Glacialisaurus

icy lizard

• glacialis · Latin · icy, frozen
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Latin "glacialis" (icy) with the Greek "sauros" (lizard). It refers to the frozen setting of the discovery, the Beardmore Glacier region of Antarctica, where the fossils were found. The type species, G. hammeri, honors William Hammer, who found the fossils.

Named by

Smith and Pol

Year named

2007

Period

Early Jurassic

Stages

Sinemurian – Pliensbachian

Found in

Hanson Formation, Beardmore Glacier region, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica

An early sauropodomorph (a "basal" sauropodomorph) known from fragmentary remains, including a partial foot and a hindlimb element. Its exact relationships within early sauropodomorphs are debated. The age of the Hanson Formation is not tightly constrained, so the stage range is approximate.