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Gryponyx

Broom, 1911 GRIP-on-iks Disputed

Hooked-claw; from Greek grypos (hooked) and onyx (claw)

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

Gryponyx is an extinct genus of massopod sauropodomorph known from southern Free State, central South Africa.

Under dispute

Gryponyx africanus, known from a largely complete postcranial skeleton, was treated as a junior synonym of Massospondylus carinatus (Galton, 1990) and later as a nomen dubium (Galton and Upchurch, 2004). Vasconcelos and Yates (2004) revived it as a basal massospondylid, and McPhee and colleagues (2017) note that it may be distinct from Massospondylus, though Yates and colleagues (2011) report lingering doubts. Barrett and colleagues (2019) observe that the earlier decisions rested on provenance rather than on detailed consideration of anatomy.

Diagnosis

  1. Iliac crest much straighter than in Plateosaurus or Teratosaurus, with an unusually small anterior iliac spine
  2. Pubes and ischia form a complete symphysis with no opening from front of pubis to posterior end of ischium
  3. Femur with trochanter minor smaller and third trochanter positioned more to the inner side of the bone compared to Plateosaurus
  4. Carpus with seven elements including a very large first distal carpale (56 mm length) articulating with most of the first metacarpal
  5. Pollex ungual phalanx huge (~105 mm), with large bony process for flexor tendon insertion and marked vascular groove on radial side
  6. Claw of second pedal digit with sharp outer side and rounded inner side, forming a combing or scraping edge

Species

Gryponyx africanus Broom, 1911 Disputed

Type species

From Latin 'africanus' meaning 'African', after Africa, where the holotype was discovered in South Africa.

Holotype
SAM 3357, SAM 3358, SAM 3359 , Iziko South African Museum
Material
Both right and left manus, most dorsal vertebrae, whole pelvis, both hind limbs, and right pes.
Horizon
upper Elliot Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
Foutani farm, near Fouriesburg, Free State, South Africa Broom (1911) names the unit only as the Red beds. Haughton (1924) records Gryponyx africanus at Fouriesburg with Massospondylus, which he finds from about half-way up that sequence to near the top, and spells the farm Foutanie, against Broom's Foutani.

References

  1. Broom, R. (1911). On the dinosaurs of the Stormberg, South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 7(4): 291-308.

    Records the type material from the farm Foutani, near Fouriesburg in the Orange Free State, and from the Red beds of the Stormberg Series.

    broom1911a
  2. Vasconcelos, C. C.; Yates, A. M. (2004). Sauropodomorph biodiversity of the upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of southern Africa. Geoscience Africa, Abstract Volume 2: 670.

    Revived Gryponyx africanus as a basal massospondylid, as reported by Knoll (2010).

    vasconcelos2004a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Treats the status of Gryponyx africanus as uncertain.

    jones2026b
  4. Haughton, S. H. (1924). The fauna and stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series. Annals of the South African Museum 12: 323-497. haughton1924a
  5. Galton, P. M. (1990). Basal Sauropodomorpha-Prosauropoda. The Dinosauria (Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H., eds.) 320-344. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Listed Gryponyx africanus as a junior synonym of Massospondylus carinatus.

    galton1990a
  6. Galton, P. M.; Upchurch, P. (2004). Prosauropoda. The Dinosauria, Second Edition (Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H., eds.) 232-258. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Listed Gryponyx africanus among the nomina dubia of Prosauropoda.

    galton2004a
  7. Knoll, F. (2010). A primitive sauropodomorph from the upper Elliot Formation of Lesotho. Geological Magazine 147(6): 814-829. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s001675681000018x

    Reports the revival of Gryponyx africanus as a basal massospondylid by Vasconcelos and Yates (2004).

    knoll2010a
  8. Yates, A. M.; Bonnan, M. F.; Neveling, J. (2011). A new basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(3): 610-625. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.560626

    Reports the revival of Gryponyx africanus, noting lingering doubts about its distinctiveness.

    yates2011a
  9. McPhee, B. W.; Bordy, E. M.; Sciscio, L.; Choiniere, J. N. (2017). The sauropodomorph biostratigraphy of the Elliot Formation of southern Africa: tracking the evolution of Sauropodomorpha across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 62(3): 441-465.

    Notes the suggestion that Gryponyx may be distinct from Massospondylus.

    mcphee2017b
  10. Barrett, P. M.; Chapelle, K. E. J.; Staunton, C. K.; Botha, J.; Choiniere, J. N. (2019). Postcranial osteology of the neotype specimen of Massospondylus carinatus Owen, 1854 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the upper Elliot Formation of South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 53: 114-178.

    Notes that earlier synonymy and nomen dubium decisions rested on provenance rather than anatomy.

    barrett2019a