Talk:Bothriospondylus

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Bothriospondylus madagascariensis type; Marmarospondylus

The holotype of Bothriospondylus madagascariensis is NHMUK R2598 with the referred specimens being NHMUK R2596, NHMUK R2597, NHMUK R2599-R2615, NHMUK R16588, and NHMUK R16589 (Mannion 2010). A specimen from Madagascar referred to Bothriospondylus madagscariensis by Thevenin (1907) represents an indeterminate eusauropod, as does a specimen (MNHN MAJ 289) assigned by Lavocat (1955) to Bothriospondylus. (Lang and Goussard do not comment on the relationship of MNHN MAJ 289 to the type material of Bothriospondylus madagascariensis, so comparison between those specimens is essential.) Mannion (2010) has refrained from erecting a new genus for B. madagscariensis because of uncertainties surrounding the association of the type and referred specimens. Nonetheless, it is clear that B. madagascariensis is not the same taxon as Lapparentosaurus and instead represents a derived non-neosauropod eusauropod. Any attempt to erect a new name for B. madagscariensis must await a re-appraisal of the non-neosauropod Malagasy sauropods in a phylogenetic context.

Marmarospondylus needs a separate page because the type horizon for Marmarospondylus robustus (Forest Marble Formation) is late Bathonian whereas the type horizon for Bothriospondylus suffosus (Kimmeridge Clay) is early Kimmeridgian (Cope et. al. 1980). Therefore, even though Marmarospondylus is dubious, there are no grounds for it being congeneric with Bothriospondylus.

The "French Bothriospondylus" specimen described by Lapparent (1943) is a distinct taxon of brachiosaurid (Mannion 2010).

COPE, J. C. W., DUFF, K. L., PARSONS, C. F., TORRENS, H. S., WIMBLEDON, W. A. and WRIGHT, J. K. 1980. A correlation of Jurassic rocks in the British Isles. Part 2, Middle and Upper Jurassic. Geological Society of London Special Report, 15, 1–109.

LAVOCAT, R. 1955. Sur un membre ante´rieur du dinosaurien sauropode Bothriospondylus Owen, recueilli a` Madagascar. Comptes Rendus de l’Acade´mie des Sciences de Paris, 240, 1795–1796.

THEVENIN, A. 1907. Pale´ontologie de Madagascar. Annales de Pale´ontologie, 2, 121–136. 68.4.61.168 (talk) 00:23, 24 February 2012 (UTC)Vahe Demirjian[reply]