Ponerosteus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ponerosteus Fossil range: Upper Cretaceous |
||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Species | ||||||||||||||
|
Ponerosteus is a dubious genus of archosaur which was first identified as "Iguanodon exogirarum" by Antonin Fritsch in 1878 for a specimen from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous of the Czech Republic). He later (1905) renamed it Procerosaurus, unaware that this name was already in use (von Huene, 1902). It was renamed Ponerosteus exogyrarum (species name amended) by George Olshevsky in 2000; however, the taxon is considered a nomen dubium by most, as the type material is extremely poor, being apparently an internal cast of a tibia from an animal that may or may not be a dinosaur. The name Ponerosteus can be translated as "bad", "worthless", or "useless bone", which accurately describes the nature of the material.
[edit] External links
- George Olshevsky expands on the history of the taxon, on the Dinosaur Mailing List
- Dinosauromorpha