[D] Saltopus elgininsis [Su] [sG] [T]
Describer
Huene, 1910
Time
Triassic Late Norian
Classification
Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Nomina Dubia
Diet
Carnivore
Fossilsite
Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation of Lossiemouth, Scotland
Length
0,6 meter
Info
Genus - Typespecies - Skull
Partial skeleton, including caudal part of skull. The animal is reported to be a very primitive theropod, having three sacral vertebrae (rather than four) and a short ilium. The hindlimb shows cursorial proportions, and the metatarsals are bunched together to give a typically (although not exclusively) dinosaurian digitigrade tance.
As reconstructed by Benton and Walker (1985), the skull is as in Procompsognathus very low and slender. The type material is extremely poorly preserved and impossible to inerpret unambigously. \\\\\\\"hopping foot\\\\\\\" According to von Huene the hind limbs very much bring to mind those of a frog and were too long for the animal to have been able to walk upright.
This genus was recently reassessed by Rauhut and Hungerbühler (2000) As noted by this authors, the holotype BMNH R3915 and only specimen of the typespecies Saltopus elginensis represents a small bidepal animal with elongated hindlimbs. Other features, however (e.g., shortness of ilium, low number of sacral vertebrae [most likely two, not the four argued by Huene 1910] and subequal width of lower limb bones) make the specimens referral to the Theropoda unlikely. Although a short ilium and only two sacral vertebrae are known in Herrerasaurus (see Novas 1993) the sacral ribs are much more massive in Herrerasaurus than seemingly in Saltopus. Also some characters (e.g., elongated hindlimbs, bipediality, and probable cursorial habits) are also known in primitive dinosauriformes such as Marasuchus (Sereno and Arcucci 1994) Consequently Rauhut and Hungerbühler regarded Saltopus as a probable dinosauriform.
Huene, 1910
Time
Triassic Late Norian
Classification
Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Nomina Dubia
Diet
Carnivore
Fossilsite
Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation of Lossiemouth, Scotland
Length
0,6 meter
Info
Genus - Typespecies - Skull
Partial skeleton, including caudal part of skull. The animal is reported to be a very primitive theropod, having three sacral vertebrae (rather than four) and a short ilium. The hindlimb shows cursorial proportions, and the metatarsals are bunched together to give a typically (although not exclusively) dinosaurian digitigrade tance.
As reconstructed by Benton and Walker (1985), the skull is as in Procompsognathus very low and slender. The type material is extremely poorly preserved and impossible to inerpret unambigously. \\\\\\\"hopping foot\\\\\\\" According to von Huene the hind limbs very much bring to mind those of a frog and were too long for the animal to have been able to walk upright.
This genus was recently reassessed by Rauhut and Hungerbühler (2000) As noted by this authors, the holotype BMNH R3915 and only specimen of the typespecies Saltopus elginensis represents a small bidepal animal with elongated hindlimbs. Other features, however (e.g., shortness of ilium, low number of sacral vertebrae [most likely two, not the four argued by Huene 1910] and subequal width of lower limb bones) make the specimens referral to the Theropoda unlikely. Although a short ilium and only two sacral vertebrae are known in Herrerasaurus (see Novas 1993) the sacral ribs are much more massive in Herrerasaurus than seemingly in Saltopus. Also some characters (e.g., elongated hindlimbs, bipediality, and probable cursorial habits) are also known in primitive dinosauriformes such as Marasuchus (Sereno and Arcucci 1994) Consequently Rauhut and Hungerbühler regarded Saltopus as a probable dinosauriform.