Acanthopholis
Encyclopedia
Acanthopholis is a genus
of ankylosaurian dinosaur
in the family Nodosauridae
that lived during the Early Cretaceous
Period of England
.
Around 1865 commercial fossil collector John Griffiths found some dinosaurian remains, including osteoderm
s, at the shoreline near Folkestone
in Kent
, which he sold to the metallurgist Dr. John Percy. Percy brought them to the attention of Thomas Henry Huxley, who paid Griffiths to dig up all fossils he could find at the site. Despite being hampered by the fact that it was located between the tidemarks, he managed to uncover several additional bones and parts of the body armour.
In 1867 Huxley named the genus and species Acanthopholis horridus. The dinosaur's generic name refers to its armour
, being derived from Greek
ακανθα akantha meaning 'spine' or 'thorn' and φόλις pholis meaning 'scale'. The specific name horridus means 'frightening' or 'rough' in Latin
. Arthur Smith Woodward
emended the species name to Acanthopholis horrida in 1890 because pholis is feminine.
The type specimens, cotypes GSM 109045-GSM 109058, were found in the Cambridge Greensand
, a formation itself dating to the Albian
to Cenomanian
stages
around 100 million years ago, but containing reworked material from much older stages. The specimens consist of three teeth, a basicranium, a dorsal vertebra, spikes and scutes.
In 1869 Harry Govier Seeley named several new species of the genus: Acanthopholis macrocercus, based on specimens SMC B55599-55609; Acanthopholis platypus (SMC B55454, SMC B55455-55460); Acanthopholis stereocercus (SMC B5558-55560, B55562, B55566-55568, B55569) and Acanthopholis eucercus (SMC 55551-SMC 55557). In 1878 Seeley named Acanthopholis tanyspondylus which he would rename Eucercosaurus
tanyspondylus in 1879. That same year Seeley split the material of Acanthopholis stereocercus and based a new species of Anoplosaurus
on part of it: Anoplosaurus major. In 1902 however Franz Nopcsa changed it into another species of Acanthopholis: Acanthopholis major. Nopcsa at the same time renamed Anoplosaurus curtonotus into Acanthopholis curtonotus. In 1879 Seeley named the genus Syngonosaurus based on part of the type material of A. macrocercus. In 1956 Friedrich von Huene
renamed A. platypus into Macrurosaurus
platypus.
In 1999 Xabier Pereda-Superbiola and Paul M. Barrett reviewed all Acanthopholis material. They concluded that all species were nomina dubia
: invalid names based on types which were not distinctive beyond being nodosaurid in origin. The bones of the specimens are disarticulated and often fragmentary; of some it is highly doubtful whether they are even ankylosaurian. They also found two previously unpublished names which Seeley had used to label museum specimens: "Acanthopholis hughesii" indicated SMC B55463-55490 and "Acanthopholis keepingi" SMC B55491-55526. Both names were not proposed by them as new species and are nomina nuda
.
Acanthopholis's armour consisted of oval keeled plates set almost horizontally into the skin, with long spikes protruding from the neck and shoulder area, along the spine. Acanthopholis was quadruped
al and herbivorous
. Its size has been estimated to be in the range of 3 to 5.5 meters (10 to 18 ft) long and approximately 380 kilograms (840 lb) in weight.
Acanthopholis was originally assigned to the Scelidosauridae by Huxley. In 1923 Nopcsa created a separate family Acanthopholidae. Today Acanthopholis is considered a member of the Nodosauridae
within the Ankylosauria
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of ankylosaurian dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
in the family Nodosauridae
Nodosauridae
Nodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs, from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous Period of what are now North America, Asia, Antarctica and Europe.-Characteristics:...
that lived during the Early Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
Period of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Around 1865 commercial fossil collector John Griffiths found some dinosaurian remains, including osteoderm
Osteoderm
Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates or other structures in the dermal layers of the skin. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles, including lizards, various groups of dinosaurs , crocodilians, phytosaurs, aetosaurs, placodonts, and hupehsuchians...
s, at the shoreline near Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, which he sold to the metallurgist Dr. John Percy. Percy brought them to the attention of Thomas Henry Huxley, who paid Griffiths to dig up all fossils he could find at the site. Despite being hampered by the fact that it was located between the tidemarks, he managed to uncover several additional bones and parts of the body armour.
