Palaeoscincus

Taxobox
name = "Palaeoscincus"
status = fossil
fossil_range = Upper Cretaceous
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Ornithischia
subordo = Thyreophora
infraordo = Ankylosauria
familia = ?Nodosauridae
genus = "Palaeoscincus"
binomial = "Palaeoscincus costatus"
binomial_authority = Leidy, 1856

"Palaeoscincus" (meaning "ancient skink") is a dubious genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur based on teeth from the mid-late Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana.Leidy, J. (1856). Notice of remains of extinct reptiles and fishes, discovered by Dr. F. V. Hayden in the Bad Lands of the Judith River, Nebraska Territories. "Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Science Philadelphia" 8:72-73.] Like several other dinosaur genera named by Joseph Leidy ("Deinodon", "Thespesius", and "Trachodon"), it is an historically-important genus with a convoluted taxonomy that has been all but abandoned by modern dinosaur paleontologists. Because of its wide use early in the century, it was somewhat well-known to the general public, often through illustrations of an animal with the armor of "Edmontonia" and the tail club of an ankylosaurid.

Six species have been referred to this genus over the years, including the type species ("P. costatus"), known from a single tooth; "P. africanus",Broom, R. (1912). Observations on some specimens of South African fossil reptiles preserved in thge British Museum. "Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa" 2:19-25.] a partial jaw from the Tithonian-Valanginian-age Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation of South Africa, now known as the stegosaurid "Paranthodon";Coombs, Jr., W.P. (1978). The families of the ornithischian dinosaur order Ankylosauria. "Palaeontology" 21(1):143-170. ] "P. asper", a dubious tooth taxon from the late Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada,Lambe, L.M. (1902). On Vertebrata of the mid-Cretaceous of the Northwest Territory. 2. New genera and species from the Belly River Series (mid-Cretaceous). "Contributions to Canadian Paleontology" 3:25-81.] now referred to "Euoplocephalus";Coombs, Jr., W.P. (1990). Teeth and taxonomy in ankylosaurs. In: Carpenter, K., and Currie, P.J. (eds.). "Dinosaur Systematics: Approaches and Perspectives". Cambridge University Press:Cambridge, 269-279. ISBN 0-521-36672-0] "P. latus" from the late Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous Lance Formation of Wyoming,Marsh, O.C. (1892). Notes on Mesozoic vertebrate fossils. "American Journal of Science" 44:171-176.] also based on a single tooth, now believed to have come from a pachycephalosaurid; "P. magoder", a "nomen nudum" name from a faunal list;Henning, C.L. (1914). Ueber neuer Saurierfunde aus Kanada und deren geologische Position. "Naturwissenschaften" 2:769-776.] and the best-known species, "P. rugosidens", a skull and partial skeleton from the late Campanian-age Two Medicine Formation of Montana,Gilmore, C.W. (1930). On dinosaurian reptiles from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. "United States National Museum, Proceedings" 77:1-39.] now known as "Edmontonia rugosidens". It was this species that was portrayed in most restorations of the genus.

Today, the genus is considered to be an indeterminate ankylosaurian, [Carpenter, K. (2001). Phylogenetic analysis of the Ankylosauria. In: Carpenter, K. (ed.). "The Armored Dinosaurs". Indiana University Press:Bloomington, 455-483. ISBN 0-253-33964-2] Vickaryous, M.K., Maryańska, T., and Weishampel, D.B., (2004). Ankylosauria. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H. (eds.). "The Dinosauria (second edition)". University of California Press:Berkeley, 363-392. ISBN 0-520-24209-2] perhaps an indeterminate nodosaurid.Ford, T.L. (2000). A review of ankylosaur osteoderms from New Mexico and a preliminary review of ankylosaur armor. In: Lucas, S.G., and Heckert, A.B. (eds.). "Dinosaurs of New Mexico". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 17:157-176.]

References

External links

* [http://dml.cmnh.org/2006Mar/msg00174.html Quick taxonomic summary] from the Dinosaur Mailing List