Bothriospondylus

Name: Bothriospondylus ‭(‬Excavated vertebra‭)‬.
Phonetic: Bof-re-o-spon-dy-lus.
Named By: Richard Owen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1875.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosauriformes.
Species: B.‭ ‬suffossus‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains.
Known locations: England‭ ‬-‭ ‬Kimmeridge Clay.
Time period: Kimmeridgian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Four dorsal‭ (‬back‭) ‬and three sacral vertebrae.

       Bothriospondylus has had a long taxonomic history as a sauropod dinosaur yet today the genus is regarded as dubious.‭ ‬This is because the type material of Bothriospondylus,‭ ‬really just a few vertebrae,‭ ‬has been so badly eroded that it is impossible to identify any unique features for the genus.‭ ‬This makes it impossible to assign any further fossil material to the Bothriospondylus,‭ ‬which to an extent has also been used as a wastebasket taxon.‭ ‬Indeed,‭ ‬any time that new fossil material has been attributed to the genus,‭ ‬it has usually ended up being assigned as belonging to other genera,‭ ‬with names including Pelorosaurus,‭ ‬Lapparentosaurus and Nopcsaspondylus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Mesozoic Formations.‭ ‬Monograph on the Genus Bothriospondylus.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontographical Society,‭ ‬29:‭ ‬15-26‭ ‬-‭ ‬Richard Owen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1875.
-‭ ‬On bones of a sauropodous dinosaur from Madagascar.‭ ‬Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London,‭ ‬51,‭ ‬329‭–‬336.‭ ‬-‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Lydekker‭ ‬-‭ ‬1895.
-‭ ‬Notizen �ber Cretacischen Dinosaurier.‭ ‬Pt.‭ ‬3.‭ ‬Wirbel eines s�damerikanischen Sauropoden‭ [‬Notes on Cretaceous dinosaurs.‭ ‬Pt.‭ ‬Third vertebra of a South American sauropods‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Akademie der Wissenschaften‭ ‬3:‭ ‬108‭–‬114.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Franz Nopcsa‭ ‬-‭ ‬1902.
-‭ ‬Les dinosaures‭ (‬Carnosaures,‭ ‬Allosaurid�s,‭ ‬Sauropodes,‭ ‬C�tosaurid�s‭) ‬du Jurassique Moyen de Cerro C�ndor‭ (‬Chubut,‭ ‬Argentina‭) [‬Dinosaurs‭ (‬Carnosaurs,‭ ‬Allosaurid�s,‭ ‬sauropods,‭ ‬C�tosaurid�s‭) ‬Middle Jurassic Cerro Condor‭ (‬Chubut,‭ ‬Argentina‭)]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Annales de Pal�ontologie‭ (‬Vert.-Invert.‭) ‬72‭(‬3‭)‬:‭ ‬325-386.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jose F.‭ ‬Bonaparte‭ ‬-‭ ‬1986.
-‭ ‬Redescription of the wrist and manus of Bothriospondylus madagascariensis:‭ ‬new data on carpus morphology in Sauropoda.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geodiversitas‭ ‬29‭(‬4‭) ‬:549-560.‭ ‬-‭ ‬�.‭ ‬L�ng‭ & ‬F.‭ ‬Goussard‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.‭
-‭ ‬A revision of the sauropod dinosaur genus‭ '‬Bothriospondylus‭' ‬with a redescription of the type material of the middle Jurassic form‭ '‬B.‭ ‬madagascariensis‭'‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontology,‭ ‬53‭(‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬277‭–‬296.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Mannion‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

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