Open Paleo

Iuticosaurus

Le Loeuff, 1993 YOO-ti-ko-SAWR-us Nomen dubium

Named after the Jutes (Iuti in Latin), the Germanic people associated with the Isle of Wight; meaning "Jute lizard"

125.8–121.4 million years ago Barremian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Iuticosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight, England. The type and only valid species, Iuticosaurus valdensis, was erected by Le Loeuff (1993) for caudal vertebrae from the Wealden that Huene (1929) had originally named "Titanosaurus" valdensis. It was long regarded as the oldest titanosaur known from Europe.

Under dispute

Iuticosaurus is a nomen dubium. It was erected for "Titanosaurus" valdensis and interpreted as an early titanosaurid (Le Loeuff, 1993), but Wilson and Upchurch (2003) found that its validity "cannot be sustained", and Mannion and colleagues (2013) doubt the titanosaurian affinity of procoelous caudal vertebrae of its kind.

Species

Iuticosaurus valdensis (Huene, 1929) Nomen dubium

Type species

First named as Titanosaurus valdensis

From 'Wealden', for the Lower Cretaceous Wealden strata of the Isle of Wight that yielded the type material.

Lectotype
BMNH R151 , Natural History Museum
Material
Laterally compressed, water-worn middle caudal vertebra centrum.
Horizon
Wessex Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
Brook, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

Synonyms

  • Titanosaurus valdensis reassigned

    Original combination by Huene (1929); recombined into the new genus Iuticosaurus by Le Loeuff (1993), who designated BMNH R151 as lectotype.

References

  1. Huene, F. V. (1929). Los saurisquios y ornitisquios del Cretáceo Argentino [The Saurischians and Ornithischians of the Argentine Cretaceous]. Anales del Museo de La Plata, series 2 3: 1-196.

    Erected the species as Titanosaurus valdensis.

    huene1929a
  2. Le Loeuff, J. (1993). European titanosaurids. Revue de Paléobiologie, Volume Spéciale 7: 105-117.

    Erected Iuticosaurus and recombined the type species as Iuticosaurus valdensis.

    leloeuff1993a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Treats Iuticosaurus as an indeterminate titanosauriform.

    jones2026b
  4. Mannion, P. D.; Upchurch, P.; Barnes, R. N.; Mateus, O. (2013). Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 168(1): 98-206. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1111/zoj.12029

    Doubts the titanosaurian affinity of procoelous caudals such as those of Iuticosaurus.

    mannion2013a
  5. Wilson, J. A.; Upchurch, P. (2003). A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (Dinosauria - Sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a 'Gondwanan' distribution. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 1(3): 125-160. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1017/S1477201903001044

    Refers the lectotype's Wealden beds to the Wessex Formation, and regards the name as a nomen dubium.

    wilson2003b