Open Paleo

Brachypodosaurus

Chakravarti, 1934 BRAK-ee-POH-doh-SAWR-us Nomen dubium

From Greek "brachys" (short) and "pous" (foot), plus "sauros" (lizard); meaning "short-footed lizard".

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Brachypodosaurus is a dubious genus of dinosaur, possibly an ornithischian, from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation (Maastrichtian) in India.

Under dispute

Brachypodosaurus is a nomen dubium based on a single humerus from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation of India, and even its identification as a dinosaurian humerus has been questioned. Chakravarti (1934) described it as a stegosaur, but Wilson and colleagues (2003) noted that the Indian "stegosaur" material shares no derived characters with Stegosauria. Later workers have treated it as an indeterminate ankylosaur — Maryańska (1977) as ?Ankylosauridae and Ford (2000) as Nodosauridae incertae sedis — while Vickaryous and colleagues (2004) listed it among nomina dubia. The single humerus is too incomplete to place with confidence.

Species

Brachypodosaurus gravis Chakravarti, 1934 Nomen dubium

Type species

From Latin "gravis" (heavy).

Holotype
BHU V9 , Banaras Hindu University
Material
A single humerus.
Horizon
Lameta Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Chota Simla Hill, near Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

References

  1. Chakravarti, D. K. (1934). On a Stegosaurian Humerus from the Lameta Beds of Jubbulpore. The Quarterly Journal of the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Society of India 6(3): 75-79.

    Erects Brachypodosaurus gravis on a single humerus from the Lameta Formation near Jabalpur.

    chakravarti1934a
  2. Maryańska, T. (1977). Ankylosauridae (Dinosauria) from Mongolia. Palaeontologia Polonica 37: 85-151.

    Listed Brachypodosaurus as a nomen dubium, referring the humerus questionably to Ankylosauridae.

    maryańska1977a
  3. Wilson, J. A.; Sereno, P. C.; Srivastava, S.; Bhatt, D. K.; Khosla, A.; Sahni, A. (2003). A new abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lameta Formation (Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of India. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 31(1): 1-42.

    Noted that the Indian "stegosaur" material, including Brachypodosaurus, shares no derived characters with Stegosauria.

    wilson2003a
  4. Vickaryous, M. K.; Maryańska, T.; Weishampel, D. B. (2004). Ankylosauria. The Dinosauria, Second Edition (Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H., eds.) 363-392. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Listed Brachypodosaurus among nomina dubia, its material a single humerus.

    vickaryous2004a
  5. Ford, T. L. (2000). A review of ankylosaur osteoderms from New Mexico and a preliminary review of ankylosaur armor. Dinosaurs of New Mexico 17: 157-176.

    Treated Brachypodosaurus as Nodosauridae incertae sedis and a nomen dubium.

    ford2000a
  6. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Lists Brachypodosaurus among nomina dubia; its stegosaur identification has been challenged.

    jones2026a