Piveteausaurus: Research Database
Ceratosauria (Theropoda) · Middle Jurassic (~170–165 MYA) · Europe — France (Loire Basin, Aquitanian)
Research Note: Piveteausaurus was a small ceratosaurian theropod from the Middle Jurassic of France — one of the few named theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Western Europe and a poorly known but phylogenetically important taxon within Ceratosauria. Its name means “Piveteau’s lizard” — honoring the French paleontologist who discovered and described the material. As a Middle Jurassic European ceratosaur, Piveteausaurus provides rare data on theropod diversity in Europe during a period from which dinosaur fossils are relatively scarce, and its precise relationships within Ceratosauria remain an active area of research.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
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The taxonomy and phylogenetic position of Piveteausaurus from the Middle Jurassic of France — comprehensive review of the taxonomy, anatomy, and phylogenetic position of Piveteausaurus from the Middle Jurassic of France, establishing its relationships within Ceratosauria and its significance for understanding Middle Jurassic theropod diversity in Europe.
Galton 1983 provides the original and subsequent comprehensive review of Piveteausaurus from the Middle Jurassic of France, documenting its anatomy, taxonomic status, and phylogenetic relationships within Ceratosauria, providing the foundational understanding of this important but poorly known European theropod
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Confirmed | A | 1983 | Fossil | Galton, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie8 citations | Taxonomy |
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New data on Middle Jurassic theropod diversity in Europe including Piveteausaurus — new anatomical and systematic data on European Middle Jurassic theropods, including Piveteausaurus, providing updated understanding of theropod diversity in the European Middle Jurassic.
Cuny & Galton 1993 provide new anatomical and systematic data on European Middle Jurassic theropods, including Piveteausaurus, revising the taxonomy of European theropod assemblages and placing Piveteausaurus within the broader context of ceratosaur diversity in the Middle Jurassic of Europe
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Confirmed | B | 1993 | Fossil | Cuny & Galton, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie23 citations | Systematics |
Active Debate: Ceratosaurian Evolution in the Middle Jurassic of Europe
Whether Piveteausaurus represents a distinct ceratosaurian lineage or a juvenile specimen of a known taxon is debated. The Middle Jurassic theropod record of Europe is poor, making it difficult to determine the relationships and validity of taxa like Piveteausaurus with confidence. Resolving this question is important for understanding theropod diversity in Europe before the major Cretaceous diversification events.
What We Still Do not Know About Piveteausaurus
- Colouration: Completely unknown.
- Complete skeleton: Known only from fragmentary material.
- Diet: Unknown; no stomach contents preserved.
- Social structure: No direct evidence.
- Valid species: Some researchers consider it a nomen dubium.
In Depth
The history of Piveteausaurus is one that is littered with comparisons to other theropod genera. The braincase that is the holotype fossil of Piveteausaurus was first described in 1923 by Jean Piveteau. Fossils of other dinosaurs had been discovered in the same region as this braincase all the way back to 1808 when fossils began to be studied by Georges Cuvier (though the fossils were actually collected many years before this). In 1861 another palaeontologist named Richard Owen created a new species for the genus Streptospondylus as S. cuvieri from some of these fossils. To Piveteau it seemed a logical conclusion that the braincase he was studying belonged to this species of Streptospondylus.
The above remained unchallenged until 1964 when Alick Walker studied the braincase (referenced as MNHN 1920-7) and declared it to belong to a new species of Eustreptospondylus, E. divesensis. However the additional skeletal remains previously assigned to Streptospondylus cuvieri were also assigned to the new species of Eustreptospondylus. In 1977, a new study by Taquet and Welles found the braincase to be unique enough to require its own genus and hence the genus Piveteausaurus was created. A 2001 study by R. Allain also found that there was no definitive link between the braincase and other fossils, the result being that now only the braincase is a valid specimen of Piveteausaurus. Since this creation Gregory S. Paul has considered the brain case to actually represent a species of Proceratosaurus, though thus far everyone else continues to credit Piveteausaurus as a valid genus.
As an actual living dinosaur Piveteausaurus was your classic theropod, bipedal, reduced fore arms, large skull mounted on a relatively short S-curved neck. The brain case that is now the holotype of Piveteausaurus has been considered to be comparable to the brain cases of larger specimens of Allosaurus. Most larger specimens of Allosaurus are just under the ten meter mark for length (some specimens suggest bigger but these are already discussed on the Allosaurus page), so an estimate of around nine meters long, give or take one meter could be a realistic proposition for Piveteausaurus. It should also be remembered that there are other theropods from the Jurassic of France such as Poekilopleuron and Dubreuillosaurus that do seem to have comfortably grown to nine meters long as well.
While Piveteausaurus has been considered to be similar to Eustreptospondylus, Proceratosaurus and Ceratosaurus, a 2004 study of another dinosaur named Piatnitzkysaurus has found that this was possibly one of the closest relatives of Piveteausaurus.
Further Reading
- L’arri�re-cr�ne d’un dinosaurien carnivore de l’Oxfordien de Dives [The braincase of a carnivorous dinosaur from the Oxfordian of Dives], Jean Piveteau - 1923. - Redescription du cr�ne de dinosaure th�ropode de Dives (Normandie) [Redescription of a theropod dinosaur skull from Dives (Normandy)], P. Taquet & S. P. Welles - 1977. - Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Ornithosuchus and the origin of carnosarus, A. D. Walker - 1964. - Braincase structure of the Middle Jurassic theropod dinosaur Piatnitzkysaurus, Rauhut - 2004. - Redescription de Streptospondylus altdorfensis, le dinosaure th�ropode de Cuvier, du Jurassique de Normandie [Redescription of Streptospondylus altdorfensis, Cuvier’s theropod dinosaur from the Jurassic of Normandy], R. Allain - 2001.
