| Protognathosaurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Genus: | †Protognathosaurus Olshevsky, 1991 |
| Species: | †P. oxyodon |
| Binomial name | |
| †Protognathosaurus oxyodon Zhang, 1988 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Protognathosaurus (meaning "early jaw lizard") is agenus of herbivoroussauropoddinosaur from theMiddle JurassicLower Shaximiao Formation inSichuan, present-dayChina.
In 1988Zhang Yihun named and described thetype speciesProtognathus oxyodon.[1] The generic name was derived from Greek πρῶτος,protos, "first", and γνάθος,gnathos, "jaw". Thespecific name is derived from Greek ὀξύς,oxys, "sharp", and ὀδών,odon, "tooth". However, the generic name was preoccupied, already in use, by a genus ofcarabidbeetle,Protognathus (Basilewsky, 1950[2]) which is considered a synonym ofPseudognathaphanus (Schauberger, 1932).[3] The species was therefore renamed into thecombinatio novaProtognathosaurus oxyodon by George Olshevsky in 1991.[4]
Protognathosaurus is known only from a fragmentary lower jaw,holotypeCV 00732 (= ChM V732) found in a layer of theShaximiao Formation dating from theBathonian-Callovian. The fragment consists of the front leftdentary and shows eighteen tooth positions, some still containing sharp replacement teeth, after which the genus was named. Most researchers considerProtognathosaurus to be anomen dubium.
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