Ponerosteus

Ponerosteus is a dubious genus of extinct archosauromorph from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-aged) Korycanar Formation of the Czech Republic that was initially identified as a species of the dinosaur Iguanodon.[1]

Ponerosteus
Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous,
Holotype tibia of P. exogyrarum (National Museum in Prague)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Genus: †Ponerosteus
Olshevsky, 2000
Species:
†P. exogyrarum
Binomial name
†Ponerosteus exogyrarum
(Fritsch, 1878)
Synonyms
  • Iguanodon exogirarum Fritsch, 1878
  • Iguanodon exogyrarum (Fritsch, 1878) vide Chure & McIntosh, 1989
  • Iguanodon exogirarus Brinkmann, 1988
  • Procerosaurus Fritch, 1905 (preocccupied)
  • Procerosaurus exogirarum Brinkmann, 1988
  • Procerosaurus exogirarus Brinkmann, 1988

The type, and currently only, species is P. exogyrarum.[2]

Discovery and naming

The holotype, NAMU Ob 40, consisting solely of an internal cast of a tibia, was discovered near Holubice, Kralupy nad Vltavou, and was first identified as a dinosaur, which was named "Iguanodon exogirarum" (later "Iguanodon exogyrarum") by Antonín Frič in 1878.[1][3] He later (1905) renamed it Procerosaurus,[4] unaware that this name was already in use (von Huene, 1902[5]) for what is now a synonym of Tanystropheus. NAMU Ob 40 was renamed Ponerosteus exogyrarum (species name amended) by George Olshevsky in 2000, and Olshevsky considered Ponerosteus to be a nomen dubium;[2] the holotype has since been put on display at the National Museum in Prague.[2]

The name Ponerosteus can be translated as "bad", "worthless", or "useless bone", which describes the fragmentary nature of the holotype.[6]

Classification

Although initially identified as being a dinosaur belonging to the genus Iguanodon,[1] Ponerosteus is currently classified within Archosauromorpha.[2]

References
  1. Fritsch, A. (1878). Die Reptilien und Fische der Böhmischen Kreideformation. Selbstverlag, Prague, 46 pp.
  2. G. Olshevsky. (2000). An annotated checklist of dinosaur species by continent. Mesozoic Meanderings 3:1-157
  3. https://dinosaurusblog.com/2015/07/28/druhohorni-plazi-v-cechach-iv/ Article about Ponerosteus find (in Czech)
  4. Fritsch, A., (1905). "Synopsis der Saurier der böhm. Kreideformation" [Synopsis of the saurians of the Bohemian Cretaceous formation]. Sitzungsberichte der königlich-böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, II Classe. 1905(8), 1–7.
  5. Huene F. v., (1902). Übersicht über die Reptilien der Trias [Review of the Reptilia of the Triassic]. Geologische und Paläontologische Abhandlungen. 6, 1-84.
  6. George Olshevsky expands on the history of the taxon, on the Dinosaur Mailing List


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