''Galtonia'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

pseudosuchia Pseudosuchia is one of two major divisions of Archosauria, including living crocodilians and all archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. Pseudosuchians are also informally known as "crocodilian-line archosaurs". Prior to ...

n from the

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...

. It is known from remains found in the

-aged

New Oxford Formation The New Oxford Formation is a mapped bedrock unit consisting primarily of sandstones, conglomerates, and shales. The New Oxford Formation was first described in Adams County, Pennsylvania in 1929, and over the following decade was mapped in adjace ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, which were first described by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

in 1878. Cope, E. D. (1878). On some Saurians found in the Triassic of Pennsylvania, by C. M. Wheatley. ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 17(100):231-232 The type and only species, ''G. gibbidens'', was originally named ''

Thecodontosaurus ''Thecodontosaurus'' ("socket-tooth lizard") is a genus of herbivorous basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the late Triassic period (Rhaetian age). Its remains are known mostly from Triassic "fissure fillings" in South England. ''The ...

gibbidens'' in 1878, but was moved to a new genus by Hunt and

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...

in 1994. It is based on the

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

AMNH 2339, discovered by C. M. Wheatley. There is also a genus of flower with the name ''

Galtonia ''Galtonia'' is a genus of plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Native to Southern Africa, the genus is named after Sir Francis Galton. According to some authorities it has been subsumed into ''Ornithogalum'' as a subgenus ...

'', causing further confusion. ''Galtonia'', upon being identified as its own genus separate from ''Thecodontosaurus'', was initially classified as an

ornithischia Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek s ...

n, but was seen to be ''

Revueltosaurus ''Revueltosaurus'' ("Revuelto lizard") is an extinct genus of suchian pseudosuchian from Late Triassic (late Carnian to middle Norian stage) deposits of New Mexico, Arizona and North Carolina, United States. Many specimens, mostly teeth, have be ...

'', which is actually a non-dinosaurian

archosaur Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian d ...

. Irmis ''et al.'' (2006) even assigned ''Galtonia'' to ''Revueltosaurus''.Irmis, R.B., Parker, W.G., Nesbitt, S.J., and Liu, J. (2006). Early

n dinosaurs: the Triassic record. ''Historical Biology'' 19(1):3-22. . ''Galtonia'' is now seen as a possible synonym of ''Revueltosaurus''.

References

Triassic archosaurs Crurotarsans Late Triassic archosaurs of North America {{paleo-archosaur-stub