Open Paleo

Vouivria

Mannion et al., 2017 vou-WEE-vree-uh

Named after the vouivre, a mythological serpentine or dragon-like creature from the folklore of Franche-Comté, France, where the fossil was found

161.5–154.8 million years ago Oxfordian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Vouivria is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur, belonging to the Brachiosauridae, that lived in the area of present France during the Late Jurassic. The type and only known species is Vouivria damparisensis. It is based on a specimen once commonly referred to as the "French Bothriospondylus" in the scientific literature, as the specimen was once identified as Bothriospondylus madagascariensis, a species known from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar.

Diagnosis

  1. Spinopostzygapophyseal laminae expand posteriorly close to spine apex in middle-posterior cervical vertebrae
  2. Well-defined anterior and posterior centrodiapophyseal laminae in anteriormost caudal vertebrae
  3. Deltopectoral crest of humerus doubles in mediolateral thickness distally
  4. Ventromedial ridge from proximal metacarpal III bifurcates at approximately one-quarter length
  5. Ventromedial margin of proximal third of metacarpal IV forms a flange
  6. Intercondylar ridges between tibial and fibular condyles on distal posterior femur

Species

Vouivria damparisensis Mannion et al., 2017

Type species

Named for Damparis, the locality in Franche-Comté, France, near which the holotype was found.

Holotype
MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 1, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 2, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 3, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 4, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 5, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 6, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 7, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 8, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 9, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 10, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 11, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 12, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 13, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 14, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 15, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 16, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 17, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 18, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 19, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 20, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 21, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 22, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 23, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 24, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 25, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 26, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 27, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 28, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 29, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 30, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 31, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 32, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 33, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 34, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 35, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 36, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 37, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 38, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 39, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 40, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 41, MNHN.F.1934.6 DAM 42 , Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Material
Associated skeleton of a single individual preserving teeth, cervical and dorsal vertebrae, sacrum, caudal vertebra, ribs, scapulae, coracoid, humerus, ulnae, carpals, metacarpals, manual phalanges, ilium, pubis, ischia, femora, tibiae, fibulae, astragalus, and metatarsals
Horizon
Calcaires de Clerval Formation, Oxfordian, Late Jurassic , 161.5–154.8 million years ago
Locality
Solvay group/Inovyn company quarry, Damparis, Jura, France Mannion and colleagues (2017) give the horizon as "Calcaires de Clerval Formation, possibly from the Tidalites de Mouchard Member", on the quartz content of the fossil layer, and add that "the exact position within the Calcaires de Clerval Formation cannot currently be ascertained".

References

  1. Mannion, P. D.; Allain, R.; Moine, O. (2017). The earliest known titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur and the evolution of Brachiosauridae. PeerJ 5: e3217. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.3217 mannion2017a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b