Xenoposeidon

alien Poseidon (strange earth-shaker)

• xenos · Greek · strange, alien, foreign
• Poseidon · Greek · Greek god of the sea and earthquakes; also the name of the related sauropod Sauroposeidon

The name combines the Greek "xenos" (strange or alien) with Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea and earthquakes. It alludes to the sauropod Sauroposeidon, which was named after the same god, and to the fact that the single known vertebra looked unlike that of any other sauropod. The species is Xenoposeidon proneneukos.

Named by

Taylor and Naish

Year named

2007

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stages

Berriasian – Valanginian

Found in

Hastings Group (Ashdown Formation), Wadhurst Clay area near Hastings, East Sussex, England

A sauropod known from a single partial dorsal vertebra (NHMUK R2095), found in the 19th century. Its exact relationships are debated; it was originally described as possibly a neosauropod, and some later work has questioned its placement (e.g. rebbachisaurid affinities have been suggested). The precise stage range and formation details are given with moderate certainty.