Pterospondylus

Pterospondylus (meaning "winged vertebra") is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic. It was a coelophysoid theropod which lived in what is now Germany (Trossingen Formation). The type species, Pterospondylus trielbae, was described by Jaekel in 1913-14 for a single back vertebra.[1] Sometimes, it is aligned with Procompsognathus,[2] or even considered to be synonymous with it,[3] despite being based on a vertebra that is twice the size of the corresponding bone in Procompsognathus.[4]

Pterospondylus
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 216 Ma
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Back vertebra in several views
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Coelophysidae
Genus: †Pterospondylus
Jaekel, 1913
Species:
†P. trielbae
Binomial name
†Pterospondylus trielbae
Jaekel, 1913
Restoration

The specific name trielbae is derived from "Tri", in reference to the Triassic period, and "Elba", which points to the Elbe River area.[1]

References
  1. Jaekel, O. (1913-14). Über die Wirbeltierefunde in der oberen Trias von Halberstadt. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 1:155-215.
  2. von Huene, F. (1932). Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihte Entwicklung und Geschichte. Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie 1(4). 361 p.
  3. Steel, R. (1970). Part 14. Saurischia. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie. Gustav Fischer Verlag:Stuttgart, 1-87.
  4. Ostrom, J.H. (1981). Procompsognathus  — theropod or thecodont? Palaeontographica Abstract A, 175(4-6):179-195.


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