In Depth
The name Libycosaurus is definitely a misnomer to be sure. When Libycosaurus was first named by Bonarelli in 1947 the partial fossil remains were thought to be those of a dinosaur. It was only later that it was realised that Libycosaurus was actually a kind of prehistoric relative of hippopotamuses. At the time of writing Libycosaurus is known from three species, L. algeriensis however is only known from teeth, and for this reason this species of Libycosaurus is often treated as dubious.
Libycosaurus is not the only mammal to have been mistaken for a reptile. Basilosaurus for example means ‘king lizard’, even though Basilosaurus is actually a whale.
Further Reading
- Dinosaur fossil Sahara Cyrenaic. - Journal Biology Colonial Roma, 8: 23-33. - G. Bonnarelli - 1947. - Anthracothere dental anatomy reveals a late Miocene Chado-Libyan bioprovince. - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 103 (23): 8763–7. - Fabrice Lihoreau, Jean-Renaud Boisserie, Laurent Viriot, Yves Coppens, Andossa Likius, Hassane Taisso Mackaye, Paul Tafforeau, Patrick Vignaud & Michel Brunet - 2006. - Sexual and individual morphometric variation in Libycosaurus (Mammalia, anthracotheriidae) from the Maghreb and Libya. - Geobios 39 (2): 267-310. - Martin Pickford - 2006. - Libycosaurus petrocchii Bonarelli, 1947, and Libycosaurus anisae (Black, 1972) (Anthracotheriidae, Mammalia): Nomenclatural and geochronological implications [Libycosaurus petrocchii Bonarelli, 1947, et Libycosaurus anisae (Black, 1972) (Anthracotheriidae, Mammalia) : implications nomenclaturales et g�ochronologiques]. - Annales de Pal�ontologie vol 94, issue 1 - Martin Pickford - 2008. - Metric variation in Afromeryx and Libycosaurus (anthracotheriidae: Mammalia) and its utility for biochronology. - Revista Espa�ola de Paleontology, 24 (2), 107-120. ISSN 0213-6937. - Martin Pickford - 2009.
