RE: What is Liassaurus

[Michael Mortimer <mickey_mortimer111@msn.com>]

from http://home.comcast.net/~eoraptor/Coelophysoidea.htm#Sarcosauruswoodi

"Liassaurus huenei" Welles, Powell and Pickering vide Pickering, 1995 
Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Lower Lias, England
(Warwick Museum coll.) (gracile) (~3.5 m, ~55 g) anterior 
  dorsal centrum (45 mm), mid dorsal centrum (50 mm), ilial fragment, partial 
  pubes, incomplete femora (~320 mm), tibiae (one proximal; 297 mm), distal 
fibula, 
  distal metatarsal II, distal metatarsal III, proximal phalanx III-1, distal 
  metatarsal IV

In 1927, Huene was informed of a theropod partial 
  skeleton in the Warwick Museum which he later described (1932) as a specimen 
  of Sarcosaurus woodi. A distal pubis referred to the specimen is not 
  theropod, as the end is extremely flattened anteroposteriorly. It is very 
similar 
  to sauropodomorphs more derived than Saturnalia, but less than Yunnanosaurus, 
  and is here referred to that clade. Carrano and Sampson (2004) referred to 
the 
  specimen as cf. Sarcosaurus woodi, seemingly depending on Huene's 
description. 
  While both Huene and Carrano and Sampson noted similarity between the Warwick 
  specimen and the woodi holotype, neither provided synapomorphies to support 
  such a referral. Pickering (1995) listed the name Liassaurus huenei in 
  an unpublished bibliographic work, credited to Welles, Powell and Pickering. 
  This is a nomen nudum however, as he didn't follow ICZN Article 8.1.3- it 
must 
  have been produced in an edition containing simultaneously obtainable copies 
  by a method that assures numerous identical and durable copies. He later 
(Welles 
  and Pickering, 1999) referred to it as an unnamed Liassic theropod in the 
comparative 
  section of an unpublished Megalosaurus redescription. It is presumably 
  one of the theropods to be redescribed by Welles and Powell in their 
unpublished 
  study from the 1970's, which Pickering intends to publish as Mutanda 
Dinosaurologica. 
  Pickering posted his diagnosis for "Liassaurus" on a private newsgroup 
  in 2005, of which only the absent trochanteric shelf was different from 
Sarcosaurus. 
  Comparing the two is difficult as only an ilial fragment, proximal pubes and 
  incomplete femur are preserved in both. The ilial fragment is undescribed, 
and 
  neither the pubis or femur preserve diagnostic characters or combinations of 
  characters in both since both lack the femoral head, the woodi type lacks 
  distal condyles and the Warwick specimen lacks the anterior trochanter. 
Characters 
  which differ between femora (curvature, fourth trochanter lateromedial 
placement, 
  presence of trochanteric shelf) vary within other basal theropod taxa as 
well. 
  The sharp mediodistal flare on the tibia is similar to Elaphrosaurus 
  and Ceratosaurus, while the distal tibial depth is greater than 
Megapnosaurus, 
  ceratosaurs or tetanurines.

References- Huene, 1932. Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre 
Entwicklung und Geschichte. 
  Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie. 4(1), viii + 361 pp. 

  Pickering, 1995. Jurassic Park: Unauthorized Jewish Fractals in Philopatry. 
  A Fractal Scaling in Dinosaurology Project, 2nd revised printing. Capitola, 
  California. 478 pp. 
  
Welles and Pickering, 1999. Megalosaurus bucklandii. Private publication 
  of Stephen Pickering, An extract from Archosauromorpha: Cladistics & 
Osteologies. 
  A Fractal Scaling in Dinosaurology Project. 119 pp. 
  
Carrano and Sampson, 2004. A review of coelophysoids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) 
  from the Early Jurassic of Europe, with comments on the late history of the 
  Coelophysoidea. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie Monatshefte. 
2004, 
  537-558.


Mickey Mortimer

----------------------------------------
> Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:59:47 +0200
> From: Michael.Lange@gmx.ch
> To: VRTPALEO@usc.edu; dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: What is Liassaurus
>
> Dear list,
>
> I wonder, what is Liassaurus? I'd also be interested to know in which paper 
> the taxon was erected.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Michael
> --
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