| Lycorhinus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cast of holotype UCRC PVC10 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: | †Heterodontosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Heterodontosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Lycorhinus Haughton,1924 |
| Type species | |
| †Lycorhinus angustidens Haughton,1924 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Lycorhinus is agenus ofheterodontosauridornithischiandinosaur from theEarly Jurassic (Hettangian toSinemurian ages) strata of theElliot Formation located in theCape Province,South Africa.
Lycorhinus, including the remains described by Gow in 1975 asLanasaurus, is a small (1.2 metres (47 in) in length) herbivorous dinosaur despite the longcanines it sported in its jaws.
The fossil material consists ofdentaries andmaxillae, hence the characters mentioned by the nameLycorhinus angustidens thatSidney H. Haughton attributed to the remains in 1924, where thegeneric name means "wolf snout", as it was at first misidentified as acynodont, and thespecific descriptor means "constricted tooth".[1]
Theholotype, SAM 3606, consists of a mandible found by Dr M. Ricono.Three other species ofLycorhinus have been named.Lycorhinus parvidens was created byRobert Broom andLycorhinus tucki byRichard Anthony Thulborn in 1970 renamingHeterodontosaurus tucki,[2] but these have failed to find recognition.[3]Lycorhinus consors, named by Thulborn in 1974, was renamedAbrictosaurus byJames Hopson in 1975.[4]
Thetype and only species ofLanasaurus isL. scalpridens, described byChristopher Gow in 1975 from the same horizon asLycorhinus. The generic name is derived fromLatinlana, "wool" andGreeksaurus, "lizard", and honours ProfessorAlfred Walter Crompton, nicknamed "Fuzz" because of his woolly hair. Thespecific name is derived from Latinscalprum, "chisel", anddens, "tooth". It is based on a partial upper jaw bone, themaxilla,holotypeBP/1/4244, found in the UpperElliot Formation ofFree State. The teeth show a typical replacement pattern in which during each replacement cycle every third tooth is renewed.[5]
Gow himself in 1990 concluded that the holotype ofLanasaurus was actually a specimen ofLycorhinus angustidens.[6] This has been commonly accepted since.[7][8][9][10]
L. angustidens is thought to be allied toHeterodontosaurus. Only in 1962Alfred Walter Crompton recognised it was an ornithischian dinosaur. Thulborn in 1971 created a separate Lycorhinidae[11] but this group was in 1972 equated withHeterodontosauridae byPeter Galton.
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