Oplosaurus
From Greek 'hoplon' (weapon or armor) and 'sauros' (lizard); meaning 'armed or weapon lizard' or 'armored lizard'.
Oplosaurus was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian stage) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. It is known from a single tooth usually referred to the contemporaneous "wastebasket taxon" Pelorosaurus, although there is no solid evidence for this.
Diagnosis
- Crown sabre-shaped and bayonet-shaped with unequal anterior convexity and posterior concavity
- Anterior and posterior edges keeled with indication of third vertical keel on convex face
- Four blunt ridges on external convex surface
- Root nearly cylindrical, enveloped in bony matter indicating Mosasaur-like implantation
- Crown considerably wider than root, distinguishing it from Hylaeosaurus
Species
Oplosaurus armatus Gervais, 1852
Type species
From Latin 'armatus' meaning 'armed', referring either to the weapons of the teeth or to the presumed armored nature of the animal, paralleling the Greek generic name.
- Holotype
- BMNH R964 , Natural History Museum
- Material
- Single tooth. Crown sabre-shaped, 1 inch 15/20ths anteriorly, 2 inches 1/20th posteriorly. Root nearly cylindrical, 1 inch 8/10ths long. Enamel smooth with fine longitudinal striations.
- Horizon
- Wessex Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
- Locality
- Brixton Bay, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
References
-
Wright, T. (1852). Contributions to the palaeontology of the Isle of Wight. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 2: 87-93.
First report announcing the discovery of the sauropod tooth from Brixton Bay, Isle of Wight, before Gervais later formalized the genus Oplosaurus armatus.
wright1852a -
Gervais, P. (1852). Zoologie et paléontologie française (animaux vertébrés). 1-271. A. Bertrand, Paris. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.39473
In French. First edition. Original description of Oplosaurus armatus from the Wealden of the Isle of Wight.
gervais1852a - Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H. (eds.) (2004). The Dinosauria, Second Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley. weishampel2004a