| Gryponyx | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Part of the holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Massopoda |
| Family: | †Gryponychidae Huene,1932 |
| Genus: | †Gryponyx Broom,1911 |
| Species: | †G. africanus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gryponyx africanus Broom, 1911 | |
Gryponyx (meaning "hooked-claw") is anextinctgenus ofmassopodsauropodomorph known from southernFree State, centralSouth Africa.[1]
Gryponyx africanus is known from theholotypeSAM 3357-59, a nearly completepostcranialskeleton which includes partialvertebral column,pelvis, bothforelimbs and bothhindlimbs.Gryponyx has been estimated to have been about 5 m (16 ft) in length. It was collected from theUpper Elliot Formation of theStormberg Group (Karoo Basin), dating to theHettangian toSinemurian stages of theLower Jurassic period.[1]
It was originally described by Broom (1911) as atheropod.[1]Huene (1932) named the family Gryponychidae to containGryponyx andAetonyx and placed it withinCarnosauria.[2]Galton and Cluver synonymizedG. africanus withMassospondylus harriesi in 1976,[3] which was in turn synonymized byMichael Cooper in 1981 withMassospondylus carinatus[4] (and todayM. harriesi is considered to be anomen dubium).[5] However, Vasconcelos and Yates (2004) foundGryponyx to be distinctive enough from other basal sauropodomorphs to be placed in its own genus. They found that it differs from other taxa by the following characteristics: total length of metacarpal I exceeds maximum proximal width and a long, narrow pubic apron with straight lateral margins. Although this publication wasn't formal, they conducted acladistic analysis using Yates (2004) sauropodomorph matrix and foundGryponyx to be the most basal massospondylid.[6] The same result was found byLü Junchanget al. (2010).[7] Yateset al. (2010) recoveredGryponyx in atrichotomy withMassospondylidae andAnchisauria.[8] However,Gryponyx has yet to be formally redescribed.
Two additional species ofGryponyx have been described:G. transvaalensis was described on the basis of finger bones and the anterior limb metatarsals from theLate TriassicBushveld Sandstone Formation,Transvaal.G. taylori was described on the basis ofsacral andpelvic rim from the Upper Elliot Formation, southern Free State.[5] Galton and Cluver (1976) synonymizedG. taylori withM. harriesi and consideredG. transvaalensis to be anomen dubium.[3] BothG. taylori andG. transvaalensis were synonymized by Michael Cooper (1981) withM. carinatus[4] and Galton and Upchurch (2004) considered them to be dubious.[5]
Gryponyx was first named byRobert Broom in1911 and thetype species isGryponyx africanus. Thegeneric name is derived fromgrypos,Greek for "hooked" andonyx, Greek for "claw". Thespecific name refers toAfrica, where the holotype was discovered.[1]
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