Open Paleo

Fabrosaurus

Ginsburg, 1964 FAB-rə-SOR-əs /ˌfæbrəˈsɔːrəs/ Nomen dubium

From Fabre (honoring Jean Fabre, the French geologist who collected the holotype with Ginsburg's expedition) and Greek sauros (lizard); meaning "Fabre's lizard".

201.4–192.9 million years ago Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Fabrosaurus is a dubious extinct genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic during the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages (199–189 mya).

Under dispute

Fabrosaurus is based on a fragmentary dentary from the Early Jurassic of Lesotho. Charig and Crompton (1974) and Sereno (1991) regard it as a nomen dubium and its holotype as an indeterminate ornithischian, Sereno noting that its tooth crowns correspond in detail with those of Lesothosaurus; Galton (1978) considered it probably valid. The former family Fabrosauridae erected around it is no longer recognized.

Species

Fabrosaurus australis Ginsburg, 1964 Nomen dubium

Type species

From Latin australis ("southern"), referring to the southern hemisphere locality of origin.

Holotype
MNHN LES 9 , Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Material
Fragment of right mandible bearing three teeth.
Horizon
upper Elliot Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
Likhoele, Mafeteng, Lesotho

References

  1. Ginsburg, L. (1964). Découverte d'un Scélidosaurien (Dinosaure Ornithischien) dans le Trias supérieur du Basutoland [Discovery of a scelidosaurian (ornithischian dinosaur) in the Upper Triassic of Basutoland]. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences 258: 2366-2368.

    Erects Fabrosaurus australis on a partial right mandible with three teeth from the Stormberg Group at Likhoele (Lesotho); originally classified as scelidosaurid and dated Upper Triassic.

    ginsburg1964a
  2. Charig, A. J.; Crompton, A. W. (1974). The alleged synonymy of Lycorhinus and Heterodontosaurus. Annals of the South African Museum 64: 167-189.

    Rules Fabrosaurus a nomen dubium: the holotype has no distinguishing features beyond the teeth, which are diagnostic of a family rather than a genus, so the taxon is indeterminate.

    charig1974a
  3. Galton, P. M. (1978). Fabrosauridae, the basal family of ornithischian dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithopoda). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 52(1-2): 138-159. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/bf03006735

    Disagrees with Charig and Crompton (1974) calling F. australis nomen dubium; considers it probably valid (holotype MNHN LES 9). Erects Lesothosaurus diagnosticus on Thulborn's referred material.

    galton1978a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length estimate.

    jones2026a
  5. Sereno, P. C. (1991). Lesothosaurus, 'fabrosaurids,' and the early evolution of Ornithischia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 11(2): 168-197. doi:10.1080/02724634.1991.10011386

    Gives the upper Elliot Formation for Lesothosaurus material from the same Likhoele locality. Regards Fabrosaurus as a nomen dubium.

    sereno1991a
  6. Bordy, E. M.; Eriksson, P. (2015). Lithostratigraphy of the Elliot Formation (Karoo Supergroup), South Africa. South African Journal of Geology 118(3): 311-316. doi:10.2113/gssajg.118.3.311

    Lithostratigraphic authority for the Elliot Formation, the modern name for the beds Ginsburg called the upper Red Beds.

    bordy2015a