Protognathosaurus

first jaw lizard

• proto- · Greek · first
• gnathos · Greek · jaw
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines Greek roots for "first", "jaw" and "lizard", so it means "first jaw lizard". It refers to the lower jaw, which is the main fossil known. Olshevsky coined it in 1991 as a replacement for an earlier name that was already taken.

Named by

Olshevsky

Year named

1991

Period

Middle Jurassic

Found in

Lower Shaximiao Formation, Sichuan, China

This is a sauropod known from a lower jaw. It is a replacement name for an earlier name that was already in use. Its current taxonomic standing is uncertain. It has sometimes been treated as a possible synonym of, or close to, other Chinese Middle Jurassic sauropods such as Shunosaurus. I am not confident of the exact status, so I have left that field blank.