Information About

Gigantspinosaurus




  Name ''Gigantspinosaurus''
  Fossil Range Jurassic
  Regnum Animal ia
  Phylum Chordata
  Classis Sauropsida
  Ordo Ornithischia
  Subordo Thyreophora
  Infraordo Stegosauria
  Genus '''''Gigantspinosaurus'''''
  Binomial ''Gigantspinosaurus sichuanensis''
  Binomial Authority Ouyang, 1992


''Gigantspinosaurus'' (meaning "giant-spined lizard") is the name given to a genus of Dinosaur from the Jurassic . It was a Stegosaur found in China . The type species, ''Gigantspinosaurus sichuanensis'', was described in 1992, but has generally been considered a '' Nomen Nudum ''. Despite its questionable nomenclatural status, images of ''Gigantspinosaurus'' have appeared in several sources. ''Gigantspinosaurus'' has a distinctive appearance with relatively small dorsal plates and greatly enlarged shoulder spines.

Public awareness of this animal was increased in early 2006 when Tracy Ford, apparently considering it a validly established taxon, published a short article on reconstructing it. Ford suggested that earlier reconstructions of ''Gigantspinosaurus'' attached the shoulder spines upside-down, and his new reconstruction shows the spine extending somewhat upwards, ending higher than the top of the animal's back.


REFERENCES

  • Ford, T.L., 2006. Stegosaurs: Plates, splates, and spikes, part 1. ''Prehistoric Times'' 76: 20-21.

  • http://personal2.stthomas.edu/jstweet/stegosauria.htm

  • http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/indexg.shtml