertatione'' proposed by Fedak (2006) for FGM
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
998GF13-II, which includes a skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, t ...
. Other specimens referred to "Fendusaurus" are FGM998GF13-I, FGM998GF13-III, FGM998GF69, FGM998GF9, and FGM998GF18, all found by a crew from the Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
. All the specimens include femora
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...
and coracoid
A coracoid (from Greek κόραξ, ''koraks'', raven) is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all vertebrates except therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). In therian mammals (including humans), a coracoid process is pre ...
s, and although they each share slightly different features, the differences are credited to intra-specific variation. Known specimens of "Fendusaurus" were previously classified as cf. ''Ammosaurus
''Anchisaurus'' is a genus of Basal (phylogenetics), basal sauropodomorpha, sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Early Jurassic Period (geology), Period, and its fossils have been found in the red sandstone of the Portland Formation, Nor ...
''. The femora and coracoids also help identify different individuals, and Timothy J. Fedak
Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries.
People Given name
* Timothy (given name) ...
, the described of the specimens, found that each block represented about one individual. "Fendusaurus" is known from the Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma  ...
(Hettangian
The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of the Jurassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma and 199.3 ± 0.3 Ma (million years ago). The Hettangian follows the Rhaetian (part of the Triassi ...
) McCoy Brook Formation
The McCoy Brook Formation is a geological formation dating to roughly between 200 and 190 million years ago and covering the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages. The McCoy Brook Formation is found in outcrops around the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia.
...
of Wasson Bluff
Wasson Bluff (also known as Wasson's Bluff) is the name applied to a series of imposing cliff faces on the north shore of the Minas Basin about east of the town of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.Thurston, Harry (1994) ''Dawning of the Dinosaurs: The Story ...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native En ...
. It is the first non-avian dinosaur from Nova Scotia. As five specimens of "Fendusaurus" are from the McCoy Brook Formation, the formation is the richest prosauropod site in North America. The formation is also similar to other formations of North America and Asia, as it lacks any remains presently assigned to ''Anchisaurus''. Fedak places "Fendusaurus" as a genus of the family Massospondylidae
Massospondylidae is a family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and AntarcticaHellert, Spencer M. "A New Basal Sauropodomorph from The Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica." Geologica ...
.[Fedak TJ. Description and evolutionary significance of the sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian) McCoy Brook Formation. Ph.D. Dissertation, Dalhousie University. 2006.]
The specimens of "Fendusaurus" include mostly crushed vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
, along with appendicular elements. They are distinguishable from ''Anchisaurus'' by the morphology of both the ilium
Ilium or Ileum may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* Ilion (Asia Minor), former name of Troy
* Ilium (Epirus), an ancient city in Epirus, Greece
* Ilium, ancient name of Cestria (Epirus), an ancient city in Epirus, Greece
* Ilium Building, a ...
and sacral vertebrae
The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30.
The sacrum situates at the upper, back part ...
. However, in some specimens, the morphology of the femora and coracoids are quite different, which led Fedak to speculate that more than one species may have been present. "Fendusaurus", according to Fedak, can be distinguished from all closely related sauropodomorphs
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had l ...
by the extreme elongation of the cervical vertebrae; a four vertebrae sacrum that includes a dorsosacral and caudosacral; the elongate postacetabular process of the ilium; and an expanded anterior distal process of the tibia.[
]
Ferganastegos
"Ferganastegos" is a dubious genus of stegosaur
Stegosauria is a group of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. Stegosaurian fossils have been found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America, Euro ...
from the Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
(Callovian
In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 166.1 ± 4.0 Ma (million years ago) and 163.5 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the ...
) Balabansai Formation
The Balabansai Formation (sometimes transcribed Balabansay, also known as Balabansai Svita) is a geological formation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan whose strata date back to the Bathonian and Callovian stages of the Middle Jurassic. Di ...
of Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
.[Ulansky, R. E., (2014). Evolution of the stegosaurs (Dinosauria; Ornithischia). Dinologia, 35 pp. ]n Russian
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
OWNLOAD PDFttp://dinoweb.narod.ru/Ulansky_2014_Stegosaurs_evolution.pdf. The holotype of "Ferganastegos callovicus", IGB 001, consists of four posterior dorsal vertebrae. Although Averianov et al. did not consider the vertebrae diagnostic to genus, the freelance Russian dinosaur enthusiast and amateur paleontologist Roman Ulansky decided that the differences between IGB 001 and other stegosaurs were sufficient to warrant a binomial for IGB 001, "Ferganastegos callovicus" (Callovian roof from Fergana Valley), despite the fact he did not examine the material himself.[ Other researchers still contend that the material is not diagnostic and that the genus is a ]nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
.
Ferropectis
"Ferropectis" is a nodosaurid
Nodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs, from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous period in what is now North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
Description
Nodosaurids, like their close relatives the ankylosaurids, w ...
ankylosaur
Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. ...
from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
( Cenomanian) Eagle Ford Group
The Eagle Ford Group (also called the Eagle Ford Shale) is a sedimentary rock formation deposited during the Cenomanian and Turonian ages of the Late Cretaceous over much of the modern-day state of Texas. The Eagle Ford is predominantly compos ...
in Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
that was named in a 2018 dissertation by Matt Clemens. The intended type species is "Ferropectis brysorum", and in the phylogenetic analysis it was placed as the sister taxon to ''Borealopelta
''Borealopelta'' (meaning "Northern shield") is a genus of nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. It contains a single species, ''B. markmitchelli'', named in 2017 by Caleb Brown and colleagues from a well-preserved ...
'' in a clade including '' Hungarosaurus'', ''Europelta
''Europelta'' (meaning “Europe’s shield”) is a monospecific genus of nodosaurid dinosaur from Spain that lived during the Early Cretaceous (early Albian stage, ~113.0 Ma) in what is now the lower Escucha Formation of the Teruel Province. Th ...
'', and ''Pawpawsaurus
''Pawpawsaurus'', meaning "Pawpaw Lizard", is a nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Cretaceous (late Albian) of Tarrant County, Texas, discovered in May 1992. The only species yet assigned to this taxon, ''Pawpawsaurus campbelli,'' is based on a ...
''.
Futabasaurus
"Futabasaurus" is an informal name for 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 ...
of theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of Japan, known only from a partial shin bone
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
of ~ wide that was discovered in the Coniacian
The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series and spans the time between 89.8 ± 1 Ma and 86.3 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Coniacian is preceded b ...
-age Ashizawa Formation
The Ashizawa Formation is a Coniacian geologic formation in northeastern Honshu, Japan. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.Weishampel, et a ...
of the Futaba Group
The Futaba Group is a Late Cretaceous geologic group in Japan. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur dis ...
; it was likely around when fully grown. It was first mentioned as "Futaba-ryu" by Hasegawa ''et al.'' (1987), and the name was coined by David Lambert in 1990 as a conversion from the Japanese nickname "Futaba-ryu", for an undescribed theropod. Dong Zhiming
Dong Zhiming ( Chinese: 董枝明, Pinyin: ''Dǒng Zhimíng''; born January 1937) is a Chinese vertebrate paleontologist formerly employed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing. He began working at th ...
and coauthors briefly discussed the fossil shin bone it was based on that same year, publishing a photograph. They considered the bone to belong to an indeterminate tyrannosauridae, tyrannosaurid. If the specimen is eventually described and named, it will require a different name, because the name ''Futabasaurus'' has since been used for a genus of plesiosaur.
