Gryponyx

Grip-on-iks.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Gryponyx ‭(‬hooked claw‭)‬.

Phonetic

Grip-on-iks.

Named By

Robert Broom‭ ‬-‭ ‬1911.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Massopoda.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

G.‭ ‬africanus

Size

About‭ ‬5‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

South Africa‭ ‬-‭ ‬Upper Elliot Formation.

Time Period

Hettangian/Sinemurian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial skeleton.

In Depth

       Gryponyx was first named by Robert Broom in‭ ‬1911who when he described this dinosaur thought that he was naming a theropod dinosaur.‭ ‬This assessment was seconded in‭ ‬1932‭ ‬when Friedrich von Huene classified Gryponyx in with the Carnosauria.‭ ‬By‭ ‬1976‭ ‬Gryponyx was realised to actually be a sauropodomorph dinosaur‭ (‬the group ancestral to the later sauropods and titanosaurs‭)‬,‭ ‬however at this time Gryponyx was synonymised with a species of Massospondylus.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬harriesi in a study by Galton and Cluver.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1981‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Harriesi was synonymised in with another Massospondylus species,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬carinatus.‭ ‬Then in‭ ‬2004‭ ‬a study by Vasconcelos and Yates resurrected Gryponyx as a distinct genus separate from Massospondylus,‭ ‬and subsequent studies referencing this decision have all supported the re-establishment of the Gryponyx genus.

       Gryponyx was a mid-sized sauropodomorph dinosaur probably roaming about on all fours,‭ ‬but able to adopt a bipedal posture when browsing upon plants.‭ ‬While other species of Gryponyx have been named,‭ ‬in modern times only the type species has been considered to be valid.

       Another dinosaur named by Robert Broom in‭ ‬1911‭ ‬was Geranosaurus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬On the dinosaurs of the Stormberg,‭ ‬South Africa.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Annals of the South African Museum‭ ‬7‭(‬4‭)‬:291-308.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Robert Broom‭ ‬-‭ ‬1911. -‭ ‬Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia,‭ ‬ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Monographien zur Geologie und Pal�ontologie,‭ ‬Series‭ ‬1‭ ‬4:‭ ‬1‭–‬361.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Friedrich von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1932. -‭ ‬Anchisaurus capensis‭ (‬Broom‭) ‬and a revision of the Anchisauridae‭ (‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Saurischia‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Annals of the South African Museum‭ ‬69‭(‬6‭)‬:121-159.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Galton‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Cluver‭ ‬-‭ ‬1976. -‭ ‬The prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus Owen from Zimbabwe:‭ ‬its biology,‭ ‬mode of life and phylogenetic significance.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia,‭ ‬Series B,‭ ‬Natural Sciences‭ ‬6‭(‬10‭)‬:689-840.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Cooper‭ ‬-‭ ‬1981. -‭ ‬Sauropodomorph biodiversity of the upper Elliot Formation‭ (‬Lower Jurassic‭) ‬of southern Africa.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geoscience Africa,‭ ‬Abstract Volume‭ ‬2:670.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Yates‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004. -‭ ‬A New Basal Sauropod Dinosaur from the Lufeng Basin,‭ ‬Yunnan Province,‭ ‬Southwestern China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Geologica Sinica‭ (‬English Edition‭) ‬84‭ (‬6‭)‬:‭ ‬1336‭–‬1342.‭ ‬-‭ ‬L� Junchang,‭ ‬Yoshitsugu Kobayashi,‭ ‬Li Tianguang‭ & ‬Zhong Shimin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010. -‭ ‬A new transitional sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of South Africa and the evolution of sauropod feeding and quadrupedalism.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Proceedings of the Royal Society B‭ ‬277‭ (‬1682‭)‬:‭ ‬787‭–‬794.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Yates,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Bonnan,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Neveling,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Chinsamy‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Blackbeard‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

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