Open Paleo

Spinostropheus

Sereno et al., 2004 SPY-no-STROH-fee-us

From Latin spina ('spine') and Greek stropheus ('vertebra'), referring to the epipophyseal processes of the vertebrae

168.2–154.8 million years ago Bathonian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic
Middle Jurassic and Late Jurassic stages

Spinostropheus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Tiourarén Formation of Niger. The type and only species is S. gautieri.

Under dispute

The ceratosaurian affinities of Spinostropheus rest on the referred specimen MNBH TIG6; Rauhut and Carrano (2016) argued that the type material of S. gautieri lacks ceratosaurian synapomorphies and may represent a basal tetanuran, and Hendrickx and colleagues (2024) likewise excluded the type from their analyses.

Diagnosis

  1. Mid-cervical vertebrae with strongly canted anterior articular face on centrum (30° angle to posterior centrum face)
  2. Partitioned anterior pleurocoels
  3. Dorsoventrally flattened epipophyseal processes
  4. Broad subrectangular neural spines

Species

Spinostropheus gautieri Sereno et al., 2004

Type species

Named for François Gautier, the discoverer of the type locality in the Agadez desert of Niger, honored when the species was first described as Elaphrosaurus gautieri in 1960.

Holotype
MNHN 1961-28 , Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Material
Isolated mid-cervical vertebra
Horizon
Tiourarén Formation, Bathonian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic , 168.2–154.8 million years ago
Locality
eastern side of the Oued Timmersoï, approximately 15 km west of the In Tedreft well, Agadez, Niger

References

  1. Sereno, P. C.; Wilson, J. A.; Conrad, J. L. (2004). New dinosaurs link southern landmasses in the Mid-Cretaceous. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 271(1546): 1325-1330. The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2692 sereno2004a
  2. Carrano, M. T.; Sampson, S. D. (2008). The Phylogeny of Ceratosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6(2): 183-236. doi:10.1017/S1477201907002246

    Ceratosaurian phylogeny supported placing the referred material within Ceratosauria

    carrano2008a
  3. Rauhut, O. W. M.; Carrano, M. T. (2016). The theropod dinosaur Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 178(3): 546-610. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1111/zoj.12425

    Argued the type material lacks ceratosaurian synapomorphies, may be a basal tetanuran

    rauhut2016b
  4. Hendrickx, C.; Cerroni, M. A.; Agnolín, F. L.; Catalano, S.; Ribeiro, C. F.; Delcourt, R. (2024). Osteology, relationship, and feeding ecology of the theropod dinosaur Noasaurus leali, from the Late Cretaceous of North-Western Argentina. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 202(4): zlae150. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae150

    Excluded Spinostropheus from its matrices, treating it as likely a non-ceratosaur (possibly a basal tetanuran).

    hendrickx2024a