Darwinsaurus
| Darwinsaurus Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous, fossil range 140–138 mya
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Suborder: | †Ornithopoda |
| Clade: | †Styracosterna |
| Genus: | †Darwinsaurus Paul, 2012 |
| Species | |
| |
Darwinsaurus (meaning "Darwin's lizard") is an ornithopod dinosaur once wrongly described as Iguanodon.
In the early nineteenth century dinosaur remains were discovered near Hastings in East Sussex. These were first reported by Richard Owen in 1842. In 1889 they were referred to Iguanodon fittoni by Richard Lydekker.[1] They were then assigned to Hypselospinus fittoni by David B. Norman in 2010.
In 2012 Gregory S. Paul named them as a separate genus and species. The type species is Darwinsaurus evolutionis. The generic name honours Charles Darwin for his theory of evolution.[2] The first fossil described as Darwinsaurus is known from a partial skeleton.
Paul's decision is being challenged,[3][4] and the present account may need be changed.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Lydekker, R., 1889, "Notes on new and other dinosaurian remains", Geological Magazine, 6: 352-356
- ↑ Gregory S. Paul (2012). "Notes on the rising diversity of iguanodont taxa, and iguanodonts named after Darwin, Huxley and evolutionary science". Actas de V Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontologia de Dinosaurios y su Entorno, Salas de los Infantes, Burgos. Colectivo de Arqueologico-Paleontologico de Salas de los Infantes (Burgos). pp. 121–131.
- ↑ David B. Norman 2013. On the taxonomy and diversity of Wealden iguanodontian dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda). Revue de Paléobiologie, Genève. 32 (2): 385–404. [1] Archived 2018-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Poole K. 2016. A specimen-level phylogeny of Wealden iguanodontians: implications for taxonomy. p. 207. In: Farke A; MacKenzie A. & Miller-Camp J. (eds) Meeting Program and Abstracts. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2016. Seventy-Sixth Annual Meeting. Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, October 26–29, 2016. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Bethesda.