Open Paleo

Pterospondylus

Jaekel, 1914 terr-oh-SPON-dih-lus Nomen dubium

From Greek 'pteron' meaning 'wing' and 'spondylos' meaning 'vertebra', meaning 'winged vertebra.' The species name trielbae references the Triassic period and the Elbe River area.

227.3–205.7 million years ago Norian, Late Triassic
Late Triassic stages

Pterospondylus is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic. It was a coelophysid theropod which lived in what is now Germany (Trossingen Formation). The type species, Pterospondylus trielbae, (derived from "Tri", in reference to the Triassic period, and "Elba", for the Elbe River area), was described by Jaekel in 1913-14 for a single back vertebra found inside the shell of the Proganochelys turtle. Sometimes, it is aligned with Procompsognathus, or even considered to be synonymous with it, despite being based on a vertebra that is twice the size of the corresponding bone in Procompsognathus. P. trielbae has no diagnostic features and is therefore considered a nomen dubium.

Under dispute

Pterospondylus is based on a single Late Triassic dorsal vertebra, and its original description assigns it to no clade; it is generally regarded as a nomen dubium and a probable coelophysoid (Rauhut and Hungerbühler, 2000), not a ceratosaur.

Species

Pterospondylus trielbae Jaekel, 1914 Nomen dubium

Type species

Combining 'Tri' in reference to the Triassic period during which the animal lived, and 'Elba' for the Elbe River area of Germany where the specimen was found.

Holotype
MB.R.4233 , Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Material
Incomplete dorsal vertebra.
Horizon
upper Arnstadt Formation, Norian, Late Triassic , 227.3–205.7 million years ago
Locality
Baerecke-Limpricht clay pit, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Sues and Schoch (2025) give the type horizon as the top of the Arnstadt Formation, "Norian: Sevatian". Huene (1932) had placed it in the "uppermost (Rhaetic) layers", but Rauhut and Hungerbühler (2000) argue that the holotype, found inside a turtle carapace, came from the lower claystone with the turtle remains, "of Late Norian age, rather than Rhaetian".

References

  1. Sues, H. D.; Schoch, R. R. (2025). Synopsis of the Triassic reptiles from Germany. Fossil Record 28(2): 411-483. Pensoft Publishers. doi:10.3897/fr.28.164405

    Gives the type horizon as "Top of Arnstadt Formation, Middle Keuper Subgroup. Age: Late Triassic (Norian: Sevatian)".

    sues2025a
  2. Huene, F. V. (1932). Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte [The fossil reptile order Saurischia, their development and history]. Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie, serie 1 4(1-2): 1-361.

    Places the holotype in the "uppermost (Rhaetic) layers near Halberstadt".

    huene1932a
  3. Jaekel, O. (1914). Über die Wirbeltierfunde in der oberen Trias von Halberstadt [On the Vertebrate Finds in the Upper Triassic of Halberstadt]. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 1(1): 155-215. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/bf03160336 jaekel1914a
  4. Rauhut, O. W. M.; Hungerbühler, A. (2000). A review of European Triassic theropods. Gaia 15: 75-88.

    Reviewed European Triassic theropods, treating Pterospondylus as a nomen dubium.

    rauhut2000a