Megapnosaurus

big dead lizard

• mega · Greek · big, large
• apnos · Greek · without breath, dead
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Megapnosaurus was coined in 2001 as a replacement name for Syntarsus, which turned out to be already used for a beetle. The name is usually translated as "big dead lizard". It is a bit of a joke, since the animal is known from many well-preserved skeletons. The name was built from Greek roots for "large", "without breath" (dead) and "lizard".

Named by

Ivie, Ślipiński and Węgrzynowicz

Year named

2001

Period

Early Jurassic

Found in

Forest Sandstone, Zimbabwe

Replacement name for Syntarsus Raath, 1969, which was preoccupied by a beetle genus (Syntarsus Fairmaire, 1869). The type species is M. rhodesiensis. Some researchers treat it as a separate genus of coelophysoid theropod. Others consider it a species of Coelophysis (C. rhodesiensis), which would make Megapnosaurus a junior synonym. Its taxonomic status is therefore debated.