Halticosaurus

nimble/agile lizard

• haltikos · Greek · good at jumping, nimble, agile
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Greek word 'haltikos' (ἁλτικός), meaning nimble or good at jumping, with the Greek 'sauros', meaning lizard. It was chosen to suggest an agile, lightly built animal, reflecting the gracile nature of the skeletal remains. The name was coined by Friedrich von Huene, who described it as a slender, swift-moving early theropod.

Named by

von Huene

Year named

1908

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Norian

Found in

Löwenstein Formation, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Halticosaurus is generally regarded as a nomen dubium. The fragmentary remains (teeth, vertebrae, and limb elements) have made confident diagnosis difficult, and some material originally referred to this genus has since been reassigned to other taxa. It was initially classified as a coelophysoid-grade theropod, but its exact affinities remain uncertain due to the poor quality of the holotype material.