Pronunciation: mag-no-SOR-us
Meaning: Great lizard
Author/s: von Huene (1923)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Dorset, England
Discovery Chart Position: #134
Magnosaurus nethercombensis
During a nine-year spell between 1923 and 1932, Friedrich von Huene embarked on a mind-bending Megalosaurus naming/renaming extravaganza, and seven years later, England declared war on Germany. We don't think it was a coincidence!
(Crash!) In 1923, he named a partial skeleton (OUM J12143) found by James Parker in Dorset's inferior Oolite Megalosaurus nethercombensis.
(Bang!) In 1926, he named Megalosaurus lydekkeri based on a single tooth (BMNH 41352) from the Lower Lias of Dorset, England, which Richard Lydekker first mentioned way back in 1888.
(Wallop!) In a 1932 paper, he nominated Megalosaurus nethercombensis as the type specimen of Magnosaurus and assigned Megalosaurus lydekkeri to it as a second species. Then he shunted a tibia (BMNH R.3542) from the Lower Lias—originally named Megalosaurus woodwardi by Lydekker in 1911 in honour of Arthur Woodward, who described it simply as "megalosaurian" in 1908—into Magnosaurus Woodwardi, and in tandem, managed to name the very same shinbone Sarcosaurus andrewsi.
During this period, he also meddled with Megalosaurus dunkeri, Megalosaurus oweni and Altispinax, which eventually led to Becklespinax and Valdosaurus. By the by, in 1956, he righted his earlier faux pas and ever so quietly buried Magnosaurus Woodwardi in favour of Sarcosaurus andrewsi, but he was rumbled, and everyone laughed.
Despite its infamy, Megalosaurus and its brethren are still relatively misunderstood, and Magnosaurus—a megalosaurid that some experts accuse of being indistinguishable from Eustreptospondylus—is a bit of a let-down. In 1988, Greg Paul estimated its length and mass to be a far from flabbergasting 4 meters and 175kg (though its remains may actually belong to a juvenile) and even after a 2010 review by Roger Benson and an upscale to half a ton in mass, it's still nothing to write home about.
On the plus side, Benson proved beyond doubt that Magnosaurus is a valid species distinct from all other European Middle Jurassic theropods and the oldest definitive tetanuran to boot. But an as-yet undescribed Italian critter may prove to be a good 20 million years older if its rocky tomb has been correctly dated and its remains are diagnostic.
(Crash!) In 1923, he named a partial skeleton (OUM J12143) found by James Parker in Dorset's inferior Oolite Megalosaurus nethercombensis.
(Bang!) In 1926, he named Megalosaurus lydekkeri based on a single tooth (BMNH 41352) from the Lower Lias of Dorset, England, which Richard Lydekker first mentioned way back in 1888.
(Wallop!) In a 1932 paper, he nominated Megalosaurus nethercombensis as the type specimen of Magnosaurus and assigned Megalosaurus lydekkeri to it as a second species. Then he shunted a tibia (BMNH R.3542) from the Lower Lias—originally named Megalosaurus woodwardi by Lydekker in 1911 in honour of Arthur Woodward, who described it simply as "megalosaurian" in 1908—into Magnosaurus Woodwardi, and in tandem, managed to name the very same shinbone Sarcosaurus andrewsi.
During this period, he also meddled with Megalosaurus dunkeri, Megalosaurus oweni and Altispinax, which eventually led to Becklespinax and Valdosaurus. By the by, in 1956, he righted his earlier faux pas and ever so quietly buried Magnosaurus Woodwardi in favour of Sarcosaurus andrewsi, but he was rumbled, and everyone laughed.
Despite its infamy, Megalosaurus and its brethren are still relatively misunderstood, and Magnosaurus—a megalosaurid that some experts accuse of being indistinguishable from Eustreptospondylus—is a bit of a let-down. In 1988, Greg Paul estimated its length and mass to be a far from flabbergasting 4 meters and 175kg (though its remains may actually belong to a juvenile) and even after a 2010 review by Roger Benson and an upscale to half a ton in mass, it's still nothing to write home about.
On the plus side, Benson proved beyond doubt that Magnosaurus is a valid species distinct from all other European Middle Jurassic theropods and the oldest definitive tetanuran to boot. But an as-yet undescribed Italian critter may prove to be a good 20 million years older if its rocky tomb has been correctly dated and its remains are diagnostic.
Etymology
Magnosaurus is derived from the Latin "magnus" (great, large) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard) alluding to its "great size". (It was considered huge back in the day!).The species epithet (or specific name), nethercombensis, is derived from "Nethercombe" (its place of discovery) and the Latin "ensis" (from).
Discovery
The first remains of Magnosaurus were discovered in the inferior Oolite sediments at Nethercombe, north of Sherborne, Dorset, England, by James Parker sometime in the nineteenth century. The holotype (UMO J12143) includes partial tooth-bearing jaw bones, vertebrae and hip bones, and internal casts of hindlimb bones, probably from a juvenile.
