Liassaurus
Encyclopedia
"Liassaurus" is the informal name given to an as yet undescribed genus
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 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 Early Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

. It was a probable ceratosaur which lived in what is now 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...

. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

, "L. huenei", was coined by Welles, H.P. Powell, and Stephan Pickering in 1995 and was approximately 6 meters long.

The name "Liassaurus" comes from "Lias", another name for the Early Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

, a fitting name for this animal, which lived around 200 million years ago, during the Sinemurian
Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age or stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 196.5 ± 2 Ma and 189.6 ± 1.5 Ma...

 stage. Although mentioned in papers as far back as 1995, "Liassaurus" has never been formally described; it is thus a nomen nudum
Nomen nudum
The phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...

. The species name honors well-known paleontologist 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:...

. "Liassaurus" may in fact be the same animal as Sarcosaurus
Sarcosaurus
Sarcosaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur, either a coelophysoid or a basal ceratosaur, roughly 3.5 meters long. It lived during the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic, about 194 million years ago....

.
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