G
Gadolosaurus
"Gadolosaurus" is an informal name given to PIN, no. 3458/5 an unnamed juvenile (organism), juvenile hadrosauroid dinosaur specimen from the Bayan Shireh Formation of Baishan Tsav, Mongolia. The name "Gadolosaurus" was first used in a 1979 book by Japanese paleontologist Tsunemasa Saito, in a caption for a photo of the specimen. This specimen represents an individual that was only about a meter long (39 inches). The specimen was part of a Soviet Union, Soviet exhibition of fossils in Japan. Apparently, the name comes from a Japanese phonetic translation of the Cyrillic script, Cyrillic word ''gadrosavr'', or hadrosaur, and was never meant by the Russians to establish a new generic name.
Despite the only name ever applied to it being merely a mistranslation of ''gadrosavr'', this specimen has appeared in many popular dinosaur books, with varying identifications. Donald F. Glut in 1982 reported it as either an Iguanodontia, iguanodont or hadrosaur, with no crest or boot on the ischium (the lack of which are both characteristics of the crested Lambeosaurinae, lambeosaurine duckbills), and suggested it could be the juvenile of a previously named genus like ''Tanius'' or ''Shantungosaurus''. David Lambert in 1983 classified it as an iguanodont, but changed his mind by 1990, when it was listed as a synonym (taxonomy), synonym of ''Arstanosaurus'' without comment. What may be the same animal is mentioned but not named by David B. Norman and Hans-Dieter Sues in a 2000 book on Mesozoic reptiles from Mongolia and the former USSR; this material, from the Soviet-Mongolian expeditions of the 1970s, had been listed as ''Arstanosaurus'' in the Russian Academy of Sciences, and was found in the Cenomanian-age Bayan Shireh Formation of Baishin Tsav.
Averianov, Lopatin, and Tsogtbaatar in 2022 provided a preliminary description of this specimen and its taxonomic position, finding that the specimen may represent a juvenile of a novel taxon that was closely related to but more derived than the contemporary hadrosauroid ''Gobihadros''.
Gallimimus mongoliensis
"Gallimimus mongoliensis" is an informal name Rinchen Barsbold
, Rinchyengiin Barsbold, born December 21, 1935 in Ulaanbaatar) is a Mongolian paleontologist and geologist. He works with the Institute of Geology, at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He is an expert in vertebrate paleontology and Mesozoic stratigraphy.
Bar ...
used for a nearly complete skeleton (IGM 100/14) known from the Bayan Shireh Formation, but since it differs from ''Gallimimus'' in some details, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi and Barsbold proposed in 2006 that it probably belongs to a different genus. It was recently included in a phylogenetic analysis, which recovered it as closely related to ''Tototlmimus.''
Gspsaurus
"Gspsaurus" (a ''nomen manuscriptum'') is a titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
of Sulaiman Basin of Pakistan. It has been suggested to be synonymous with the also invalid taxon "Maojandino", also proposed by Malkani.[Malkani, M.S., 2015. Dinosaurs, Mesoeucrocodiles, Pterosaurs, New Fauna and Flora from Pakistan. ''Geological Survey of Pakistan'', Information Release 823: 1–32.]
Grusimimus
"Grusimimus" (or "Tsurumimus") is an informal name for an undescribed genus of ornithomimid from the Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian
The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.9 ± 2 Ma and 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by t ...
–Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma ( million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is pre ...
) aged Shinekhudag Formation of Mongolia. Known from a skeleton including all regions except the skull, "Grusimimus" was given an invalid name in 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
by Rinchen Barsbold
, Rinchyengiin Barsbold, born December 21, 1935 in Ulaanbaatar) is a Mongolian paleontologist and geologist. He works with the Institute of Geology, at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He is an expert in vertebrate paleontology and Mesozoic stratigraphy.
Bar ...
, who also suggested the species name "tsuru". The specimen (GIN 960910KD) was found in 1996 and examined by Barsbold before he suggested the informal name, a ''nomen nudum''. An abstract and poster were presented on the taxon by Kobayashi & Barsbold in 2002, and the former published a thesis paper on the specimen (referred to as "Ornithomimosauria indet.") which found the taxon to be close to ''Harpymimus'' phylogenetically but possible more derived. A recent phylogenetic analysis recovered "Grusimimus" closely related to ''Beishanlong'' and ''Garudimimus.''
H
Hanwulosaurus
"Hanwulosaurus" is the nomen nudum, informal name given to an as-yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
. It was an ankylosaur around long, which is long for an ankylosaur. Its fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s were found in Inner Mongolia, China. Much of a skeleton, including a complete skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, t ...
, vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
e, ribs, a scapula, an ulna, femora
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...
, bones from the shinbone, shin, and Armour (zoology), armor, was discovered; this may be the most complete ankylosaurian skeleton yet found in Asia, according to early reports. Zhao Xijin, who has studied it, suggests that it may belong to its own subgroup within the Ankylosauria. The name first surfaced in news reports in 2001.
Heilongjiangosaurus
"Heilongjiangosaurus" (meaning "Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang lizard") is the informal name given to an as-yet undescribed 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 ...
of hadrosaurid, duckbilled dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
. It possibly was a Lambeosaurinae, lambeosaurine, and may in fact be the same animal as ''Charonosaurus''. The fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s were found in Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age rocks in Heilongjiang, China. As a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
'', it is unclear what material it was intended to be based on, but might be connected to the ''nomen nudum'' ''"Mandschurosaurus" jiainensis'', informally named in a 1983 publication.
The "type species" is "H. jiayinensis", and it was coined in 2001 in a faunal list by Li and Jin.
Hironosaurus
"Hironosaurus" (meaning "Hirono lizard") is the informal name given to an as-yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
. Found in Hirono, Fukushima, Japan, it was probably a type of hadrosaur, although no subfamily identification has been made. The fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s are quite fragmentary, and consist of teeth and a vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
, possibly from the tail. Since the fossils have never been fully described in a scientific paper, "Hironosaurus" is considered a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. It was first mentioned by Hisa in an obscure 1988 publication and was later (1990) brought to a wider audience by David Lambert.[ ]Dong Zhiming
Dong Zhiming ( Chinese: 董枝明, Pinyin: ''Dǒng Zhimíng''; born January 1937) is a Chinese vertebrate paleontologist formerly employed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing. He began working at th ...
, Y. Hasegawa, and Y. Azuma regarded the material as belonging to a hadrosaurid, but lacking any characteristics to allow more precise identification (thus indeterminate).
Hisanohamasaurus
"Hisanohamasaurus" (meaning "Hisano-hama lizard") is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
. It is a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
'' known only from teeth that first appeared in a general-audience dinosaur book by David Lambert (author), David Lambert in 1990. Although initially identified a diplodocid, it later re-identified as a nemegtosaurid similar to ''Nemegtosaurus''. As its name suggests, its fossils were found in Japan. The location is part of Iwaki, Fukushima.
J
Jiangjunmiaosaurus
"Jiangjunmiaosaurus" is an informal name created by an anonymous author in 1987 for a possible chimaera of ''Monolophosaurus'' and ''Sinraptor''.
