Euskelosaurus

well-limbed lizard

• eu- · Greek · good, well, true
• skelos · Greek · leg, limb
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Greek "eu" (well/good), "skelos" (leg or limb), and "sauros" (lizard), giving the overall meaning of "well-limbed lizard." It was chosen to reflect the robust, well-developed limb bones that were among the most prominent features of the fossil material. The heavily built leg bones, particularly the femur and tibia, impressed the describer and inspired the name. It is one of the earlier sauropodomorph dinosaurs known from southern Africa.

Named by

Huxley

Year named

1866

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Norian

Found in

Lower Elliot Formation, South Africa and Lesotho

Euskelosaurus is generally considered a nomen dubium because the fragmentary nature of the type material makes it difficult to confidently diagnose the genus. It was one of the first dinosaurs described from Africa. The fossils consist mainly of limb bones and vertebrae. Some material previously referred to Euskelosaurus has been reassigned to other prosauropod/sauropodomorph genera such as Plateosauravus.