Thecospondylus

Seeley, 1882 THEEK-o-SPON-di-lus Nomen dubium

From Greek theke ('sheath') and spondylos ('vertebra'), meaning 'sheath vertebra', referring to the extremely thin bone forming the vertebrae

137.1–132.6 million years ago Valanginian, Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous stages

Thecospondylus is a dubious genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of England. Scientists are unsure as to whether Thecospondylus was a saurischian or an ornithischian.

Under dispute

Thecospondylus horneri is a nomen dubium based on a natural sacral endocast; its affinities are uncertain even at the level of Saurischia versus Ornithischia.

Species

Thecospondylus horneri Seeley, 1882 Nomen dubium

Type species

Named in honor of Dr. A.C. Horner, an amateur geologist from Tonbridge who collected the holotype specimen.

Holotype: BMNH R291 , Natural History Museum
Material: Sacrum.
Horizon: Hastings Beds Group, Valanginian, Early Cretaceous , 137.1–132.6 million years ago
Locality: Quarry at Southborough, Kent, United Kingdom

References

Seeley, H. G. (1882). On Thecospondylus Horneri, a new Dinosaur from the Hastings Sand, indicated by the Sacrum and the Neural Canal of the Sacral Region. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 38(1-4): 457-459. Geological Society of London. doi:10.1144/gsl.jgs.1882.038.01-04.47
Records the specimen as obtained by Dr. A. C. Horner of Tonbridge from the quarry at Southborough, in the Hastings Sand.
seeley1882a
Naish, D.; Martill, D. M. (2002). A reappraisal of Thecocoelurus daviesi (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 113(1): 23-30. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(02)80003-7
Regards Thecospondylus horneri as a nomen dubium and the sacral cast as belonging to a large dinosaur.
naish2002b