Neosaurus

new lizard

• neos · Greek · new
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Greek word 'neos' (new) with 'sauros' (lizard), meaning 'new lizard'. It was applied as a new genus name for remains that were being separated from previously described material. The name is straightforward and descriptive, indicating a newly recognised reptilian form rather than referring to any specific physical feature, place, or person.

Named by

Peabody

Year named

1952

Period

Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

Neosaurus is a preoccupied name with a complicated history. A genus called Neosaurus was first applied to Permian pelycosaur remains from North America (sometimes associated with material near Dimetrodon relatives), but the name had already been used for a different animal, making it preoccupied under the rules of zoological nomenclature. It is not a true dinosaur; it refers to a Paleozoic non-dinosaurian synapsid or reptile. The name is therefore invalid as a dinosaur genus. Some sources also list a separate, unrelated Neosaurus applied to fragmentary material from France (a possible sauropod), which is generally considered a nomen dubium. Confidence is medium due to the tangled nomenclatural history across multiple uses of this name.