Iliosuchus

Iliosuchus
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic 168.3–166.1 Ma
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Clade: Neotheropoda
Clade: Averostra
Clade: Tetanurae
Genus: †Iliosuchus
Huene, 1932
Type species
Iliosuchus incognitus
Huene, 1932
Synonyms
  • Megalosaurus incognitus (von Huene, 1932 [originally Iliosuchus])

Iliosuchus (meaning "crocodile hipped") is a genus of theropod dinosaur known from Bathonian–age (168.3 – 166.1 mya) rocks of England. It was perhaps 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long.[1]

The only known fossils of this genus are three ilia (BMNH R83, OUM J29780 and OUM J28971) from Stonesfield Slate, Oxfordshire, England. From the holotype BMNH R83, Friedrich von Huene described and named the only species, I. incognitus, in 1932.[2] The generic name is derived from the ilium and Greek Souchos, the crocodile god. The specific name means "unknown" in Latin. Another species, I. clevelandi, was proposed in 1976 by Peter Galton,[3] who assigned Stokesosaurus clevelandi to Iliosuchus, but this has not been followed.

The Iliosuchus ilia, very small with a length of nine to ten centimetres, have a vertical supra–acetabular ridge on the surface, similar to tyrannosaurids and many other predatory dinosaurs belonging to the group Tetanurae, including Piatnitzkysaurus and Megalosaurus.[4] Such incomplete material is inadequate for accurate classification; nonetheless, Iliosuchus has sometimes been considered a tyrannosaurid ancestor. This is unlikely to be correct as the bones cannot be distinguished from small individuals of Megalosaurus, a megalosaurid. Whatever the case, Iliosuchus is not diagnostic and is therefore dubious.[4] If Iliosuchus incognitus is a tyrannosauroid, it would be the earliest one yet. It precedes Proceratosaurus, otherwise the earliest recognized tyrannosauroid, by a few million years.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages Supplementary Information
  2. ↑ F. v. Huene (1932). "Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte", Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie, serie 1 4(1-2): 1-361
  3. ↑ P. M. Galton, 1976, "Iliosuchus, a Jurassic dinosaur from Oxfordshire and Utah", Palaeontology 19(3): 587-589
  4. 1 2 Benson, R.B.J. (2009). "An assessment of variability in theropod dinosaur remains from the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of Stonesfield and New Park Quarry, UK and taxonomic implications for Megalosaurus bucklandii and Iliosuchus incognitus." Palaeontology 52 857-877,
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