Hypsibema

high step / high platform

• hypsi · Greek · high
• bema · Greek · step, platform, or raised ground

The name combines the Greek word "hypsi" (high or lofty) with "bema" (a step, platform, or raised place). It was chosen in reference to the large, robust proportions of the animal — evoking something of great stature or elevated size. The name was applied to fragmentary large hadrosaurid material from Missouri, making it one of the earliest dinosaur genera named from that state.

Named by

Cope

Year named

1869

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Campanian – Maastrichtian

Found in

Missouri and North Carolina, USA

Hypsibema is generally regarded as a nomen dubium. It was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1869 on the basis of very fragmentary material (isolated vertebrae and limb bones) from Missouri (H. missouriensis) and North Carolina (H. crassicauda). The material is too incomplete to reliably diagnose the genus or assign it confidently to a more specific hadrosaurid taxon. It is historically notable as one of the very first dinosaur remains described from Missouri. Missouri has since informally designated H. missouriensis as its state dinosaur.