Jindipelta
"Jindipelta" (Lei ''et al.'', 2019; in press) is the currently informal name given to an Ankylosauridae, ankylosaur from the Zhumapu Formation in China. It is known from a partial skeleton found in Cenomanian rocks and the intended type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
is "J. zouyunensis". The name was first announced in the 2019 SVP abstract book, alongside the megalosauroidea, megalosauroid ''Yunyangosaurus''.
Julieraptor
"Julieraptor" is the nickname of a dromaeosaurid fossil found in the Judith River Formation, Montana in 2002. Parts of the same skeleton were illegally excavated and nicknamed Sid Vicious in 2006, and the excavator subsequently served jail time for the theft. Bob Bakker therefore also nicknamed the specimen "Kleptoraptor". The skeleton was arranged to be sold to Royal Ontario Museum. It is known from a skeleton consisting of an almost complete skeleton missing most of its skull, most tail vertebra, part of the femur, some spinal and neck vertebra, one claw but it has a well preserved braincase.
K
Kagasaurus
"Kagasaurus" (meaning "Kaga lizard") is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
. It was a theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
which lived in what is now Japan. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
was named by Hisa in 1988, but is known from only two teeth. Since "Kagasaurus" has never been formally described, it is considered a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. Unlike "Kitadanisaurus" and ''Katsuyamasaurus'', it is unlikely that "Kagasaurus" is synonymous with ''Fukuiraptor
''Fukuiraptor'' ("thief of Fukui") was a medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur of the Early Cretaceous epoch (either Barremian or Aptian) that lived in what is now Japan. ''Fukuiraptor'' is known from the Kitadani Formation and possibly ...
'', and may instead be a dromaeosaurid.
Katsuyamasaurus
"Katsuyamasaurus" is an informal name for a genus of intermediate theropod known from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of the Kitadani Formation, Japan. Known from a single middle caudal vertebra and an ulna, the taxon was informally called "Katsuyama-ryu", until Lambert (1990) made it into an invalid genus name, "Katsuyamasaurus". The caudal vertebra was suggested to belong to an ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous worl ...
by Chure (2000), and Olshevsky (2000) suggested the material was a synonym of ''Fukuiraptor
''Fukuiraptor'' ("thief of Fukui") was a medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur of the Early Cretaceous epoch (either Barremian or Aptian) that lived in what is now Japan. ''Fukuiraptor'' is known from the Kitadani Formation and possibly ...
''. However, the ulna differs from ''Fukuiraptor'', and the large olecranon suggests the taxon falls outside Maniraptoriformes.
Khetranisaurus
"Khetranisaurus" (meaning "Khetran lizard", for the Khetran people of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) is an informal taxon of 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 ...
ian 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 ...
from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, western Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
(also spelled "Khateranisaurus" in some early reports). The proposed species is "K. barkhani", described by M. Sadiq Malkani in 2006, and it is based on a tail vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
, found in the Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
. It was assigned to "Pakisauridae" (used as a synonym of Titanosauridae), along with "#Pakisaurus, Pakisaurus" and "#Sulaimanisaurus, Sulaimanisaurus".
Koreanosaurus
"Koreanosaurus" (meaning "Korean lizard") is the informal name given to an as-yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
(Aptian-Albian). It was a possible dromaeosaur
Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning ...
(or similar theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
) which was discovered in the Gugyedong Formation of South Korea, although at times it has been referred to the Tyrannosauridae and Hypsilophodontidae. Based solely on DGBU-78, a femur, the name was coined by Kim in 1979, but by 1993 Kim decided that it was a species of ''Deinonychus'', and created the informal name "D." "koreanensis".[Kim, (1993). Journal of Natural History and Environments 1(1). ''World Society of Natural History and Environments: Pusan University, Pusan, Korea''. ISSN 1225-6404.] Kim ''et al.'' (2005) referred the specimen to Eumaniraptora based on a proximolateral ridge, shelf-like posterior trochanter, and absence of an accessory trochanter and mediodistal crest. The presence of a large fourth trochanter was noted to be similar to ''Adasaurus'' and ''Velociraptor''.
Kunmingosaurus
"Kunmingosaurus" is an informally named primitive 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 ...
which lived during the Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma  ...
. Its fossils were found in Yunnan Province, China in 1954. The type species, type and only species is "Kunmingosaurus wudingensis", invalidly coined by Zhao in 1985. It is known from fossils found in the Fengjiahe Formation (or the Lower Lufeng Series
The Lufeng Formation (formerly Lower Lufeng Series) is a Lower Jurassic sedimentary rock formation found in Yunnan, China. It has two units: the lower Dull Purplish Beds/Shawan Member are of Hettangian age, and Dark Red Beds/Zhangjia'ao Member a ...
), including pelvis, pelvic, hind limb, and vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
l material.
L
Lancanjiangosaurus
"Lancanjiangosaurus" (alternative spelling "Lanchanjiangosaurus"; meaning "Lancangjiang lizard", named after the Lancangjiang River of China) is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of 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 from the Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
. The "type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
", "L. cachuensis", was coined by Zhou in 1985, but remains a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. It is known from the Dapuka Group of Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
Lijiagousaurus
"Lijiagousaurus" (meaning "Lijiagou lizard") is the nomen nudum, informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of herbivorous
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 mouthpart ...
iguanodontian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of what is now Sichuan, China. It has not been formally described yet, but the formal publication is forthcoming, from Chinese people, Chinese 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 ...
Ouyang Hui. "Lijiagousaurus" was only briefly mentioned in the Chongqing Natural History Museum guidebook (2001) and is thus a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''.[Anonymous (2001). ''Chongqing Natural History Museum guidebook.'']
Likhoelesaurus
"Likhoelesaurus" (meaning "Li Khole lizard") is the name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of archosauriform, either a dinosaur or rauisuchian, from the Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...
of what is now South Africa. The name was coined by Ellenberger in 1970, and the "type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
" is "Likhoelesaurus ingens". It is named after the town in Lesotho where the fossils were found. The only fossils recovered have been teeth, from the Carnian, late Carnian–Norian, early Norian-age Lower Elliot Formation. Ellenberger (1972) regarded the genus as a giant carnosaur, and Kitching and Raath (1984) treated it as possibly referable to ''Basutodon''. Knoll listed "Likhoelesaurus" as a rauisuchian, also he noted that could also be a rauisuchian.
Lopasaurus
"Lopasaurus" (meaning "Alberto Lopa's lizard") is the name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurid theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
, possibly belonging to Unenlagiinae due to its similarity to ''Buitreraptor'', ''Neuquenraptor'' and ''Pamparaptor'', from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
(Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
)-aged Marília Formation in the Ponto 1 do Price site of Brazil. The intended holotype, a partial right metatarsus showing metatarsals II, III and IV, was discovered by Alberto Lopa during the 1950s but the fossil was lost shortly after the death of Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1980 and it has not been located since. "Lopasaurus" was briefly mentioned by Brum ''et al.'' in their description of ''Ypupiara, Ypupiara lopai'', where it was tentatively referred to Unenlagiinae. Brum ''et al.'' (2021) also did not refer "Lopasaurus" to ''Ypupiara'', which was found in the same formation as "Lopasaurus".
