| Podokesaurus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 183 Ma |
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| Holotype specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Superfamily: | Coelophysoidea |
| Family: | Coelophysidae |
| Subfamily: | Podokesaurinae von Huene, 1914 |
| Genus: | Podokesaurus Talbot, 1911 |
| Species | |
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Podokesaurus ("swift-footed lizard") was a small carnivorous dinosaur of the Early Jurassic Period (originally thought to be Late Triassic), and as such is one of the earliest known dinosaurs to inhabit the eastern United States [1]. The small, bipedal carnivore was about 90 cm (3 ft) long and 0.3 m (1 ft) tall. It has been estimated that it could run at 14 – 19 km/h (9 - 12 mph), hence the name. Some researchers believe that it is related to, or identical with the Triassic genus Coelophysis [2].
The only fossil of the type species Podokesaurus holyokensis, the full species name, was recovered in 1910 by Mount Holyoke College professor of geology and geography, Mignon Talbot. It consisted of a split boulder found by Talbot and her sister Elly on a hillock near to the college.[3] The slab and counterslab showed a poorly preserved, incomplete skeleton. Most of the skull is lacking. Talbot made pictures of the stones and sought advise from Richard Swann Lull, an authoritative dinosaur expert. It was formally described in June 1911 by Talbot herself, who thereby became the first woman to name a non-avian dinosaur. The generic name is derived from Greek podokes, "swift-footed", an epitheton often used by Homer in the Ilias to describe the hero Achilles. The specific name refers to Holyoke.[1]
The hillock consists of material deposited by ice and having its probable origin in the Portland Formation. In 1958 a second specimen, BSNH 13656, was referred to the species by Edwin Harris Colbert. It consists of two lower hind limbs and indicates an individual about three times longer.[2] The type specimen might have been a juvenile.
Because of the poor preservation it is hard to find any difference between the remains of Podokesaurus and those of the much better known Coelophysis. From this Colbert concluded in 1964 that Podokesaurus was not a distinct genus but in fact a species of Coelophysis: Coelophysis holyokensis.[3] If so, it would by implication be a member of the Coelophysidae. However, the name Podokesaurus is still commonly used to refer to the material, while being assigned to a more general Coelophysoidea, as the identity is hard to prove and Coelophysis dates from a different period. The matter is complicated because all the original fossil material of Podokesaurus holyokensis was destroyed in a fire in the early twenties, and only casts remain in the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. [4]