Gresslyosaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, ~ | |
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Gresslyosaurus ingens holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | † Sauropodomorpha |
Family: | † Plateosauridae |
Genus: | † Gresslyosaurus Rütimeyer, 1857 |
Type species | |
†Gresslyosaurus ingens Rütimeyer, 1857 | |
Other species [1] | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Gresslyosaurus (meaning "Amanz Gressly's lizard") is a genus of plateosaurian sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 214 to 204 million years ago, in France, Germany, Norway, Greenland and Switzerland.
The holotype of G. ingens, NMB BM 1, 10, 24, 53, 530-1, 1521, 1572-74, 1576-78, 1582, 1584-85, 1591, consists of postcranial remains discovered in the Late Triassic (late Norian-Rhaetian) Trossingen Formation or Knollenmergel Formation of northern Switzerland around 1840 by Amanz Gressly, [2] with more of the holotype being found between 1915 and 1942 by an unknown collector. [3] G. ingens was named and described by Rütimeyer (1857). [4]
The most complete remains of G. plieningeri were collected from the Marnes de Châlins Formation of France between 1982 and 1994, and the holotype, SMNS 80664, a set of postcrania, was collected from the Trossingen Formation of Germany by Pleininger in 1847. [5] G. plieningeri was named and described by Huene (1905). [6]
The holotype of G. robustus, UT (GPIT) B, a set of postcrania, was collected from the Trossingen Formation of Germany by Quenstedt in 1879. [6] G. robustus was named and described by Huene (1905). [6]
The holotype of G. torgeri, HMN MB III, a set of postcrania, was collected from a Plateosaurus bonebed within the Trossingen Formation of Germany by Jaeckel in 1909 or 1910. [7] G. torgeri was named and described by Jaeckel (1911). [8]
Gresslyosaurus was originally dubbed "Dinosaurus gresslyi" by Rütimeyer (1856) on the basis of postcranial remains discovered in the Late Triassic (late Norian-Rhaetian) Knollenmergel of northern Switzerland, but that name is a nomen nudum as it was described in an abstract. [2] Dinosaurus was already in use for a therapsid, so Rütimeyer (1857) formally described the material as Gresslyosaurus ingens. [4]
Lydekker (1888) synonymized Gresslyosaurus with Zanclodon , but von Huene (1908) removed sauropodomorph material assigned to Zanclodon (which he assigned to Theropoda) and Gresslyosaurus along with Plateosaurus as sauropodomorphs. [9]
A number of authors (e.g. Steel 1970) listed Gresslyosaurus as valid, but Galton (1976, 1985, 1986) synonymized it with Plateosaurus based on comparisons with Plateosaurus material from Germany. [10] [11] [12] [13] Moser (2003), however, found Gresslyosaurus to be generically distinct from Plateosaurus, and in their description of Schleitheimia , Rauhut et al. (2020) found a number of differences between Schleitheimia and Gresslyosaurus. [3] [14]
In his 1865 book Die Urwelt der Schweiz, Oswald Heer notes that Amanz Gressly, who had been admitted to an asylum in the final years of his life, had become tormented by hallucinations that he had transformed into the Gresslyosaurus, his namesake dinosaur. [15]
Sauropodomorpha is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The prosauropods, which preceded the sauropods, were smaller and were often able to walk on two legs. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.
Plateosaurus is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 214 to 204 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. Plateosaurus is a basal (early) sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod". The type species is Plateosaurus trossingensis; before 2019, that honor was given to Plateosaurus engelhardti, but it was ruled as undiagnostic by the ICZN. Currently, there are three valid species; in addition to P. trossingensis, P. longiceps and P. gracilis are also known. However, others have been assigned in the past, and there is no broad consensus on the species taxonomy of plateosaurid dinosaurs. Similarly, there are a plethora of synonyms at the genus level.
Melanorosaurus is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period. A omnivore from South Africa, it had a large body and sturdy limbs, suggesting it moved about on all fours. Its limb bones were massive and heavy like the limb bones of true sauropods.
Liliensternus is an extinct genus of basal neotheropod dinosaur that lived approximately 210 million years ago during the latter part of the Triassic Period in what is now Germany. Liliensternus was a moderate-sized, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that could grow up to 5.15 m (16.9 ft) long. It is the best represented Triassic theropod from Europe and one of the largest known.
