Lusitanosaurus

Lusitania lizard

• Lusitanus · Latin · of Lusitania (the Roman name for the territory corresponding to modern Portugal)
• saurus · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Latin "Lusitanus," referring to Lusitania — the ancient Roman province that broadly corresponds to modern Portugal — with the Greek "sauros," meaning lizard. It was chosen to honour the country where the fossil material was discovered. The name therefore means "lizard from Lusitania" or, more loosely, "Portuguese lizard."

Named by

Lapparent and Zbyszewski

Year named

1957

Period

Early Jurassic

Stage

Hettangian

Found in

Portugal

Lusitanosaurus liasicus is known only from very fragmentary material — a partial upper jaw with teeth. Because the material is so incomplete, it is widely regarded as a nomen dubium (a doubtful name), meaning it cannot be reliably compared to or distinguished from other genera. It has tentatively been classified as a stegosaur or a thyreophoran, but this assignment is uncertain given the poor preservation of the holotype.