Streptospondylus

twisted vertebra (or 'turned vertebra')

• streptos · Greek · twisted, turned
• spondylos · Greek · vertebra

The name combines the Greek words for "twisted" or "turned" and "vertebra". Von Meyer chose it because the neck and back vertebrae had an unusual ball-and-socket arrangement that looked "reversed" compared with those of many reptiles known at the time.

Named by

von Meyer

Year named

1832

Period

Middle to Late Jurassic

Found in

Normandy (Calvados), northern France

A megalosauroid theropod. The best-known material is assigned to S. cuvieri (Owen, 1842). Its early taxonomic history is tangled, with other material once placed in the genus. The stage range and some details are given with moderate confidence.