Lepidus praecisio

Lepidus is a genus of extinct coelophysoidean theropod from the Upper Triassic of the United States. It lived in the Otis Chalk localities of the Dockum Group in Texas, around 223 million years ago.[1]

Lepidus praecisio
Temporal range: Upper Triassic, 223 Ma
↓
Holotype ankle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Coelophysidae
Genus: †Lepidus
Nesbitt & Ezcurra, 2015[1]
Species:
†L. praecisio
Binomial name
†Lepidus praecisio

Discovery
Hypothetical restoration

It was first described in 2015 by Nesbitt & Ezcurra, who decided it warranted a new taxon, which they named Lepidus praecisio. The generic name is Latin for "fascinating", and the specific name is Latin for "fragment", or "scrap". The holotype material includes a tibia, astragalus, and fibula, and other referred material includes a femur and maxilla. The holotypic material is well preserved and shows signs of muscle scars. The astragalus and calcaneum are clearly fused into one bone, with no visible suture. The tibia resembles that of neotheropods, in overall morphology. The shape of the tibia resembles the same in Camposaurus, Coelophysis, Tawa, Eodromaeus, and Herrerasaurus.[1]

Lepidus was one of eighteen dinosaur taxa from 2015 to be described in open access or free-to-read journals.[2]

Classification
Partial maxilla which may have belonged to the holotype

A phylogenetic analysis was conducted, including with and without referred material. The results are shown below:

Neotheropoda
 

Liliensternus

 
 

Zupaysaurus

 
 

Lepidus (holotype + referred)

 
Coelophysoidea
 

Syntarsus kayentakatae

 
 
 

Lepidus (holotype)

 
 
 

Coelophysis bauri

 
 
 

Coelophysis rhodesiensis

 
 

Camposaurus arizonensis

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dilophosaurus

 
 

Cryolophosaurus

 
 
 

Tetanurae

 
 

Ceratosaurus

 
 
 
 

See also

References
  1. Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Ezcurra, Martin D. (13 July 2015). "The early fossil record of dinosaurs in North America: A new neotheropod from the base of the Upper Triassic Dockum Group of Texas" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 60. doi:10.4202/app.00143.2014.
  2. "The Open Access Dinosaurs of 2015". PLOS Paleo.


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