Pronunciation: SEE-tee-o-sor-ISS-kus
Meaning: Cetiosaurus-like
Author/s: von Huene (1927)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Peterborough, England
Discovery Chart Position: #150
Cetiosauriscus stewarti
In 1887, John Whittaker Hulke named Ornithopsis Leedsii (with a capital "L" and two small "i"s) based on fragmentary remains (BMNH R1985—1988) from the Kellaways Formation near Peterborough, but in 1889 Seeley opined that this species was referable to Cetiosaurus as Cetiosaurus leedsii (lowercase "l") which was generally accepted.
Sixteen years later, Smith Woodward referred more remains to it, including R1984 (four vertebrae) and R1967 (a tail) from mystery locations in the Peterborough Member (previously the lower Oxford Clay), and BMNH R3078 (a partial skeleton) from the Oxford Clay Formation of Fletton, but in 1927 Friedrich von Huene decided that "Cetiosaurus leedsii" needed its own name and chose Cetiosauriscus—"whale-like lizard-like", in honour of Cetiosaurus—the whale-like lizard. We like whales. Especially the chocolate ones.
When Charig and Chapman revisited the remnants of Cetiosauriscus leedsii in 1980, they couldn't help noticing that they were not only disjointed and pertained to three different individuals, two of which were from unknown quarries, with no overlapping parts for comparison (barring a useless ilium), but also that von Huene had justified "the move" based on unique features of R3078 which he listed as the holotype, even though the Cetiosaurus leedsii holotype is actually R1985—1988. So, they removed R3078 and renamed it Cetiosauriscus stewarti, successfully petitioned the ICZN to have their creation installed as the Cetiosauriscus type specimen in 1993, and the rest, as they say, is history. What was left of Cetiosaurus leedsii has sunk from the radar, and specimens assigned to Cetiosauriscus from Cetiosaurus since (Cetiosauriscus longus and Cetiosauriscus glymptonensis) have been given the brush-off and quietly drifted into the mists of time. Cetiosauriscus (previously Cetiosaurus) greppini waited patiently for a new name as it seemed too good to be associated with the Cetiosauriscus riff-raff, even with a thigh that had been gnawed on by a crocodylomorph called Machimosaurus, and was eventually renamed Amanzia in 2020.
Cetiosauriscus was classified as a member of Cardiodontinae within Cetiosauridae by Von Huene way back in 1927. Since then, it has been considered a brachiosaurid based on like-for-like vertebrae and a diplodocid because of double chevrons on a "whip-like" tail, all of which it no longer owns, while some researchers have suggested it could be a mamenchisaurid instead. If it is a diplodocid, it would be the oldest known. But most palaeontologists seem content to list it as a neosauropod and leave it at that, at least until better remains turn up.
Cetiosauriscus was the first sauropod skeleton to be mounted for display in the UK when "Mr Leeds' dinosaur" was unveiled to the public at the British Museum of Natural History in April of 1903, almost two years before the arrival of their famous American Diplodocus skeleton cast known as "Dippy" during February of 1905.
When Charig and Chapman revisited the remnants of Cetiosauriscus leedsii in 1980, they couldn't help noticing that they were not only disjointed and pertained to three different individuals, two of which were from unknown quarries, with no overlapping parts for comparison (barring a useless ilium), but also that von Huene had justified "the move" based on unique features of R3078 which he listed as the holotype, even though the Cetiosaurus leedsii holotype is actually R1985—1988. So, they removed R3078 and renamed it Cetiosauriscus stewarti, successfully petitioned the ICZN to have their creation installed as the Cetiosauriscus type specimen in 1993, and the rest, as they say, is history. What was left of Cetiosaurus leedsii has sunk from the radar, and specimens assigned to Cetiosauriscus from Cetiosaurus since (Cetiosauriscus longus and Cetiosauriscus glymptonensis) have been given the brush-off and quietly drifted into the mists of time. Cetiosauriscus (previously Cetiosaurus) greppini waited patiently for a new name as it seemed too good to be associated with the Cetiosauriscus riff-raff, even with a thigh that had been gnawed on by a crocodylomorph called Machimosaurus, and was eventually renamed Amanzia in 2020.
Cetiosauriscus was classified as a member of Cardiodontinae within Cetiosauridae by Von Huene way back in 1927. Since then, it has been considered a brachiosaurid based on like-for-like vertebrae and a diplodocid because of double chevrons on a "whip-like" tail, all of which it no longer owns, while some researchers have suggested it could be a mamenchisaurid instead. If it is a diplodocid, it would be the oldest known. But most palaeontologists seem content to list it as a neosauropod and leave it at that, at least until better remains turn up.
Cetiosauriscus was the first sauropod skeleton to be mounted for display in the UK when "Mr Leeds' dinosaur" was unveiled to the public at the British Museum of Natural History in April of 1903, almost two years before the arrival of their famous American Diplodocus skeleton cast known as "Dippy" during February of 1905.
Etymology
Cetiosauriscus is derived from "Cetiosaurus" (the whale-like lizard) and the Latin "iscus" (resembling, like).
The species epithet, stewarti, honors Sir Ronald Stewart, chairman of the brick company that owned the clay pit in which the fossils were found.
Discovery
The fossils of Cetiosauriscus were discovered in the Oxford Clay Formation at the New Peterborough
Brick Company Limited's (NPBCL) Pit Number 2, Fletton, near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. They were collected in 1898 by Alfred Leeds who sold them to the British Museum of Natural History (with some other remains) in February of the following year for the princely sum of £250.
The holotype (BMNH R3078) is a series of vertebrae, the left hind leg, a partial hip, and the right front leg.
