Caseosaurus

Case's lizard

• Case · English · surname of American paleontologist Ermine Cowles Case
• saurus · Greek · lizard

Caseosaurus is named in honour of the American vertebrate paleontologist Ermine Cowles Case (1871–1953), who made significant contributions to the study of Permian and Triassic reptiles. The second element, '-saurus', comes from the Greek word 'sauros', meaning 'lizard', a standard suffix in dinosaur and reptile genus names. The name therefore translates literally as 'Case's lizard'. It was named as a tribute to Case's extensive work on early Triassic faunas of the American Southwest.

Named by

Hunt and Lucas

Year named

1991

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Carnian

Found in

Otis Chalk locality, Dockum Formation, Howard County, Texas, USA

Caseosaurus crosbyensis is known only from a partial ilium. It was originally described as a herrerasaurid dinosaur (a very early theropod-line dinosaur), but subsequent analyses have questioned its referral, and some researchers consider it a nomen dubium due to the fragmentary and non-diagnostic nature of the material. Its classification as a dinosaur at all remains uncertain.