Describer

Huene, 1932

Time

Jurassic Early Jurassic Middle Sinemurian Pliensbachian Toarcian Aalenian Bajocian

Classification

Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae ?Carnosauria

Diet

Carnivore

Fossilsite

England

Typespecies

Magnosaurus nethercombensis

Info

Genus

Magnosaurus (Huene, 1932) > Magnosaurus nethercombensis (Huene, 1926) = Megalosaurus nethercombensis (Huene, 1926)

Magnosaurus > Magnosaurus lydekkeri (Huene, 1932) >> Megalosaurus lydekkeri (Huene, 1926)

Based on dentaries, a dorsal and caudal, pubis, femore, and tibiae all incomplete, the femora being represented maimly by casts of the internal cavities.

Andrews (1921) described Sarcosaurus woodi and compared it with the Tibia [BMNH R3542] described by Woodward (1908). Huene had finished his 1926a paper (Rev. Mus. La Plata, 29) by February, 2 of 1921, too early to get hold of the 1921 paper of Andrews.

In 1926, when his first paper (1926a) finally was published, Huene made up a shorter version (1926b: Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9) 17) in which he also did not cite the paper of Andrews; probably he failed to notice its relevance then. In 1932 Huene published a large monograph covering some hundred species and it may be forgivable that without the aid of a computer handling a slowly \\\"evolving\\\" manuscript he had just overlooked that he classified the same remains as coelurosaurian (Sarcosaurus) and some pages later as carnosaurian (Magnosaurus), and erecting two species names for the same thing.

In 1956 Huene apparently corrected this quietly by applying the name Sarcosaurus (\\\"2 species\\\") to material from the angulatus zone (i.e. Sarcosaurus andrewsi), and restricting the genus Magnosaurus to material from the humphriesi zone (i.e. Magnosaurus nethercombensis). If no one has decided so far which of the names Sarcosaurus andrewsi Huene 1932 or [Sarcosaurus woodwardi] (Huene 1932) should have priority, then the usage of Huene 1956 should be considered as binding by the potential First Reviser.

Welles (1984: 170) apparently detected the double naming but did not take action. Rowe & Gauthier (1990: 166) regarded Sarcosaurus andrewsi as indeterminate and did not mention [Magnosaurus woodwardi]. Molnar et al. (1990: 203, recited by Glut 1997: 561) supposed that \\\"[Magnosaurus woodwardi ] may be referrable to the ceratosaur Sarcosaurus andrewsi\\\".

Tibia from Wilmcote, angulatus zone (Lias), described by Woodward 1908.
Huene 1926a \\\"Megalosaurus\\\" (subgen. a) sp.
Huene 1926b: 476 [no name applied]
Huene 1932: 51-52, 295 Sarcosaurus andrewsi n. sp.
[Huene wrote p. 51: \\\"Actually it would have been self suggesting to name the species [Sarcosaurus \\\"woodwardi\\\"], but then the two species names would sound too similar\\\"; concerning Sarcosaurus woodi Andrews
Huene 1932: 220, 305 [Magnosaurus woodwardi] n. sp.
Huene 1956: 477 Sarcosaurus

The type species of Magnosaurus Huene 1932: 220 is Magnosaurus nethercombensis (Huene, 1926) by original designation (ICZN Art. 68.2.1.). It must be reminded that there is no \\\"page priority\\\", whatever the myths tell.

Material from the humphriesi[anum]-zone (Dogger), Nethercomb. (earlier references see Huene 1926a)
Huene 1926a \\\"Megalosaurus\\\" (subgen. b) nethercombensis n. sp.
Huene 1926b \\\"Megalosaurus nethercombensis\\\" sp. n.
Huene 1932: 220, 305 Magnosaurus n. g. nethercombensis Huene sp. 1926
Huene 1956: 486 Magnosaurus

Magnosaurus lydekkeri was never allocated by Huene to a genus without expressions of doubt concerning this allocation.

isolated tooth from Lyme Regis, ?bucklandi zone
Huene 1926a \\\"Megalosaurus\\\" (gen. ?), lydekkeri n. sp.
Huene 1932 Magnosaurus (?) lydekkeri Huene sp. 1926

Of the three species mentioned above only one species can be considered as belonging to Magnosaurus (whatever that may be): Magnosaurus nethercombensis, the type species,

_{Source: M. Moser pers. comm. 2001}