Gigantosaurus

Not to be confused with the theropod dinosaur Giganotosaurus.

For the TV series, see Gigantosaurus (TV series).

Gigantosaurus (from Ancient Greek γίγας (gígas) 'giant' and σαυρος (sauros) 'lizard') is a dubious genus of Sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation of England.^[1] The type species, Gigantosaurus megalonyx, was named and described by Harry Govier Seeley in 1869.^[2]

Gigantosaurus Temporal range: Kimmeridgian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Part of the syntype series of G. megalonyx (from left to right: CAMSM J.29477, CAMSM J.29478, CAMSM J.29479 and CAMSM J.29483)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Sauropoda
Genus:	†Gigantosaurus Seeley, 1869
Species:	†G. megalonyx
Binomial name
†Gigantosaurus megalonyx Seeley, 1869

History

Its syntype series consists of several separately discovered sauropod bones found in Cambridgeshire in 1862, including two caudal (tail) vertebrae (CAMSM J.29477 and CAMSM J.29478), the distal end of a tibia (CAMSM J.29483), a cast of the right radius (CAMSM J.29482), a cast of phalanx (CAMSM J.29479) and an osteoderm (CAMSM J.29481).^[3]

It was synonymised to Ornithopsis humerocristatus by Richard Lydekker in 1888^[4] and to Pelorosaurus by Friedrich von Huene in 1909.^[5] Today it is considered a nomen dubium.^{[citation needed]}

In 1908, because of these references, Eberhard Fraas incorrectly assumed that the name was available for other species, so he used it, despite the other uses, for African material totally unrelated to the British finds.^[6] As a result, the name Gigantosaurus factored into the convoluted taxonomic history of the dinosaurs Barosaurus, Tornieria, and Janenschia. A discussion of this can be found in the main Tornieria article.^{[citation needed]}