Ponerosteus
Extinct genus of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ponerosteus is a dubious genus of extinct archosauromorph from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-aged) Korycanar Formation of the Czech Republic that was initially identified as a species of the dinosaur Iguanodon.[1]
| Ponerosteus Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype tibia of P. exogyrarum (National Museum in Prague) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Genus: | †Ponerosteus Olshevsky, 2000 |
| Species: | †P. exogyrarum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ponerosteus exogyrarum (Fritsch, 1878) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The type, and currently only, species is P. exogyrarum.[2]
Discovery and naming
The holotype, NAMU Ob 40, consisting solely of an internal cast of a tibia, was discovered near Holubice, Kralupy nad Vltavou, and was first identified as a dinosaur, which was named "Iguanodon exogirarum" (later "Iguanodon exogyrarum") by Antonín Frič in 1878.[1][3] He later (1905) renamed it Procerosaurus,[4] unaware that this name was already in use (von Huene, 1902[5]) for what is now a synonym of Tanystropheus. NAMU Ob 40 was renamed Ponerosteus exogyrarum (species name amended) by George Olshevsky in 2000, and Olshevsky considered Ponerosteus to be a nomen dubium;[2] the holotype has since been put on display at the National Museum in Prague.[2]
The name Ponerosteus can be translated as "bad", "worthless", or "useless bone", which describes the fragmentary nature of the holotype.[6]
