Hypselospinus

Hypselospinus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 140 Ma
↓
Restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Clade:Dinosauria
Order:†Ornithischia
Suborder:†Ornithopoda
Clade:†Ankylopollexia
Clade:†Styracosterna
Genus:†Hypselospinus
Norman, 2010
Species: †H. fittoni
Binomial name
Hypselospinus fittoni
(Lydekker, 1889 [originally Iguanodon fittoni])
Synonyms

Hypselospinus is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of Iguanodon (I. fittoni) by Richard Lydekker in 1889, the specific name honouring William Henry Fitton.[1]

In May 2010 the fossils comprising Hypselospinus were by David Norman reclassified as a separate genus, among them the holotype BMNH R1635, consisting of a left ilium, a sacrum, tail vertebrae and teeth. The generic name is derived from Greek hypselos, "high" and Latin spina, "thorn", in reference to the high vertebral spines. Later that same year, a second group of scientists independently re-classified I. fittoni into a new genus they named Wadhurstia,[2] which thus is a junior objective synonym of Hypselospinus. Hypselospinus lived during the lower Valanginian stage, around 140 million years ago.[2][3] A contemporary of Barilium (also once thought to be a species of Iguanodon), Hypselospinus was a lightly built iguanodontian estimated at 6 metres (19.7 ft) long.[4] The species Iguanodon fittoni was described from the lower Valanginian-age Lower Cretaceous Wadhurst Clay[2] of East Sussex, England.[5] Remains from Spain may also pertain to it. Norman (2004) wrote that three partial skeletons are known for it,[5] but this is an error.[6]

Hypselospinus is separated from Barilium on the basis of vertebral and pelvic characters, size, and build.[4] For example, Barilium was more robust than Hypselospinus, with large Camptosaurus-like vertebrae featuring short neural spines, whereas Hypselospinus is known for its "long, narrow, and steeply inclined neural spines".[5]

References

  1. ↑ Lydekker, Richard (1889). "On the remains and affinities of five genera of Mesozoic reptiles". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 45: 41–59. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1889.045.01-04.04.
  2. 1 2 3 Carpenter, K. and Ishida, Y. (2010). "Early and “Middle” Cretaceous Iguanodonts in Time and Space." Journal of Iberian Geology, 36 (2): 145-164.
  3. ↑ Norman, David B. (2010). "A taxonomy of iguanodontians (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the lower Wealden Group (Cretaceous: Valanginian) of southern England" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2489: 47–66.
  4. 1 2 Blows, W. T. (1997). "A review of Lower and middle Cretaceous dinosaurs from England". In Lucas, S.G.; Kirkland, J.I.; Estep J.W. (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 14. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. pp. 29–38.
  5. 1 2 3 Norman, David B. (2004). "Basal Iguanodontia". In Weishampel, D.B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska H. (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 413–437. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
  6. ↑ Naish, Darren; Martill, David M. (2008). "Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: Ornithischia". Journal of the Geological Society, London. 165 (3): 613–623. doi:10.1144/0016-76492007-154.
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