In 1867 Huxley named the genus and species Acanthopholis horridus. The dinosaur's generic name refers to its armour
Armour (zoology)
Armour in animals is external or superficial protection against attack by predators, formed as part of the body , usually through the hardening of body tissues, outgrowths or secretions. It has therefore mostly developed in 'prey' species...
, being derived from Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
ακανθα akantha meaning 'spine' or 'thorn' and φόλις pholis meaning 'scale'. The specific name horridus means 'frightening' or 'rough' in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Arthur Smith Woodward
Arthur Smith Woodward
Sir Arthur Smith Woodward was an English palaeontologist.-Biography:Woodward was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and was educated there and at Owens College, Manchester. He joined the staff of the Department of Geology at the Natural History Museum in 1882. He became assistant Keeper of...
emended the species name to Acanthopholis horrida in 1890 because pholis is feminine.
The type specimens, cotypes GSM 109045-GSM 109058, were found in the Cambridge Greensand
Cambridge Greensand
The Cambridge Greensand is a geological formation in England whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-Vertebrate paleofauna:...
, a formation itself dating to the Albian
Albian
The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch/series. Its approximate time range is 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 99.6 ± 0.9 Ma...
to Cenomanian
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous series. An age is a unit of geochronology: it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding...
stages
Faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convention have the same name, and the same boundaries.Rock...
around 100 million years ago, but containing reworked material from much older stages. The specimens consist of three teeth, a basicranium, a dorsal vertebra, spikes and scutes.
In 1869 Harry Govier Seeley named several new species of the genus: Acanthopholis macrocercus, based on specimens SMC B55599-55609; Acanthopholis platypus (SMC B55454, SMC B55455-55460); Acanthopholis stereocercus (SMC B5558-55560, B55562, B55566-55568, B55569) and Acanthopholis eucercus (SMC 55551-SMC 55557). In 1878 Seeley named Acanthopholis tanyspondylus which he would rename Eucercosaurus
Eucercosaurus
Eucercosaurus is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. It was an ornithopod discovered in England and first described in 1879. The type species, Eucercosaurus tanyspondylus, was described by British paleontologist Harry Seeley in 1879...
tanyspondylus in 1879. That same year Seeley split the material of Acanthopholis stereocercus and based a new species of Anoplosaurus
Anoplosaurus
Anoplosaurus is an extinct genus of nodosaurid dinosaur, from the late Albian-age Lower Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand of Cambridgeshire, England...
on part of it: Anoplosaurus major. In 1902 however Franz Nopcsa changed it into another species of Acanthopholis: Acanthopholis major. Nopcsa at the same time renamed Anoplosaurus curtonotus into Acanthopholis curtonotus. In 1879 Seeley named the genus Syngonosaurus based on part of the type material of A. macrocercus. In 1956 Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...
renamed A. platypus into Macrurosaurus
Macrurosaurus
Macrurosaurus is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. It was a titanosauriform which lived in what is now Europe....
platypus.
In 1999 Xabier Pereda-Superbiola and Paul M. Barrett reviewed all Acanthopholis material. They concluded that all species were nomina dubia
Nomen dubium
In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
: invalid names based on types which were not distinctive beyond being nodosaurid in origin. The bones of the specimens are disarticulated and often fragmentary; of some it is highly doubtful whether they are even ankylosaurian. They also found two previously unpublished names which Seeley had used to label museum specimens: "Acanthopholis hughesii" indicated SMC B55463-55490 and "Acanthopholis keepingi" SMC B55491-55526. Both names were not proposed by them as new species and are nomina nuda
Nomen nudum
The phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...
.
Acanthopholis's armour consisted of oval keeled plates set almost horizontally into the skin, with long spikes protruding from the neck and shoulder area, along the spine. Acanthopholis was quadruped
Quadruped
Quadrupedalism is a form of land animal locomotion using four limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a quadrupedal manner is known as a quadruped, meaning "four feet"...
al and herbivorous
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
. Its size has been estimated to be in the range of 3 to 5.5 meters (10 to 18 ft) long and approximately 380 kilograms (840 lb) in weight.
Acanthopholis was originally assigned to the Scelidosauridae by Huxley. In 1923 Nopcsa created a separate family Acanthopholidae. Today Acanthopholis is considered a member of the Nodosauridae
Nodosauridae
Nodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian dinosaurs, from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous Period of what are now North America, Asia, Antarctica and Europe.-Characteristics:...
within the Ankylosauria
Ankylosauria
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. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are first known to have appeared in the early Jurassic Period of...
.