''Teinurosaurus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

theropod

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

. ''Teinurosaurus'' lived during the Late

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

in what is now

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is ''Teinurosaurus sauvagei''. It has been estimated to be 11.4 m (37.4 ft) in length and 3.6 tonnes (~4 short tons) in weight.

Discovery and taxonomy

The holotype was discovered in 1897. Also in 1897, French

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

Henri-Émile Sauvage referred a tail vertebra from the

Tithonian In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age (geology), age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 149.2 ±0.7 annum, Ma and 143.1 ±0.6 (mi ...

Mont-Lambert Formation of France, catalogued in the collection of the Musée Géologique du Boulonnais at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, to '' Iguanodon prestwichii'' (now ''Cumnoria prestwichii''), a herbivorous iguanodont. In 1928 Baron Franz Nopcsa recognised the fossil to be the vertebra of a theropod not an ornithopod. He decided to name it as the genus ''Teinurosaurus''. However, by a mistake of the printer, the

footnote In publishing, a note is a brief text in which the author comments on the subject and themes of the book and names supporting citations. In the editorial production of books and documents, typographically, a note is usually several lines of tex ...

in which the new name was mentioned was not placed at the end of the section referring to the fossil but adjacent to a citation of '' Saurornithoides'' Osborn 1924, giving the false impression Nopcsa intended to rename the latter genus. After having discovered the typographical error, Nopcsa in 1929 added an

addendum An addendum or appendix, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its author subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the gerundive , plural , "that which is to be added", from (, compare with memorandum, ...

to the article, correcting the mistake. In 1932 German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene again named the fossil, giving it the

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Caudocoelus sauvagei''. "Caudocoelus" means "hollow tail" in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

honours Sauvage. The name ''Teinurosaurus'' was largely forgotten or not even understood to be a synonym of ''Caudocoelus'', until in 1969 John Ostrom revealed its priority. Ostrom also pointed out that Nopcsa had not provided a specific name. In 1978 George Olshevsky was the first to combine the two names, making ''Teinurosaurus sauvagei'' (von Huene 1932) Olshevsky 1978 vide Nopcsa 1928 emend. 1929 a valid species name. The holotype (originally catalogued MGB 500 now BHN2R 240) is a distal caudal vertebra, 152 millimetres long. A number of authors (e.g. Lapparent 1967; Galton 1982) believed that the holotype was destroyed in World War II, but the specimen is still extant, as noted by Buffetaut et al. (1991).Buffetaut, Cuny and le Loeuff, 1991. French Dinosaurs: The best record in Europe? Modern Geology. 16(1-2), 17-42. ''Teinurosaurus'' was considered by von Huene to be a member Coeluridae, but is now generally seen as a ''nomen dubium'' at Averostra ''

incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q870938 Theropoda Dinosaur genera Tithonian dinosaurs Taxa named by Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás Taxa named by Friedrich von Huene Fossil taxa described in 1928 Fossil taxa described in 1932 Dinosaurs of France