M
Magulodon
"Magulodon" is the name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
(Aptian to Albian faunal stage, stages, approximately 112 million years ago). It was a possible ornithischian
Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek ...
, either an ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous worl ...
or basal ceratopsian, which was discovered in the Arundel Formation
The Arundel Formation, also known as the Arundel Clay, is a clay-rich sedimentary rock formation, within the Potomac Group, found in Maryland of the United States of America. It is of Aptian age ( Lower Cretaceous). This rock unit had been econ ...
of Maryland, United States. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
, "Magulodon muirkirkensis", was coined by Kranz in 1996.[Kranz, P. (1996). Notes on the sedimentary iron ores of Maryland and their dinosaurian faunas. Maryland Geological Survey Special Publications 3:87–115.] It is a tooth taxon, based solely on a single tooth. Since it has not been formally described, it is also a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. It was considered to be an indeterminate specimen in a paper which cited the intended type specimen but avoided using the name to prevent taxonomic clutter.[Chinnery, B.J., Lipka, T.R., Kirkland, J.I., Parrish, J.M., and Brett-Surman, M.K. (1998). Neoceratopsian teeth from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. In: Kirkland, J.I., and Estep, J.W. (eds.). ''Lower Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems''. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14:297–302.]
Mangahouanga
"Mangahouanga" (named after Te Hoe River, the stream of the same name), or the "Joan Wiffen's theropod" is an informal name given to the theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
discovered in the Tahora Formation, New Zealand by Joan Wiffen, who considered it to be a possible Megalosauridae, megalosaurid in 1975. The vertebra was described by Molnar 1981, and it was ruled as an indeterminate theropod in 2010 by Agnolin ''et al''. The name "Mangahouanga" was coined by Molina-Pérez & Larramendi (2016) and no species name was given. They estimated it to reach up to long and weigh up to and is represented by of a single vertebra.
Maojandino
“Maojandino” is an informally named taxon of titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
stage of Pakistan. The intended type species is "Maojandino alami."
Marisaurus
"Marisaurus" (meaning "Mari lizard", for the Mari tribe of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) is an informal taxon of 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 ...
ian 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 ...
from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, western Pakistan. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
is "M. jeffi", described by M. Sadiq Malkani in 2006, and it is based on tail vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
e, found in the Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
. Much additional material, including a partial skull, many vertebrae, and a few hindlimb bones, was referred to this genus. "Marisaurus" was assigned to "Balochisauridae" with "#Sulaimanisaurus, Sulaimanisaurus", although the family was used as a synonym of Saltasauridae
Saltasauridae (named after the Salta region of Argentina where they were first found) is a family of armored herbivorous sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous. They are known from fossils found in South America, Asia, North America, and Europ ...
.[
]
Megacervixosaurus
"Megacervixosaurus" (meaning "big neck lizard") is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of herbivorous
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 mouthpart ...
dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
. It was a titanosaur 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 ...
which lived in what is now China. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
, "Megacervixosaurus tibetensis", was coined by China, Chinese 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 ...
Zhao Xijin in 1985. "Megacervixosaurus" has never been formally described, and remains a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''.[Zhao X. (1985). "Phylogeny and evolutionary stages of Dinosauria." ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 28(1–2); 295–306.]
Merosaurus
"Merosaurus" is the informal name given to an indeterminate 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.3 ± 2 Ma and 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian an ...
faunal stage, stage, around 190 million years ago) of Charmouth, Dorset, discovered in or before 1847. It originates either from the Blue Lias Formation or the Charmouth Mudstone Formation. It was a theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
, possibly a tetanurae, tetanuran which lived in what is now England. The informal name, "Merosaurus newmani", was coined by Samuel Welles, H.P. Powell, and Stephan Pickering in 1995 in an unpublished manuscript, and is based solely on a claw and some leg bones (a knee joint) once thought to belong to ''Scelidosaurus''.[Mortimer, M (2004]
"The Theropod Database"
. University of Washington. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
Microcephale
"Microcephale" (meaning "tiny head") is the nomen nudum, informal name of 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 ...
of very small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, otherwise known as the "North American dwarf species", which lived during the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
. Its fossils were found in the Campanian, late Campanian-age Dinosaur Park Formation, in Alberta, Canada. Not much is known about this dinosaur, as it has not yet been fully described; it is therefore a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. The fossils of "Microcephale", including tiny skull caps, were first mentioned by 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 Sereno in 1997, in a list of pachycephalosaurids. These skull caps measure less than 5 cm (2 in) each. No potential species name was given.
Microdontosaurus
"Microdontosaurus" (meaning "tiny-toothed lizard") is the name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of 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 from China. It was named from fossils from the Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
-age Dapuka Group of Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
. The intended type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
is "M. dayensis." As with other informal names created by Zhao in 1985 or 1983, it has not been used since then, and may have been redescribed under another name.
Mifunesaurus
"Mifunesaurus" (meaning 'Mifune lizard') is a nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
given to an extinction, extinct non-avian dinosaur, non-avian non-maniraptoriform tetanuran theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
( Cenomanian; ~96 Ma) Kabu Formation of Japan. The intended holotype, stored at the Mifune Dinosaur Museum, with the tooth on display, of "Mifunesaurus" consists only of a few bones, among which are a tibia, a phalanx
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particular ...
, a metatarsus and a single tooth (tooth catalogued as YNUGI 10003; rest of the skeleton catalogued as MDM 341), discovered by N. & K. Wasada in 1979. The genus was informally coined by Hisa in 1985 and no epithet was given. The known tooth was too thick to be the tooth of a ceratosauridae, ceratosaurid, and too tall to belong to an abelisauridae, abelisaurid, which means that "Mifunesaurus" was probably a megalosauroidea, megalosauroid or a carnosauria, carnosaur based on the shape of the known tooth.
Mitchell ornithopod
The "Mitchell ornithopod" is the informal nickname of an ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous worl ...
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 ...
discovered near Mitchell, Oregon, being the first described dinosaur from Oregon but not the first discovered; a hadrosauridae, hadrosaurid sacrum was discovered in the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
(Campanian
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...
)-aged Cape Sebastian Sandstone near Cape Sebastian, Oregon, Cape Sebastian during the 1960s and excavated in 1994 by Dave Taylor, but the remains of the Cape Sebastian ornithopod were not prepared for peer review and described until 2019, merely weeks after the Mitchell ornithopod was described. The single known bone, F118B00, was a toe bone, specifically the third phalanx
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particular ...
of the central digit of the right hindlimb foot, and was discovered by Gregory Retallack in 2015 while on an annual field trip with his students, in a layer of the Albian-aged Hudspeth Formation, Hudspeth Shale Formation; in 2021, Gloria Carr discovered another bone, this time a vertebra, that likely belonged to the same species of ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous worl ...
. No excavation was required - the bone was found resting on the ground and Retalllack immediately knew it was different from the various marine fossils scattered nearby. The bone was described in 2018 by Gregory Retallack, Jessica Theodor, Edward Davis, Samantha Hopkins and Paul Barrett.[Retallack, Gregory J.; Jessica M. Theodor; Edward B. Davis; Samantha S. Hopkins, and Paul Z. Barrett. (2018). First Oregon dinosaur (Ornithopoda) from Early Cretaceous (Albian) of Oregon, U.S.A. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.'' 1-5.] It was part of a bloated carcass swept out into the ocean, likely originating from Idaho, although further discoveries, such as Strommer (2021), dispute this claim and suggest it may have been deposited by a mudflow.
