Hypselospinus
Temporal range: early Valanginian
~140 Ma
↓
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: †Ornithischia
Clade: †Ornithopoda
Clade: †Ankylopollexia
Clade: †Styracosterna
Genus: †Hypselospinus
Norman, 2010
Species:
†H. fittoni
Binomial name
†Hypselospinus fittoni
(Lydekker, 1889 [originally Iguanodon fittoni])
Synonyms
  • Wadhurstia Carpenter & Ishida, 2010
  • Darwinsaurus? Paul, 2012
  • Huxleysaurus Paul, 2012

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]

History

Metatarsal III foot bone of specimen NHMUK R1148n (formerly assigned to its own genus, Huxleysaurus)

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 remains discovered in 1886 alongside an unnamed ichthyosaur in the lower Valanginian-age Lower Cretaceous Wadhurst Clay[2] of Shornden, 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). "Notes on New and other dinosaurian remains". Geological Magazine. 6 (8): 352–356. Bibcode:1889GeoM....6..352L. doi:10.1017/S0016756800176587.
  2. ^ a b c Carpenter, K. and Ishida, Y. (2010). "Early and “Middle” Cretaceous Iguanodonts in Time and Space.[permanent dead link]" 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. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2489.1.3.
  4. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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. Bibcode:2008JGSoc.165..613N. doi:10.1144/0016-76492007-154. S2CID 129624992.
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