Sphenosaurus

Sphenosaurus Temporal range: Late Permian, 252 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	†Parareptilia
Order:	†Procolophonomorpha
Family:	†Procolophonidae
Genus:	†Sphenosaurus von Meyer, 1847
Species:	†S. sternbergii
Binomial name
†Sphenosaurus sternbergii von Meyer, 1847
Synonyms
Palaeosaurus sternbergii Fitzinger, 1840

Sphenosaurus is a poorly known genus of procolophonid, a type of prehistoric reptile from the Late Permian Buntsanstein of Germany.[1] Originally assigned the name Palaeosaurus sternbergii, by German paleontologist Leopold Joseph Fitzinger in 1840, the generic name was already preoccupied by not one but two other reptiles assigned the name Palaeosaurus.[2][3] In 1847, Hermann von Meyer recognized the original 1833 and 1836 usages of Palaeosaurus[4] and moved P. sternbergii to a new genus, Sphenosaurus.[5]

References

1. F. A. Quenstedt. (1882). Handbook of Fossils viii-1239
2. The story of Palaeosaurus and Thecodontosaurus from The Bristol Dinosaur Project
3. A series of posts to the Dinosaur Mailing List by George Olshevsky, regarding the history of Palaeosaurus, including Sphenosaurus: 1 2 3 4
4. Riley, H.; S. Stutchbury (1836). "A description of various fossil remains of three distinct saurian animals discovered in the autumn of 1834, in the Magnesian Conglomerate on Durdham Down, near Bristol". Proceedings of the Geological Society of London. 2: 397–399.
5. H. v. Meyer. (1855). The Fauna of the Ancient World. The Saurians of the Muschelkalk with Regard to the Saurians of the Buntem Sandstone and Keuper viii-167