Oplosaurus

Gervais 1852

Oplosaurus was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. It is known from a single tooth usually referred to the contemporaneous "wastebasket taxon" Pelorosaurus, although there is no solid evidence for this.

Temporal range

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

Paleogene

Neogene

252 201 145 66 0 Ma

PBDB occurrences

Group

Dinosaures

Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial

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The crown (d, b, c) is unequally convex in front and concave (a) behind. The general form of the crown is shown in a, b, c; the anterior side thereof (a, b) is convex and sabre-shaped, and the posterior border (a, b) is slightly concave; the external convex surface (b) is covered with smooth enamel, which forms four blunt ridges on its most prominent part, and terminates inferiorly in a delicate rugous structure, forming a well-defined arch (b), the convexity of which is directed towards the apex ; the posterior surface of the crown (a) is fiat below and concave above ; the enamel is smooth above and rugous below, as on the anterior surface, but it extends much farther down the crown (nearly half an inch) and forms an arch, the convexity of which is directed towards the root ; the internal surfaces of the anterior and posterior borders (a) are abruptly truncated, apparently by dentrition, and near the base of the posterior border there is au oblique fold or depression, close to which are marks of abrasion by dentrition : the unequal extent of the enamel on the external and internal surfaces of the crown proves that the external plate of the ramus of the jaw was deeper on the external than on the internal side. The root (a, b, c, e) is nearly cylindrical ; from the external terminal fold of enamel to its fractured part, it measures 1 inch and 8/10; its surface is much concealed by the matrix, and has masses of pyrites adhering thereto ; it forms a hollow cylinder (e) which inclosed a pulp-cavity ; the structure and form of the root is that of a tooth which was implanted in a distinct alveolus of a large and powerful jaw. Part of the apex is broken off, the position of which we have indicated by dotted lines ; there can be no doubt that it was sharply pointed, and that this tooth was an instrument destined to pierce the soft structures of other animals, and consequently that it belonged to an extinct genus of carnivorous reptiles. Wright, T. (1852). IX.—Contributions to the Palæontology of the Isle of Wight. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 10(56), 87–93. doi:10.1080/03745485609495656 © Thomas Wright M.D. · Public domain · Wikimedia

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Classification

Dinosauria Unranked clade

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Saurischia Unranked clade

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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade

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Massopoda Unranked clade

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Sauropodiformes Unranked clade

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Sauropoda Unranked clade

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Oplosaurus Genus

Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites

Distribution

Top countries

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Temporal distribution

Hauterivian (132.6–125.77 Ma)

Species (1)

Oplosaurus armatus 137 Ma

Images 1

Bibliography

Original description

P. Gervais. 1852. Zoologie et Paléontologie Françaises (Animaux Vertébrés) ou Nouvelles Recherches sur les Animaux Vivants et Fossiles de la France. 1–3:1-274+ DOI ↗

Bibliography (1)

P. Gervais. 1859. Zoologie et Paléontologie Françaises. Nouvelles Recherches sur les Animaux Vertébrés dont on Trouve les Ossements Enfouis dans le Sol de la France et sur leur Comparaison aves les Espèces Propres aux Autres Régions du Globe (Deuxième Edition) [French Zoology and Paleontology. New Research on Vertebrate Animals Whose Bones Are Found Buried in the Soil of France and their Comparison with Species Specific to Other Regions of the Globe (Second Edition)] DOI ↗

Oplosaurus

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