The bone was later compared to more complete remains of other ornithopods and the "Mitchell ornithopod" bone most closely matched those of hadrosaurs and iguanodontia, iguanodonts, although it was likely a basal
Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''.
Science
* Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure
* Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...
ornithopod. Rettalack believes that the bone belonged to a new genus, although there is not enough sufficient remains to base this claim on.
Moshisaurus
Hisa (1985) used "Moshisaurus" (or "Moshi-ryu") for the incomplete sauropod humerus NSM PV17656, from the Early Cretaceous Miyako Group of Japan. Dong et al. (1990) and Hasegawa et al. (1991) referred them to ''Mamenchisaurus'', but Azuma & Tomida (1998) and Barrett et al. (2002) assigned them to Sauropoda indet.
N
Newtonsaurus
"Newtonsaurus" is an informally named genus erected for the theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
dinosaur species ''Zanclodon cambrensis.'' The species is based on the specimen BMNH R2912, an Fossil#Casts and molds, external mold of a dentary, which was discovered in the Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...
(Rhaetian) aged beds of the Lilstock Formation near Bridgend, Wales in 1898 and described by Edwin Tulley Newton in 1899.[Newton, E.T. (1899). On a megalosaurid jaw from Rhaetic beds near Bridgend (Glamorganshire). ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London'' 55:89–96.] The taxon was reassigned to ?''Megalosaurus'' by Molnar in 1990, which was followed by Peter Galton in publications in 1998 and 2005. The species is considered to be a ''nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
'', as it has no diagnostic features, and is considered to be a Coelophysoidea, coelophysoid grade theropod outside Averostra based on the low interdental plates and possession of only a single Meckelian groove, meckelian foramen. It has alternatively been suggested to possibly represent another indeterminate predatory archosaur.
The name "Newtonsaurus" was coined in 1999 by Stephan Pickering, in reference the describer. Paleontologists have avoided using the name "Newtonsaurus" since its appearance in 1999 in private publications, although "''Zanclodon''" ''cambrensis'' or ''Megalosaurus cambrensis'' have both been used for this taxon.
Ngexisaurus
"Ngexisaurus" is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
dinosaur, likely belonging to Avetheropoda, from the Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
Dapuka Group of Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, China. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
, "Ngexisaurus dapukaensis", was coined by Zhao in 1983.[Zhao, X. (1985). [The Jurassic Reptilia]. [The Jurassic System of China. ''Stratigraphy of China'', No. 11] 286–290.] A synonym of "Ngexisaurus" coined by Zhao (1985) is "''Megalosaurus''" dapukaensis and Fossilworks lists "''M.''" dapukaensis as a Megalosauridae, megalosaurid tetanurae, tetanuran separate from "Ngexisaurus" proper.
Nicksaurus
"Nicksaurus" is an informally named Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous red muds of the Vitakri Formation of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. The dinosaur shared a habitat with other sauropod dinosaurs including #Khetranisaurus, Khetranisaurus, #Sulaimanisaurus, Sulaimanisaurus, #Pakisaurus, Pakisaurus, #Gspsaurus, Gspsaurus, #Saraikimasoom, Saraikimasoom, and #Maojandino, Maojandino.
Nurosaurus
"Nurosaurus" (Nur-o-saw-rus, meaning "Nur lizard") is the nomen nudum, informal name for 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 ...
of 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. It is known from a partial, large skeleton, that was presented as soon-to-be-described by Zhiming Dong in 1992 in paleontology, 1992, where he gave the proposed binomial "Nurosaurus qaganensis". It was discovered in the Qagannur Formation of Inner Mongolia, southeast of Erenhot. The deposit is younger than the ''Psittacosaurus''-bearing Guyang Group, but is still Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
. It was found alongside the plates and scapula of a stegosaur.
The foot of "Nurosaurus" is notable for a stress fracture present on the first of the fourth digit of the left foot, which was the first identified fracture of its kind, and have since been identified on the phalanges and metatarsals of ''Apatosaurus'', ''Barosaurus'', ''Brachiosaurus
''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the ...
'', ''Camarasaurus'', and ''Diplodocus''.
O
Oharasisaurus
"Oharasisaurus" is the name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of somphospondylian 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 ...
, possibly belonging to the Euhelopodidae, from the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
Kuwajima Formation (Facies III layer) of Japan. The name "Oharasisaurus" was coined by Larramendi & Molina Pérez (2020) and the holotype, a tooth, was first mentioned by Matsuoka (2000).
Orcomimus
"Orcomimus" (Pronounced or-coh-mEYEm-us) is the name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
period 66 million years ago. The dinosaur was an ornithomimid which lived in what is now South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, in the United States. The type (biology), type was coined by Michael Triebold in 1997, but has never been formally described and is currently a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. "Orcomimus" was a bipedal theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
, but the dinosaur is known from only a pelvis and a hindlimb. "Orcomimus" is thought to be relatively advanced for other ornithomimids at the time, although this is hard to tell from the limited amount of specimens found of the dinosaur. It may be referable to one of the ornithomimosaur species currently known from the Hell Creek Formation
The Hell Creek Formation is an intensively studied division of mostly Upper Cretaceous and some lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana. The formation stretches over portions of ...
, where the holotype of "Orcomimus" was found.
Oshanosaurus
"Oshanosaurus" (meaning "Eshan Yi Autonomous County, Oshan lizard") is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of 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 from the Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma  ...
period of Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
, China. Its fossils were found in the Lower Lufeng Series
The Lufeng Formation (formerly Lower Lufeng Series) is a Lower Jurassic sedimentary rock formation found in Yunnan, China. It has two units: the lower Dull Purplish Beds/Shawan Member are of Hettangian age, and Dark Red Beds/Zhangjia'ao Member a ...
. The intended "type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
", "Oshanosaurus youngi", was coined by Zhao in 1985. It has sometimes been associated with heterodontosauridae, heterodontosaurids, which appears to be due to the juxtaposition of a species of ''Dianchungosaurus'' (formerly thought to be a heterodontosaurid) in the text of Zhao (1985).
In 1971 Zhao Xijin discovered a dinosaur fossil at Dianchung in Eshan Yi Autonomous County, Eshan county, giving it the informal name "Oshanosaurus youngi". In their 2019 popular book ''Dinosaur Facts and Figures: The Theropods'', Molina-Perez and Larramendi suggested that it belonged to the theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
''Eshanosaurus'', but without elaboration.
Osteoporosia
"Osteoporosia" is an informally named theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
, either belonging to Carcharodontosauridae or Megaraptora, from the Kem Kem Formation of Morocco, however, it lacks the requirements to become a valid taxon, thus leaving it as a naked name. The intended type species is "O. gigantea", first described by Singer (2015) and the holotype is JP Cr340, a tooth, with an indeterminate posterior or dorsal neural arch also known.
Otogosaurus
"Otogosaurus" is an informally named sauropod from Inner Mongolia, China. The supposed type species is "Otogosaurus sarulai". It is known from partial postcranial remains, including a tibia long and several footprints. It is named after Otog Banner in Inner Mongolia where it was discovered, and Sarula, the girl who discovered the fossils. Despite sometimes being presented as a valid taxon, sometimes accompanied by citations to Zhao (2004) or Zhao & Tan (2004), scholars have not been able to locate such a source, so it remains informal until a paper is discovered.
