Lexovisaurus

Name: Lexovisaurus ‭(‬Lexovii lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Leks-o-ve-sore-us.
Named By: Robert Hoffstetter‭ ‬-‭ ‬1957.
Synonyms: Omosaurus durobrivensis‭ ‬,‭ ‬Dacentrurus‭ ‬durobrivensis.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Thyreophora,‭ ‬Stegosauria.
Species: L.‭ ‬durobrivensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain but possibly about‭ ‬5‭ ‬to‭ ‬6‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: England‭ ‬-‭ ‬Oxford Clay Formation.‭ ‬Possibly France and Germany.
Time period: Mid to Late Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Holotype consists of partial post cranial skeletal remains including vertebrae and a spike.‭ ‬More individuals and fossils may exist,‭ ‬but assignment is uncertain at this time.

       Like with many dinosaurs named from English fossils in the nineteenth century,‭ ‬Lexovisaurus has a complex taxonomic history,‭ ‬but it can be broken down like this.‭ ‬Current fossils of Lexovisaurus were originally described in‭ ‬1887as Omosaurus a genus that had different species.‭ ‬However it was later realised that the name Omosaurus was preoccupied,‭ ‬so the fossils of the dinosaur were named as Dacentrurus in‭ ‬1915.‭ ‬Then in‭ ‬1957‭ ‬a French palaeontologist by the name of Robert Hoffstetter renamed fossils of one species,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬durobrivensis,‭ ‬as a new genus,‭ ‬Lexovisaurus.
       At the time of writing Lexovisaurus is only known from scattered post cranial skeletal fossils which include vertebrae and a large spike that is currently of uncertain placement.‭ ‬Because of this lack of fossils in the holotype,‭ ‬the exact shape and arrangement of the spikes and plates on the back and tail of Lexovisaurus is unknown,‭ ‬with reconstructions based upon the arrangements of those that appear in other stegosaurid genera.‭ ‬However additional specimens from England and France however may indicate that‭ ‬Lexovisaurus had low plates on the forwards half of the body,‭ ‬and rounded spines on the rear half,‭ ‬but there is still some contention amongst palaeontologists as to if these represent additional specimens of Lexovisaurus.




Further reading
-‭ ‬Note on some dinosaurian remains in the collection of A.‭ ‬Leeds,‭ ‬Esq,‭ ‬of Eyebury,‭ ‬Northamptonshire.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society‭ ‬43:‭ ‬695-702.‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Hulke‭ ‬-‭ ‬1887.
-‭ ‬Un Dinosaurien Stégosauridé dans le Callovien du Calvados.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences,‭ ‬243:‭ ‬1651-1653.‭ ‬-R.‭ ‬Hoffstetter‭ & ‬R.‭ ‬Brun‭ ‬-‭ ‬1956.
-‭ ‬Quelques observations sur les Stégosaurinés.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle,‭ ‬Paris,‭ ‬2nde série‭ ‬29:‭ ‬537-547.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Richard Hoffstetter‭ ‬-‭ ‬1957.
-‭ ‬Skeleton of the stegosaurian dinosaur Lexovisaurus from the lower part of the Middle Callovian‭ (‬Middle Jurassic‭) ‬of Argences‭ (‬Calvados‭)‬,‭ ‬Normandy.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bulletin de la Société géologique de Normandie‭ ‬67:‭ ‬39‭–‬53.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.M.‭ ‬Galton,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Brun‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬Rioult‭ ‬-‭ ‬1980.
-‭ ‬Stegosaurian dinosaurs from the Bathonian‭ (‬Middle Jurassic‭) ‬of England,‭ ‬the earliest record of the family Stegosauridae.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geobios,‭ ‬16:‭ ‬219‭–‬229.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Galton‭ & ‬H.‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Powell‭ ‬-‭ ‬1983.
-‭ ‬Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery:‭ ‬Ornithischia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of the Geological Society of London‭ ‬165:‭ ‬613-623.‭ ‬-‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Naish‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Martill‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.
-‭ ‬Systematics and phylogeny of Stegosauria‭ (‬Dinosauria:‭ ‬Ornithischia‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Systematic Palaeontology‭ ‬6‭ (‬4‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Susannah C.R.‭ ‬Maidment,‭ ‬David B.‭ ‬Norman,‭ ‬Paul M.‭ ‬Barret‭ & ‬Paul Upchurch-‭ ‬2008.



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