| Iuticosaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lectotype caudal vertebra ofI. valdensis | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Genus: | †Iuticosaurus le Loeuffe.a., 1993 |
| Type species | |
| †Titanosaurus valdensis (von Huene, 1929) | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Iuticosaurus (meaning "Jute lizard") is a genus oftitanosaursauropoddinosaur from the EarlyCretaceous of theIsle of Wight.[1] Two species have been named:I. valdensis andI. lydekkeri.[2]I. valdensis was found in theWessex Formation andI. lydekkeri in the youngerUpper Greensand.
In 1887Richard Lydekker described two sauropod tail vertebrae found byWilliam Fox nearBrook Bay on Wight, BMNH R146a and BMNH 151, and referred them to the genusOrnithopsis, despite indicating their similarity toTitanosaurus (noting them once asTitanosaurus species A andTitanosaurus species B),[3] because the tail ofOrnithopsis was unknown.[3] On reading the paper to theGeological Society of London, Lydekker was criticised byHarry Govier Seeley andJohn Hulke for his choice and in 1888 he referred to the fossils asTitanosaurus sp. a,Titanosaurus sp. b being a third vertebra, BMNH 32390.[4]
In 1929Friedrich von Huene named both taxa as full species. The first becameTitanosaurus Valdensis, thespecific name referring to theWealden, the secondTitanosaurus Lydekkeri, its specific name honouring Lydekker.[5] By present convention both specific names would be spelled asT. valdensis andT. lydekkeri respectively.
In 1993Jean le Loeuff redescribed the material and named a separate genus:Iuticosaurus, the generic name referring to theJutes who settled the island in the fifth century and established a Jute dynasty in the sixth century. Le Loeuff madeIuticosaurus valdensis thetype species, and chose BMNH 151 as thelectotype. Another vertebra, BMNH R 1886, was referred by him to this species. The second species, though formally named by him asIuticosaurus lydekkeri, he considered anomen dubium.[2]
Iuticosaurus was probably similar to thedubiousTitanosaurus. It measured 15 to 20 metres (49–65 feet) long.[2]
Most researchers have concluded that both species ofIuticosaurus cannot be distinguished from other titanosaurs and are thereforenomina dubia.[citation needed] It was, however, probably a titanosaur.[6]
