Ischyrosaurus
Encyclopedia
"Ischyrosaurus" was a genus
of sauropod dinosaur
from the Kimmeridgian
-age Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay
of Dorset
, Cambridgeshire
, England
. It is sometimes included with the Early Cretaceous
-age wastebasket taxon Pelorosaurus
, although there is little evidence for this.
(BMNH R41626) found in 1868. John Hulke
described it briefly in 1869, then named it in 1874. The genus is preoccupied by a name Edward Drinker Cope
coined in 1869.
Like most sauropod remains from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Europe
, it became part of the Pelorosaurus
-Ornithopsis
taxonomic tangle, being referred first to Ornithopsis as O. manseli, then to Pelorosaurus as P. manseli.
Upchurch et al., in the most recent review (2004), lists it as a dubious sauropod of unknown affinities. A new name is technically required, but because of the fractured taxonomy of Jurassic-Cretaceous European sauropods, researchers are waiting for better material.
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 sauropod 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...
from the Kimmeridgian
Kimmeridgian
In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age or stage in the Late or Upper Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 155.7 ± 4 Ma and 150.8 ± 4 Ma . The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxfordian and precedes the Tithonian....
-age Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay
Kimmeridge Clay
The Kimmeridge Clay Formation is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Jurassic age. It occurs in Europe.Kimmeridge Clay is arguably the most economically important unit of rocks in the whole of Europe, being the major source rock for oil fields in the North Sea hydrocarbon...
of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, 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...
. It is sometimes included with the Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
-age wastebasket taxon Pelorosaurus
Pelorosaurus
Pelorosaurus was a huge plant-eating dinosaur. Pelorosaurus was one of the first sauropod dinosaurs ever discovered. Pelorosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 138-112 million years ago. Fossils referred to Pelorosaurus have been found in England and Portugal...
, although there is little evidence for this.
History and Taxonomy
"Ischyrosaurus" is based on a partial humerusHumerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
(BMNH R41626) found in 1868. John Hulke
John Hulke
John Whitaker Hulke FRCS FRS FGS was a British surgeon, geologist and fossil collector. He was the son of a physician in Deal, who became a Huxleyite despite being deeply religious....
described it briefly in 1869, then named it in 1874. The genus is preoccupied by a name Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
coined in 1869.
Like most sauropod remains from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, it became part of the Pelorosaurus
Pelorosaurus
Pelorosaurus was a huge plant-eating dinosaur. Pelorosaurus was one of the first sauropod dinosaurs ever discovered. Pelorosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 138-112 million years ago. Fossils referred to Pelorosaurus have been found in England and Portugal...
-Ornithopsis
Ornithopsis
Ornithopsis was a medium-sized Early Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur, from England. It has been considered a synonym of the wastebasket taxon Pelorosaurus, but recent research suggests that this is not as clear-cut as supposed...
taxonomic tangle, being referred first to Ornithopsis as O. manseli, then to Pelorosaurus as P. manseli.
Upchurch et al., in the most recent review (2004), lists it as a dubious sauropod of unknown affinities. A new name is technically required, but because of the fractured taxonomy of Jurassic-Cretaceous European sauropods, researchers are waiting for better material.