Bathyspondylus
Encyclopedia
Bathyspondylus is an extinct genus
of plesiosaur
. It was first described in 1982 from a specimen
originally found in 1774, now housed at the Devizes Museum. Because it is known only from its fossil
vertebrae (and so few of those have been recovered), paleontologists
are not entirely sure of the taxonomy
of Bathyspondylus; the family
it belongs to is not currently known.
The type
, and only known, species
of Bathyspondylus is Bathyspondylus swindoniensis, which was described from the same material as its genus.
name Bathyspondylus is a compound of two Greek
roots: βαθυς (bathys) 'deep' and σπονδυλος (spondylos) 'vertebra'. It can thus be translated as "deep-vertebrae".
The species name B. swindoniensis refers to the town of Swindon
in Wiltshire
, near which the holotype
specimen was discovered.
specimen, from 1774, appears to have features of both pliosauroids and plesiosauroids incorporated into its bones.
Bathyspondylus lived during the Kimmeridgian
faunal stage
of the Jurassic period, which occurred roughly 155 to 150 million years ago. The first of its fossils came from deposits near Swindon in Wiltshire, England
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
. It was first described in 1982 from a specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
originally found in 1774, now housed at the Devizes Museum. Because it is known only from its fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
vertebrae (and so few of those have been recovered), paleontologists
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
are not entirely sure of the taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of Bathyspondylus; the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
it belongs to is not currently known.
The type
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
, and only known, species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of Bathyspondylus is Bathyspondylus swindoniensis, which was described from the same material as its genus.
Etymology
The genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
name Bathyspondylus is a compound of two Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
roots: βαθυς (bathys) 'deep' and σπονδυλος (spondylos) 'vertebra'. It can thus be translated as "deep-vertebrae".
The species name B. swindoniensis refers to the town of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, near which the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
specimen was discovered.
Description
Bathyspondylus had centra set fairly deep in the vertebrae relative to its length, as its name (the Greek words for deep-vertebrae) would suggest. The vertebrae themselves are short antero-posteriorly and can be flat or concave on their terminal faces. The holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
specimen, from 1774, appears to have features of both pliosauroids and plesiosauroids incorporated into its bones.
Distribution
Kimmeridgian
In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age or stage in the Late or Upper Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 155.7 ± 4 Ma and 150.8 ± 4 Ma . The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxfordian and precedes the Tithonian....
faunal stage
Faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convention have the same name, and the same boundaries.Rock...
of the Jurassic period, which occurred roughly 155 to 150 million years ago. The first of its fossils came from deposits near Swindon in Wiltshire, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
External links
- http://www.plesiosaur.com/database/genusIndividual.php?i=65
- http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/ples.html