Piatnitzkysaurus
pee-AT-nitz-kee-SORE-us /piˌætnɪtskiˈsɔːrəs/
Accepted genus
Piatnitzky's lizard
- Piatnitzky · Surname (Latinized) · Alejandro Piatnitzky, Argentine geologist who worked in Patagonia
- sauros · Greek · lizard
The name honours Alejandro Piatnitzky, a geologist who studied the geology of Chubut Province, Patagonia, and was involved in early work on the region's rocks. It is combined with the Greek "sauros" (lizard). The genus was named by José Bonaparte in 1979 for a medium-sized theropod from Argentina.
- Named by
- Bonaparte
- Year named
- 1979
- Period
- Middle Jurassic
- Stage
- Callovian
- Found in
- Cañadón Asfalto Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina
A basal megalosauroid theropod; the type species is Piatnitzkysaurus floresi. The Callovian age is the commonly cited one, though the dating of the Cañadón Asfalto Formation has been debated.