P
Pakisaurus
"Pakisaurus" (meaning "Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
lizard") is an informal taxon of 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 ...
ian 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 ...
from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, western Pakistan. The proposed species is "P. balochistani", and it was validly named by M. Sadiq Malkani in 2006, based on four tail vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
e, found in the Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
. Three additional tail vertebrae have been assigned to it. The author erected the family "Pakisauridae", using it synonymously with older Titanosauridae. "Pakisaurus" was decided to be closely related to "#Sulaimanisaurus, Sulaimanisaurus" and "#Khetranisaurus, Khetranisaurus", both from Pakistan as well.[
]
Podischion
"Podischion" is an informal genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur known from a skeleton discovered in 1911 on the Red Deer River in Alberta by a crew led by Barnum Brown. The remains were tentatively named "Podischion", which was not mentioned in published literature until Dingus & Norell (2010). It is possible that the skeleton represents an individual of ''Hypacrosaurus''.
R
Ronaldoraptor
"Ronaldoraptor", also known as the “Mitrata” Oviraptorid, is an undescribed oviraptoridae, oviraptorid from Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
[Gee, H. & Rey, L. V. 2003. A Field Guide to Dinosaurs: The Essential Handbook for Travelers in the Mesozoic. Barron's Educational Series, Inc.] and has been listed as "''Oviraptor sp.''" The name was first used by Luis Rey in 2003, in his book ''A Field Guide to Dinosaurs: The Essential Handbook for Travelers in the Mesozoic'', where he drew an illustration, captioning it "Ronaldoraptor". "Ronaldoraptor" may have been closely related to ''Citipati osmolskae''.
Rutellum
"Rutellum" is the pre-Linnaean taxonomy, Linnaean name given to a 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 ...
specimen from the Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the ...
(Oxfordian (stage), Oxfordian)-aged Coralline Oolite Formation. It was a 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 ...
, possibly a Cetiosauridae, cetiosaurid,[Delair, J.B., and Sarjeant, W.A.S. (2002)]
The earliest discoveries of dinosaurs: the records re-examined
''Proceedings of the Geologists' Association'' 113:185–197. which lived in what is now England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The specimen (University of Oxford, OU 1352), called "Rutellum impicatum", was described in 1699 by Edward Lhuyd alongside specimen OU 1358, what is now believed to be a ''Megalosaurus'' tooth crown,[Lhuyd, E. (1699). ]
Lithophylacii Britannici Ichnographia, sive lapidium aliorumque fossilium Britannicorum singulari figura insignium
'. Gleditsch and Weidmann:London. and is notable as the earliest named entity that is recognizable as a dinosaur.[ It was based on a tooth collected from Caswell, near Witney, Oxfordshire.][Gunther, R.T. (1945). ''Early Science in Oxford: Life and Letters of Edward Lhuyd'', volume 14. Author:Oxford.]
Because "Rutellum impicatum" was named before 1758 (the official starting date for zoological nomenclature according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, ICZN), it is not considered a part of modern biological nomenclature.
S
Sabinosaurus
"Sabinosaurus" or "Sabinosaurio" is a name used for PASAC-1, a partial skeleton of a hadrosaur that was discovered in the Sabinas Basin in Mexico in 2001. It was initially described as ''Kritosaurus'' sp. by Jim Kirkland and colleagues (2006), but considered an indeterminate saurolophine by Prieto-Márquez (2014). This skeleton is about 20% larger than other known specimens, around long, and with a distinctively curved ischium, and represents the largest known well-documented North American saurolophine. Unfortunately, the nasal bones are also incomplete in the skull remains from this material.[
]
Saldamosaurus
"Saldamosaurus" is an informal 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 ...
of stegosauridae, stegosaurid 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 ...
known from a complete braincase discovered in the Early Cretaceous Saldam Formation of Siberia, Russia. The type species, "Saldamosaurus tuvensis", was named in 2014 but according to Galton and Carpenter (2016) it did not meet the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and is hence a ''nomen nudum''.
Saltillomimus
"Saltillomimus" is an informal name for an ornithomimid theropod from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...
) of the Cerro del Pueblo Formation in Mexico. It is known from SEPCP 16/237, a partial tail, most of a hindlimb, and forelimb bones, discovered in 1998, and the possible juvenile specimen SEPCP 16/221, a partial leg and hip bone, that was given the name "Saltillomimus rapidus" by Martha Carolina Aguillón Martinez in 2010 in paleontology, 2010. A skeletal reconstruction was put on display in 2014 at the Museo del Desierto, which served to highlight its robust thighs and weird hips that combine primitive and advanced features seen in ornithomimosaurs from both Asia and North America. Named in Martinez' 2010 thesis, the taxon name is an invalid ''nomen ex dissertatione''.[
]
Sanchusaurus
"Sanchusaurus" (meaning "Lizard from Sanchu") is an nomen nudum, informal name for an ornithomimosaur dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
Period (geology), period of Asia. It is only known by a partial Caudal vertebrae, tail vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
, found in Nakasato, Japan. Dong (1990) [ considered it synonymous with ''Gallimimus'' but the large discrepancy in both age and location between the two species renders this opinion untenable. The genus has not been formally described and is considered a '']nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. It was first mentioned by Hisa in 1985.
Saraikimasoom
"Saraikimasoom" (meaning 'Innocent one') is an invalid species of 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 ...
dinosaur from the Vitakri Formation in Pakistan. The type species, ''Saraikimasoom vitakri'', was described by Sadiq Malkhani in 2015, in a paper describing multiple Pakistani dinosaurs, such as ''Gspsaurus'', "Nicksaurus" and "Maojandino". ''Saraikimasoom'' is currently recognised as a ''nomen manuscriptum''.
Shake-N-Bake theropod
The "Shake-N-Bake theropod" is an undescribed species of coelophysoid from the Kayenta Formation, known from partial skeleton MCZ 8817 within the collection of Harvard Museum of Natural History.
Siamodracon
"Siamodracon" is an extinct 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 ...
of nomen nudum, invalid stegosauridae, stegosaurid dinosaur known from a single dorsal vertebra found in Thailand's Phu Kradung Formation. According to Galton and Carpenter (2016) it did not meet the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.[Ulansky, R. E., 2014. Evolution of the stegosaurs (Dinosauria; Ornithischia). Dinologia, 35 pp. [in Russian]]
PDF
[ "Siamodracon" was the first thyreophoran ]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 ...
discovered in South East Asia.
Sidormimus
"Sidormimus" is an informal genus of noasauridae, noasaurid discovered in the Elrhaz Formation in Niger. It was discovered in 2000 by Chris Sidor and it was immediately described by Lyon on the Project Exploration website, with a photograph of the holotype. During the same year, on the National Geographic website, the same photograph of the holotype was labelled "Dongosaurus". In 2005, Sidor himself confirmed that "Sidormimus" was the Elrhaz noasaurid. "Sidormimus" has been mentioned by Paul Sereno three times. "Sidormimus" is known from a partial post cranial skeleton. Its neck and ribs were exposed when the holotype was discovered.
