Cryptodraco

hidden dragon

• kryptos · Greek · hidden
• draco · Latin · dragon

The name combines the Greek word 'kryptos' (hidden) and the Latin 'draco' (dragon). It was chosen to reflect the obscure or uncertain nature of the animal, whose remains were fragmentary and difficult to classify. The "hidden" element may also allude to the incomplete preservation of the fossil material, which kept the true identity of the creature somewhat mysterious.

Named by

Seeley

Year named

1869

Period

Late Jurassic

Stage

Kimmeridgian

Found in

Lincolnshire, England, UK

Cryptodraco eumerus is known only from a femur from the Kimmeridgian-age Ampthill Clay Formation of Lincolnshire, England. It is generally regarded as a nomen dubium because the material is too fragmentary to be confidently assigned to any particular group, though it is thought to be an ankylosaur or a related thyreophoran dinosaur. The genus was established by Harry Govier Seeley in 1869.