Hypselosaurus

• Europe (France, Spain)

• Hypselosaurus priscus

Hypselosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the group of Titanosauria.

So far this genus fragmentary remains of at least 10 individuals were attributed to originate from different localities in Spain and France and have been dated to the Late Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian ).

Hypselosaurus is now considered as a noun dubium ( dubious name ) because the known skeletal material shows no diagnostically usable features, a distinction from other genres is therefore not possible. The only way is Hypselosaurus priscus.

History of research, naming and eggs

Hypselosaurus was scientifically described in 1846 by the geologist Pierre Émile Philippe Matheron based on fossils from the French Rognac in Provence and named in 1869. Matheron held this animal for a gigantic aquatic living crocodile; only Depéret Charles showed in 1900 that it was a sauropod. The name means something like " High lizard" (Greek hypselos - " high," " exalted "; sauros gr - " lizard" ) - Matheron chose this name to draw attention to the unusual long legs of the supposed crocodile.