Rutellum

Rutellum is the pre-Linnaean name given to a dinosaur specimen from the Middle Jurassic. It was a sauropod, possibly a cetiosaurid,[1] which lived in what is now England. The specimen, called Rutellum implicatum, was described in 1699 by Edward Lhuyd,[2] and is notable as the earliest named entity that is recognizable as a dinosaur.[1] It was based on a tooth collected from Caswell, near Witney, Oxfordshire.[3]

Because Rutellum implicatum was named before 1758 (the official starting date for zoological nomenclature according to the ICZN), it is not considered a part of modern biological nomenclature.

See also Scrotum.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Delair, J.B., and Sarjeant, W.A.S. (2002). The earliest discoveries of dinosaurs: the records re-examined. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 113:185–197.
  2. ↑ Lhuyd, E. (1699). Lithophylacii Britannici Ichnographia, sive lapidium aliorumque fossilium Britannicorum singulari figura insignium. Gleditsch and Weidmann:London.
  3. ↑ Gunther, R.T. (1945). Early Science in Oxford: Life and Letters of Edward Lhuyd, volume 14. Author:Oxford.