Marmarospondylus
From Greek 'marmaros' (marble, referencing the Forest Marble Formation where it was found) and 'spondylos' (vertebra); meaning 'marble vertebra'.
Marmarospondylus is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaur from Middle Jurassic deposits in the English Midlands.
Under dispute
Marmarospondylus robustus is a nomen dubium based on a single dorsal vertebra. Owen (1874) described the material as Bothriospondylus robustus and mentioned the name Marmarospondylus only conditionally, as a possible generic distinction should the vertebral taxon prove separable. It is regarded as an indeterminate macronarian (Mannion, 2010) and placed conservatively at Macronaria incertae sedis.
Species
Marmarospondylus robustus Owen, 1874 Nomen dubium
Type species
From Latin 'robustus' meaning 'robust' or 'strong', likely referring to the sturdy morphology of the holotype dorsal vertebra.
- Holotype
- NHMUK PV R 22428 , Natural History Museum
- Material
- Dorso-lumbar vertebral centrum; figured in Plate VI.
- Horizon
- Forest Marble Formation, Bathonian, Middle Jurassic , 168.2–165.3 million years ago
- Locality
- Wiltshire, United Kingdom
References
- Owen, R. (1874). A monograph on the British fossil reptilia of the Mesozoic formations. Palaeontographical Society. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.100403 owen1874a
-
Mannion, P. D. (2010). A revision of the sauropod dinosaur genus 'Bothriospondylus' with a redescription of the type material of the Middle Jurassic form 'B. madagascariensis'. Palaeontology 53(2): 277-296. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2009.00919.x
Regarded Marmarospondylus material as an indeterminate macronarian in their Bothriospondylus revision.
mannion2010a