Camelotia is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic in what is now England. Paleontologists are divided on which family it may belong to; in the past, Camelotia has generally been assigned to the prosauropods, but this group of primitive dinosaurs is in constant flux. The genus is now considered a member of the family Melanorosauridae, which includes the first true giant herbivorous dinosaurs.
Euskelosaurus is a sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa and Lesotho. Fossils have only been recovered from the lower Elliot Formation in South Africa and Lesotho, and in one locality in Zimbabwe.
Coloradisaurus is a genus of massospondylid sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Late Triassic period in what is now La Rioja Province, Argentina. It is known from two specimens collected from the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin.
Gryponyx is an extinct genus of massopod sauropodomorph known from southern Free State, central South Africa.
Pachysauriscus is a genus of plateosaurian sauropodomorpha from the Late Triassic (Norian) of southern Germany. Although previously synonymized with Plateosaurus, a number of papers published since the early 2000s have cast doubt on this synonymy.
Plateosauravus is a basal plateosaurian of uncertain affinities from the Late Triassic Elliot Formation of South Africa.
Teratosaurus is a genus of rauisuchians known from the Triassic Stubensandstein of Germany. It is estimated to be 6.2 meters (20.35 ft) long.
Zanclodon is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Erfurt Formation in southern Germany. It was once a wastebasket taxon until a taxonomic revision by Schoch (2011) left only the paratype within Zanclodon laevis proper. The type species is Z. laevis.
Efraasia is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germany. It was named in 1973 after Eberhard Fraas, who during the early twentieth century collected what were the original type specimens.
Peter Malcolm Galton is a British vertebrate paleontologist who has to date written or co-written about 190 papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosauropod dinosaurs.
Plateosauridae is a family of plateosaurian sauropodomorphs from the Late Triassic of Europe, Greenland, Africa and Asia. Although several dinosaurs have been classified as plateosaurids over the years, the family Plateosauridae is now restricted to Plateosaurus, Yimenosaurus, Euskelosaurus, and Issi. In another study, Yates (2003) sunk Sellosaurus into Plateosaurus. Gresslyosaurus is alternatively considered its own genus or a synonym of Plateosaurus.
Massospondylidae is a family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Antarctica during the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic periods. Several dinosaurs have been classified as massospondylids over the years. The largest cladistic analysis of early sauropodomorphs, which was presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, found Adeopapposaurus, Coloradisaurus, Glacialisaurus, Massospondylus, Leyesaurus and Lufengosaurus to be massospondylids. This result supports many previous analyses that tested fewer taxa. However, this analysis found the two recently described North American massopods, Sarahsaurus and Seitaad, and the South African Ignavusaurus to nest outside Massospondylidae, as opposed to some provisional proposals. Earlier in 2011, Pradhania, a sauropodomorph from India, was tested for the first time in a large cladistic analysis and was found to be a relatively basal massospondylid. Mussaurus and Xixiposaurus may also be included within Massospondylidae.
Anchisauria is an extinct clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs that lived from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. The name Anchisauria was first used Haekel and defined by Galton and Upchurch in the second edition of The Dinosauria. It is a node-based taxon containing the most recent common ancestor of Anchisaurus polyzelus and Melanorosaurus readi, and all its descendants. Galton and Upchurch assigned a family of dinosaurs to the Anchisauria: the Melanorosauridae. The more common prosauropods Plateosaurus and Massospondylus were placed in the sister clade Plateosauria.
Plateosauria is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs which lived during the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. The name Plateosauria was first coined by Gustav Tornier in 1913. The name afterwards fell out of use until the 1980s.
The Trossingen Formation, formerly the Knollenmergel, is a geological formation in Germany and Switzerland. It dates back to the late Norian-Rhaetian.
Tuebingosaurus is a genus of massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic Trossingen Formation of Germany. The type and only species is T. maierfritzorum, originally identified as a specimen of Plateosaurus.
Der arme Grefly, welcher in Wahnfinn verfallen, ins Irrenhaus gebradjt werben mußte, wurde von dem Gedanfen gequält, daß er im diefen Gresslyosaurus verwandelt worden jei.