Open Paleo

Piveteausaurus

Taquet & Welles, 1977 peev-toh-SAWR-us

Named after French paleontologist Jean Piveteau, who first described the type specimen, combined with Greek sauros (lizard); meaning "Jean Piveteau's lizard".

165.3–161.5 million years ago Callovian, Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic stages

Piveteausaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur known from a partial skull discovered in the Middle Jurassic (164.7 to 161.2 million years ago) Marnes de Dives of Calvados, northern France. In 2012, Thomas Holtz gave a possible length of 11 meters (36 ft).

Diagnosis

  1. Theropod with wide, long parietal table
  2. Paroccipital processes beneath the condyle
  3. Tuberous processes wide and moderately long
  4. Very small foramen magnum
  5. Massive sphenethmoid
  6. Deep, thick, and low parasphenoid
  7. Basipterygoid processes short and close together

Species

Piveteausaurus divesensis Taquet & Welles, 1977

Type species

Named for Dives, the town in Normandy, France, near which the holotype braincase was found.

Holotype
MNHN 1920-7 , Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Material
Partial braincase
Horizon
Marnes de Dives Formation, Callovian, Middle Jurassic , 165.3–161.5 million years ago
Locality
Vaches Noires, near Dives, Calvados, France

References

  1. Taquet, P.; Welles, S. P. (1977). Redescription du crâne de dinosaure théropode de Dives (Normandie) [Redescription of a theropod dinosaur skull from Dives (Normandy)]. Annales de Paléontologie (Vertébrés) 63(2): 191-206. taquet1977a