Sinopeltosaurus
"Sinopeltosaurus" is a nomen dubium, dubious 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 ...
of extinct thyreophoran ornithischian
Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek ...
dinosaur described by Roman Ulansky. The type species, type and only species is "S. minimus" of the lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
China, based on an articulated set of ankle bones.[Ulansky, R. E., 2014. Evolution of the stegosaurs (Dinosauria; Ornithischia). Dinologia, 35 pp. ]n Russian
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
[DOWNLOAD PDF] http://dinoweb.narod.ru/Ulansky_2014_Stegosaurs_evolution.pdf.[Ulansky, R. E., 2014. Evolution of the stegosaurs (Dinosauria; Ornithischia). Dinologia, 35 pp. ]n Russian
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
[DOWNLOAD PDF] http://dinoweb.narod.ru/Ulansky_2014_Dinoclass_Stegosauria.pdf The specimen is FMNH CUP 2338, and includes the distal tibia and fibula, distal tarsals, most metatarsals, and some phalanges. FMNH CUP 2338 was described in 2008 by Randall Irmis and Fabian Knoll, as one of the few definitive specimens of Ornithischia from the Early Jurassic based on features of the ankle and pes. In 2016, Peter Malcolm Galton
Peter Malcolm Galton (born 14 March 1942 in London) is a British vertebrate paleontologist who has to date written or co-written about 190 papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosau ...
and Kenneth Carpenter
Kenneth Carpenter (born September 21, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan) is a paleontologist. He is the former director of the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum and author or co-author of books on dinosaurs and Mesozoic life. His main research interests ar ...
identified it as a ''nomen dubium'', and listed it as Ornithischia indet., possible Thyreophora indet. Ulansky variously referred to it as "Sinopeltosaurus minimus" or "Sinopelta minima"; Galton and Carpenter, as the first revisers under International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, ICZN, made the former official.
Skaladromeus
"Skaladromeus" or the "Kaiparowits ornithopod" is an ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous worl ...
from the Kaiparowits Formation named in a 2012 thesis by Clint Boyd. The intended type species is "Skaladromeus goldenii".
Spearpoint ankylosaur
The Spearpoint ankylosaur is an undescribed ankylosaur specimen from the Wessex Formation on the Isle of Wight. It was found at Chilton Chine in 1994. Parts of the skeleton are housed at the Dinosaur Isle museum, accessioned under IWCMS 1996.153, while other parts of the skeleton are in private collection. A phylogenetic analysis conducted in a thesis by Thomas J. Raven found that it was not closely related to ''Polacanthus,'' the only named ankylosaur from the Wessex Formation, and that it likely represents a new taxon.
Suciasaurus
A fossil theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
(possibly a Tyrannosauroidea, tyrannosaur) nicknamed "Suciasaurus rex” was discovered in 2012 at Sucia Island State Park in San Juan County, Washington, San Juan County of the U.S. Washington (state), State of Washington. It was the first 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 ...
discovered in Washington (state), Washington state.[
][
] The finding was announced when Burke Museum 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 ...
s published a discovery paper in ''PLoS ONE''.[
] Prompted by a petition from students at an elementary school at Parkland, Washington, Parkland, near Tacoma, the Washington State Legislature introduced a bill in 2019 to make it the official state dinosaur.[
] A renewed push came in 2021, though House Republicans, like Minority leader J. T. Wilcox, called it low priority versus the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and eventually the bill failed to pass.
Sugiyamasaurus
"Sugiyamasaurus" (meaning "Sugiyama lizard") is the informal name given to a few spatulate teeth belonging to a titanosauriform, possibly ''Fukuititan'', which lived in Japan during the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
. The name was first printed by David Lambert (author), David Lambert in 1990 in the ''Dinosaur Data Book'', and also appears in Lambert's ''Ultimate Dinosaur Book'' and in many on-line lists of dinosaurs. Since it has not been formally described, "Sugiyamasaurus" is a ''nomen nudum
In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate des ...
''. Remains were found near Katsuyama, Fukui, Katsuyama City and were initially referred to Camarasauridae, but might belong to ''Fukutitan'' because they were unearthed in the same quarry as the ''Fukuititan'' material.
Sulaimanisaurus
"Sulaimanisaurus" (meaning "Sulaiman lizard", for the Sulaiman foldbelt) is an informal taxon of 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 ...
ian 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 ...
from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, western Pakistan (also spelled "Sulaimansaurus" in some early reports).[ The proposed species is "S. gingerichi", described by M. Sadiq Malkani in 2006, and it is based on seven tail ]vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
, found in the Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
. Four additional tail vertebrae have been assigned to it. It was considered to be related to "#Pakisaurus, Pakisaurus" and "#Khetranisaurus, Khetranisaurus" in the family "Pakisauridae" (used as a synonym of Titanosauridae).[
]
T
Teihivenator
"Teihivenator" ("strong hunter") is an improperly named taxon of Tyrannosauroidea, tyrannosauroid Coelurosauria, coelurosaur from the Navesink Formation of New Jersey. It was suggested to contain the species, "T." ''macropus'', originally classified as a species of ''Dryptosaurus
''Dryptosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of tyrannosauroid that lived approximately 67 million years ago (mya) during the latter part of the Cretaceous period, New Jersey. ''Dryptosaurus'' was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that grow up to ...
'' (= "Laelaps", a name preoccupied by Laelaps (mite), a mite). It was suggested as a separate genus in 2017 by Chan-gyu Yun. The name "Teihivenator" is invalid because the publication naming it is online-only, which means that a registration with ZooBank is required to be present in the article when published. However, the ZooBank registry was only added in after initial publication, meaning that it fails the requirement to be a validly published taxon.
In 2017, a preprint paper by Chase Brownstein concluded that the remains of ''L. macropus'' are a mixture of tyrannosauroid and ornithomimidae, ornithomimid elements with no distinguishing characteristics, rendering the species a chimera and a ''nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
''. In 2018, Brownstein stated that a tibia of ''L. macropus'' catalogued as specimen AMNH FARB 2550 represents a tyrannosauroid that probably was distinct from ''Dryptosaurus'', but not sufficiently to base a taxon on.
That Which Cannot Be Named
"That Which Cannot Be Named" is the name given by Darren Naish
Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator.
As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including '' Eotyrannus'', ''Xeno ...
to an undescribed associated skeleton of a small coelurosaur from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight. The specimen is in private ownership and is currently inaccessible to researchers. It has been suggested that the specimen is possibly a tyrannosauroid.
Tiantaisaurus
"Tiantaisaurus", alternatively spelled "Tiantaiosaurus", is the name given to a specimen of therizinosaur from the Aptian age Laijia Formation of Zhejiang Province, China. According to correspondence through the Dinosaur Mailing List, the former name (from a 2012 study) was the one intended to be use for an official description. After being discovered in 2005, it was first mentioned named in an unpublished manuscript written in 2007. The given species was named "T. sifengensis". The specimen consists of an ischium, an astragalus
''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to te ...
, a tibia, a femur, an incomplete pubis (bone), pubis and ilium
Ilium or Ileum may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* Ilion (Asia Minor), former name of Troy
* Ilium (Epirus), an ancient city in Epirus, Greece
* Ilium, ancient name of Cestria (Epirus), an ancient city in Epirus, Greece
* Ilium Building, a ...
