Megapnosaurus

Megapnosaurus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 199–188 Ma
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Coelophysidae
Genus: †Megapnosaurus
Ivie et al., 2001
Type species
†Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis
(Raath, 1969) Ivie et al., 2001
Synonyms
  • Syntarsus rhodesiensis Raath, 1969 (preoccupied)
  • Coelophysis rhodesiensis (Raath, 1969) Paul, 1988

Megapnosaurus (meaning "big dead lizard", from Greek μέγα = "big", ἄπνοος = "not breathing", "dead", σαῦρος = "lizard"[1]) is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 188 million years ago during the early part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Africa. The species was a small to medium-sized, lightly built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore, that could grow up to 2.2 m (7.2 ft) long and weigh up to 13 kg (29 lb).

It was originally given the genus name Syntarsus,[2] but that name was later determined to be preoccupied by a beetle.[1] The species was subsequently given a new genus name, Megapnosaurus, by Ivie, Ślipiński & Węgrzynowicz in 2001. Some studies have classified it as a species within the genus Coelophysis,[3] but this interpretation has been challenged by more subsequent studies and the genus Megapnosaurus is now considered valid.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ a b Ivie, M.A.; Slipinski, S.A.; Wegrzynowicz, P. (2001). "Generic Homonyms in the Colydiinae (Coleoptera: Zopheridae)". Insecta Mundi. 15 (1): 184.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference raath69 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Ezcurra, M. D.; Brusatte, S. L. (2011). "Taxonomic and phylogenetic reassessment of the early neotheropod dinosaur Camposaurus arizonensis from the Late Triassic of North America". Palaeontology. 54 (4): 763–772. Bibcode:2011Palgy..54..763E. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01069.x.
  4. ^ Spiekman, S.N.; Ezcurra, M.D.; Butler, R.J.; Fraser, N.C.; Maidment, S.C. (2021). "Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales". Royal Society Open Science. 8 (10): 210915. Bibcode:2021RSOS....810915S. doi:10.1098/rsos.210915. PMC 8493203. PMID 34754500.
  5. ^ Ezcurra, Martín D; Butler, Richard J; Maidment, Susannah C R; Sansom, Ivan J; Meade, Luke E; Radley, Jonathan D (2021-01-01). "A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) of central England". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (1): 113–149. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa054. hdl:11336/160038. ISSN 0024-4082.
  6. ^ McDavid, Skye N; Bugos, Jeb E (2022-08-02). "Taxonomic notes on Megapnosaurus and 'Syntarsus' (Theropoda: Coelophysidae)". The Mosasaur (12): 1–5. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7027378.