Gyposaurus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}
{{distinguish|Gryposaurus}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = "Gyposaurus" sinensis-Geological Museum of China.jpg
| image_caption = "G". sinensis fossil on display at the Geological Museum of China
| fossil_range = Early Jurassic, {{fossilrange|196.5|189.6}}
| taxon = Gyposaurus
| authority = Broom, 1911
| type_species = {{extinct}}Gyposaurus capensis
| type_species_authority = Broom, 1911
| subdivision_ranks = Other species
| subdivision = *{{extinct}}"G." sinensis
Yang, 1941
| synonyms =
- "Gripposaurus"
Barrett et al. 2007 (nomen nudum)
}}
Gyposaurus (meaning "vulture lizard", referring to the outdated hypothesis that prosauropods were carnivores) is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the early Jurassic of South Africa. It is usually considered to represent juveniles of other prosauropods, but "G." sinensis is regarded as a possibly valid species.{{cite book |last1=Galton |first1=P.M. |last2=Upchurch |first2=P. |editor-last1=Weishampel |editor-first1=D.B. |editor-last2=Dodson |editor-first2=P. |editor-last3=Osmólska |editor-first3=H. |title=The Dinosauria |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=University of California Press |date=2004 |pages=232–258 |chapter=Prosauropoda |isbn=0-520-24209-2}}
Taxonomy
File:Gyposaurus-outline-basicidea.svg
G. capensis was named in 1911 by Scottish physician and paleontologist Robert Broom from a partial skeleton consisting of eleven dorsal and six caudal vertebrae, ribs, gastralia, partial right scapula, right pelvic girdle, left ilium, and most of the right leg, discovered in the Upper Elliot Formation of Orange Free State, South Africa.{{cite journal |last=Broom |first=R. |date=1911 |title=On the dinosaurs of the Stormberg, South Africa |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/17374#page/359/mode/1up |journal=Annals of the South African Museum |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=291–308}} Originally, he thought the specimen belonged to the dubious genus Hortalotarsus. Galton and Cluver placed it in the genus Anchisaurus in 1976,{{cite journal |last1=Galton |first1=P.M. |last2=Cluver |first2=M.A. |date=1976 |title=Anchisaurus capensis (Broom) and a revision of the Anchisauridae (Reptilia, Saurischia) |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126362#page/5/mode/1up |journal=Annals of the South African Museum |volume=69 |issue=6 |pages=121–159}} but Michael Cooper synonymized it with Massospondylus in 1981,{{cite journal |last=Cooper |first=M.R. |date=1981 |title=The prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus Owen from Zimbabwe: its biology, mode of life and phylogenetic significance |journal=Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia, Series B, Natural Sciences |volume=6 |issue=10 |pages=689–840}} which has been generally accepted.
File:"Gyposaurus" sinensis-Paleozoological Museum of China.jpg]]
"G." sinensis was named by Yang Zhongjian (C.C. Young) in 1941 for four specimens including jaw fragments and postcranial material from the Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China.{{cite journal |last=Young |first=C.C. |date=1941 |title=Gyposaurus sinensis Young (sp. nov.) a new Prosauropoda from the Upper Triassic beds at Lufeng, Yunnan |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of China |volume=21 |issue=2–4 |pages=205–252 |doi=10.1111/j.1755-6724.1941.mp212-4005.x}} In 1976, Galton referred it to Lufengosaurus,{{cite journal |last=Galton |first=P.M. |date=1976 |title=Prosauropod dinosaurs (Reptilia: Saurischia) of North America |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/91700#page/4/mode/1up |journal=Postilla |volume=169 |pages=1–98}} while Dong Zhiming referred it to Anchisaurus in 1992.{{cite book |last=Dong |first=Z. |date=1992 |title=Dinosaurian Faunas of China |location=Beijing |publisher=China Ocean Press |isbn=0-387-52084-8}} Galton and Upchurch (2004) considered it to be a valid, distinct taxon in need of a new generic name. Barrett et al. (2007) proposed the name "Gripposaurus" for this species, but it is a nomen nudum.{{cite journal |last1=Barrett |first1=P.M. |last2=Upchurch |first2=P. |last3=Zhou |first3=X.D. |last4=Wang |first4=X.L. |date=2007 |title=The skull of Yunnanosaurus huangi Young, 1942 (Dinosauria: Prosauropoda) from the Lower Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan, China |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=150 |issue=2 |pages=319–341 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00290.x |doi-access=free}} Unpublished results of a presentation by Wang and colleagues at the SVP 2017 conference indicate that "G." sinensis is a junior synonym of Lufengosaurus huenei; however, some referred specimens need further study to determine their relationships.{{cite conference |url=http://vertpaleo.org/Annual-Meeting/Annual-Meeting-Home/SVP-2017-program-book-7-20-17a-(1).aspx |title=Taxonomy of "Gyposaurus" sinesis Young, 1941 from the Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, southwestern China |last1=Wang |first1=Y.M. |last2=You |first2=H.L. |last3=Otero |first3=A. |last4=Wang |first4=T. |date=August 23–26, 2017 |publisher=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology |book-title=SVP 2017 Meeting Program and Abstracts |page=210 |location=Calgary |conference=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 77th Annual Meeting |access-date=2018-05-30 |archive-date=2017-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825060904/http://vertpaleo.org/Annual-Meeting/Annual-Meeting-Home/SVP-2017-program-book-7-20-17a-(1).aspx |url-status=dead }} Wang, Zhao & You (2024) agreed with this assessment.{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Ya-Ming |last2=Zhao |first2=Qi |last3=You |first3=Hai-Lu |date=2024-03-21 |title=Reassessment of ' Gyposaurus ' sinensis Young, 1941 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Early Jurassic Lufeng Basin, Yunnan Province, China |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae032/7633229 |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=203 |language=en |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae032 |issn=0024-4082|url-access=subscription }}
References
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{{Sauropodomorpha|S.}}
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Category:Taxa named by Robert Broom