''Gigantosaurus'' () is a dubious genus of Sauropod

dinosaur 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 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

from the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...

Kimmeridge Clay Formation The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary rock, sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation (geology), form ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

, ''Gigantosaurus megalonyx'', was named and described by Harry Govier Seeley in 1869.

History

Its

syntype In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part o ...

series consists of several separately discovered sauropod bones found in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

in 1862, including two caudal (tail) vertebrae (CAMSM J.29477 and CAMSM J.29478), the

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

end of a

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

(CAMSM J.29483), a cast of the right

radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

(CAMSM J.29482), a cast of

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

(CAMSM J.29479) and an

osteoderm 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 amph ...

(CAMSM J.29481). It was synonymised to ''

Ornithopsis ''Ornithopsis'' (meaning "bird-likeness") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, from the Early Cretaceous of England and possibly Germany. The type species, which is the only species seen as valid today, is ''O. hulkei,'' which is only known from frag ...

humerocristatus'' by

Richard Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was a British naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. He was known for his contributions to zoology, paleontology, and biogeography. He worked extensively in cata ...

in 1888Lydekker, R. (1888). ''Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I. Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria.'' British Museum (Natural History):London, 1-309. and to ''

Pelorosaurus ''Pelorosaurus'' ( ; meaning "monstrous lizard") is a genus of Titanosauriformes, titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur. Remains referred to ''Pelorosaurus'' date from the Early Cretaceous period, about 140–125 million years ago, and have been foun ...

'' by

Friedrich von Huene Baron Friedrich Richard von Hoyningen-Huene (22 March 1875 – 4 April 1969) was a German nobleman paleontologist who described a large number of dinosaurs, more than anyone else in 20th-century Europe. He studied a range of Permo-Carbonife ...

in 1909. Today it is 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 ...

''. In 1908, because of these references, Eberhard Fraas incorrectly assumed that the name was available for other species, so he used it, despite the other uses, for African material totally unrelated to the British finds.Fraas, E. (1908), "Ostafrikanische dinosaurier". ''Palaeontographica'', 55:105-1 As a result, the name ''Gigantosaurus'' factored into the convoluted taxonomic history of the dinosaurs ''

Barosaurus ''Barosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of giant, long-tailed, long-necked, herbivore, plant-eating Sauropoda, sauropod dinosaur closely related to the more familiar ''Diplodocus''. Remains have been found in the Morrison Formation from the Jurassic, Up ...

'', ''

Tornieria ''Tornieria'' ("for Gustav Tornier, Tornier") is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic in Lindi Region of Tanzania. It has a convoluted taxonomy, taxonomic history. Discovery and naming In 1907, German paleontologist E ...

'', and ''

Janenschia ''Janenschia'' (named after Werner Janensch) is a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of Lindi Region, Tanzania around 155 million years ago. Discovery and naming ''Janenschia'' has had a convoluted nom ...

''. A discussion of this can be found in the main ''

'' article.

References

Sauropoda Dinosaur genera Kimmeridgian dinosaurs Fossil taxa described in 1869 Taxa named by Harry Seeley Dinosaurs of the United Kingdom {{Sauropodomorph-stub