Asylosaurus

sanctuary lizard (safe lizard)

• asylos · Greek · safe, inviolable (source of 'asylum')
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Greek "asylos" (safe, inviolable, as in "asylum" or sanctuary) with "sauros" (lizard). It refers to the fossils having been kept safe at Yale. The specimens in Bristol that were found at the same site were destroyed in a 1940 air raid. The species name, yalensis, also refers to Yale.

Named by

Galton

Year named

2007

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Rhaetian

Found in

Pant-y-ffynnon Quarry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK

A small early sauropodomorph. It was first described as Thecodontosaurus and was later given its own genus. The type species is Asylosaurus yalensis. Its relationship to Thecodontosaurus has been debated, and some researchers question whether it is a separate genus. I am not certain of its current standing.