''Bothriospondylus'' ("excavated vertebra") is a dubious genus of neosauropod

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...

dinosaur. It lived during the Late Jurassic.

Discovery and naming

The type species, ''Bothriospondylus suffossus'', was described by

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils. Owe ...

in 1875. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''suffossus'' means "undermined" in Latin, a reference to the fact that pleurocoels had hollowed out the sides of the vertebra. It is often incorrectly spelled as "suffosus". Owen based the species on holotype NHMUK R.44592-5, a set of four dorsal vertebrae found in Wiltshire in stratum from the Kimmeridgian, the Kimmeridge Clay. Also three unfused sacral vertebrae were referred. Ornithopsis hulkei lectotype

At the same time Owen named three other species of ''Bothriospondylus''. ''B. robustus'' was based on NHMUK R.22428, a dorsal from the same location. ''B. elongatus'' was based on a vertebra from

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, NHMUK R.2239, an original syntype of '' Ornithopsis hulkei''. Finally, ''

Bothriospondylus magnus ''Ornithopsis'' (meaning "bird-likeness") was a medium-sized Early Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur, from England. The type species, which is the only species seen as valid today, is ''O. hulkei''. History of discovery Gideon Algernon Mantell descr ...

'' was a new name for another syntype of '' Ornithopsis hulkei'' Seeley 1870, the present lectotype NHMUK 28632. Owen himself in an addendum to the same publication renamed ''B. robustus'' to '' Marmarospondylus robustus''.

Friedrich von Huene Friedrich von Huene, born Friedrich Richard von Hoinigen, (March 22, 1875 – April 4, 1969) was a German paleontologist who renamed more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe. He also made key contributions about v ...

in 1908 referred the material to '' Pelorosaurus'' and in 1922 made ''B. suffossus'' into a ''Ornithopsis suffossa'' because the latter generic name has priority. More complete material from Madagascar was named by Richard Lydekker as a fifth species, ''Bothriospondylus madagascariensis''. Franz Nopcsa in 1902 assigned to ''Bothriospondylus'' a vertebra from Argentina that later would be renamed '' Nopcsaspondylus''. A skeleton from France was assigned to ''Bothriospondylus madagascariensis'', but has been described as a new genus and species of brachiosaurid, '' Vouivria''. In 1986 José Fernando Bonaparte moved material from "B." ''sp.'' into its own genus, '' Lapparentosaurus''. The material, sometimes referred to ''B. madagascariensis'', was separated into a few dorsal vertebrae to be the new lectotype of ''Lapparentosaurus''. A revision in 2010 by

Philip Mannion Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

concluded that ''Bothriospondylus'' is a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

''. However, ''"Bothriospondylus" madagascariensis'' was treated as valid and distinct from other Middle Jurassic sauropods from Madagascar.

Classification

''Bothriospondylus'' has over the years been assigned to many groups — even in a Bothriospondylidae of its own — with Brachiosauridae lately being the most popular designation. However, the sparse and eroded material shows no

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

of the Brachiosauridae and cannot be further determined than a very general Neosauropoda.

Current species

Only the type species of ''Bothriospondylus'' can be referred, because of the dubious nature of the genus. * ''Bothriospondylus suffossus'' Owen, 1875 ( type species) = '' Ornithopsis suffosa'' (Owen, 1875) von Huene, 1922 * "Bothriospondylus" madagascariensis Lydekker, 1895 NHM R2598 NHM R2596–2615, R16588, R16589 Isalo III Formation, Madagascar, Middle Jurassic, Non neosauropod- eusauropod distinct from ''Lapparentosaurus''.

Reassigned species

Several species have been referred to ''Bothriospondylus'' over its existence, with nearly all being reassigned to a new genus. * ''

Bothriospondylus robustus ''Marmarospondylus'' ("marble Forest_Marble_Formation.html" ;"title="eference to the Forest Marble Formation">eference to the Forest Marble Formationvertebra") is a nomen dubium, dubious genus of sauropod dinosaur from Middle Jurassic deposits i ...

'' Owen, 1875 renamed '' Marmarospondylus'' (Owen, 1875) Owen, 1875 * ''Bothriospondylus elongatus'' Owen, 1875 non ''Bothriospondylus'' * ''

'' Owen, 1875 objective synonym of '' Ornithopsis hulkei'' Seeley, 1870 * '' Bothriospondylus madagascariensis'' Lydekker, 1895 renamed '' Vouivria'' (Mannion, Allain & Moine, 2017) * "Bothriospondylus madagascariensis" Lydekker, 1895 removed from species and named '' Lapparentosaurus'' Bonaparte, 1986 * "Bothriospondylus" Lydekker, 1895

Discovery and naming

Classification

Current species

Reassigned species

References

Further reading