, and a large number of vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
from across the body.
Tonouchisaurus
"Tonouchisaurus" (meaning "Tonouchi lizard") is the nomen nudum, informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
Period (geology), Period of Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
. The suggested "type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
", "Tonouchisaurus mongoliensis", was first informally mentioned in a Japanese news article. It was notably small: less than in length. The specimen informally dubbed "Tonouchisaurus mongoliensis" is based on limb material, and the manual and pedal remains were initially reported to incorporate a complete didactyl Manus (zoology), manus and complete pes (zoology), pes, and Rinchen Barsbold therefore initially interpreted "Tonouchisaurus" as a tyrannosauroid, but he later noted that the manus is actually tridactyl and that the pes has a sub-arcometatarsalian condition.
U
Ubirajara
"Ubirajara jubatus, Ubirajara" (meaning "Lord of the Spear") is an informal genus of compsognathid theropod known from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil; it was discovered in 1995 and was named in 2020 in an "In Press" article that was later withdrawn due to the specimen having been apparently illegally smuggled from Brazil to Germany.
V
Vectensia
In 1982 Justin Delair informally named the genus "Vectensia" based on specimen GH 981.45, an armour plate. Like the holotype of ''Polacanthus'' it was found at Barnes High, but reportedly in an older layer, of the Wessex Formation, Lower Wessex Formation. Blows in 1987 tentatively referred it to ''Polacanthus''.[Blows W.T. (1987). The armoured dinosaur ''Polacanthus foxi'', from the Lower Cretaceous of the ]Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
, Palaeontology. 30, 557–580
Vitakridrinda
"Vitakridrinda" is 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 ...
of abelisaurid theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
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 Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, western Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The intended type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
is "V. sulaimani''"''. The discovery was made (along with other dinosaur specimens) near Vitariki by a team of palaeontologists from the Geological Survey of Pakistan, in rocks from the Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
-age Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
. Formally described in 2006 by M.S. Malkani, the genus is based on partial remains including two femur, thigh bones, a braincase, and a tooth. A partial snout was later found that Malkani assigned to the holotype, and additional vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characterist ...
e may also belong to this genus. However, the snout was later reclassified as a new genus of mesoeucrocodylian, ''Induszalim''. Thomas R. Holtz Jr., Thomas Holtz gave a possible length of 6 meters (19.7 feet). It is, however, a possible ''nomen nudum''.
Vitakrisaurus
"Vitakrisaurus" is 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 ...
of noasaurid theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
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 ...
s represented by only one known species, "Vitakrisaurus saraiki", which is the intended type species. It lived in the late Cretaceous period, approximately 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...
, in what is today the Indian subcontinent. Its fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s were found in Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
's Vitakri Formation. The holotype specimen, MSM-303-2 is a right foot with a seemingly tridactyl form and robust phalanges. It may belong to Noasauridae due to similarities with the foot of ''Velocisaurus'', although inconsistencies within its brief description and a lack of comparison with other Theropoda, theropods within the article makes formal classification difficult.
The generic name references the Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation
The Pab Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. It is dominated by Sandstone, with minor mudstone and shale components. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the format ...
and combines this with the Greek suffix "saurus", meaning "reptile". The specific name honours the Saraiki people, who primarily live in southern Pakistan. However, like most dinosaur taxa named by M. Sadiq Malkani, it is probably a ''nomen nudum''.
W
White Rock spinosaurid
"White Rock spinosaurid" is the nickname of a giant spinosaur from the Vectis Formation of the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
described in 2022. Its remains are so fragmentary that the describers refrained from naming it, but considered the name "Vectispinus". With vertebrae comparable in dimensions to ''Spinosaurus'', it was likely among the largest theropods with a length exceeding .
X
Xinghesaurus
"Xinghesaurus" was the name given to a species of 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, possibly a titanosauriform, in 2009, in the guidebook for the dinosaur expo "Miracle of Deserts", written by Hasegawa ''et al.''. No species name was given for the genus. Based on the skeletal mount, "Xinghesaurus" was likely around long and weighed around .
Y
Yibinosaurus
"Yibinosaurus" (meaning "Yibin lizard") is the nomen nudum, informal name given to an as yet undescribed 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 ...
of herbivorous
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 mouthpart ...
dinosaur from the Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma  ...
. It was a 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 ...
which lived in what is now Sichuan, China. The suggested "type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
", "Yibinosaurus zhoui", is briefly mentioned in the Chongqing Natural History Museum guidebook (2001) as under description by Chinese paleontologist Ouyang Hui. It was coined as a ''nomen ex dissertationae'' by Ouyang (2003), and is based on a specimen referred to ''Gongxianosaurus'' sp. nov. by Luo and Wang (1999).
Yuanmouraptor
"Yuanmouraptor" or "Yuenmeuraptor" is an informally named carnosaur from Yuanmou County, China. It lived during the Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...
, around 174 and 163 million years ago, and it is known from ZLJ0115, which is a complete, articulated skull on display at an unknown Chinese museum (possibly the Lufeng Dinosaur Museum), alongside a reconstructed skeleton of "Yuanmouraptor". "Yuanmouraptor" was briefly mentioned in a 2014 guide book.
Yunxianosaurus
"Yunxianosaurus" is the provisional name for a genus of titanosaurian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of what is now Hubei Province, China. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
, "Yunxianosaurus hubeinensis", was proposed by Chinese people, Chinese 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 ...
Li Zhengqi in 2001. The fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s of "Yunxianosaurus" were found near the Nanyang, Henan, Nanyang Prefecture. Li stated that the name "Yunxianosaurus" was a temporary label for ease of description, but that further field work and study of the fossils would be required before the genus could be given an official name.[Li, Zhengqi. (2001). Distribution, burying and classification of dinosaur fossils in Upper Cretaceous strata at Meipu Town, Yunxian County of Hubei Province. ''Hubei Geology & Mineral Resources'', 15(4)(Total No 37): 25–31]
/ref>
Z
Zamyn Khondt oviraptorid
Zamyn Khondt oviraptorid is a nickname for oviraptorid specimen IGM or GIN 100/42. Since the type skull of ''Oviraptor'' is so poorly preserved and crushed, the skull of IGM 100/42 has become the quintessential depiction of that dinosaur, even appearing in scientific papers with the label ''Oviraptor philoceratops''.[Barsbold, R., Teresa Maryańska, Maryanska, T., and Osmolska, H. (1990). "Oviraptorosauria," in Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmolska, H. (eds.). ''The Dinosauria''. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 249–258.] However, this distinctive-looking, tall-crested species has more features of the skull in common with ''Citipati'' than it does with ''Oviraptor'' and it may represent a second species of ''Citipati osmolskae, Citipati'' or possibly an entirely new genus, pending further study.[Clark, J.M., Norell, M.A., & Barsbold, R. (2001). "Two new oviraptorids (Theropoda:Oviraptorosauria), upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia." ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 21(2):209–213., June 2001.]
See also
*List of dinosaur genera
References
External links
Theropod Database Blog post clarifying sauropod ''nomina nuda'' from Zhao (1985)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Informally named dinosaurs
Lists of prehistoric reptiles
Dinosaur-related lists
Lists of prehistoric animal genera (alphabetic)
Nomina nuda