Regnosaurus

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{{Taxobox
| name = Regnosaurus
| fossil_range = Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

| regnum = Animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously...

ia
| phylum = Chordata

Chordate

Chordates are animals which are either vertebrates or one of several closely related invertebrates. They are united by having, for at least some period of their life cycle, a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail...

| classis = Sauropsida

Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, generally "cold-blooded" amniotes that generally have skin covered in scales or scutes. They are tetrapods and lay amniote eggs, whose embryos are surrounded by the amnion membrane...

| superordo = Dinosaur

Dinosaur

{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...

ia
| ordo = Ornithischia

Ornithischia

Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'...

| subordo = Thyreophora

Thyreophora

The Thyreophora were a subgroup of the ornithischian dinosaurs...

| infraordo = Stegosauria

Stegosauria

Known colloquially as stegosaurs, the Stegosauria are a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Periods, being found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America and China....

| familia = Huayangosauridae
| genus = Regnosaurus
| genus_authority = Mantell

Gideon Mantell

Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS was an English obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist...

, 1848
|subdivision_ranks = Species

Species

In biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....

|subdivision=

• R. northamptoni Mantell, 1848 (type
  Type species
  In taxonomy, a type species is a technical phrase, involved in the application of formal names...
  
  )

}}

Regnosaurus (meaning "Sussex lizard") is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...

 of herbivorous stegosaurian dinosaur

Dinosaur

{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...

 that lived during the Early Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , Latin language for "chalky", usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 Period in what is now England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Discovery and species

The fossil remains were found near Cuckfield

Cuckfield

Cuckfield is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Haywards Heath to the southeast and Burgess...

 in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, and initially thought to be from Iguanodon

Iguanodon

Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...

. However, Mantell

Gideon Mantell

Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS was an English obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist...

 reviewed it and felt it to be of a different creature, coining the name Regnosaurus in 1848. It is known only from a right mandibular (lower jaw) fragment. A fossil pubis

Pubis (bone)

The android pubic bone is the ventral and anterior of the three principal bones composing either half of the pelvis.It is covered by a layer of fat, which is covered by the mons pubis.It is divisible into a body, a superior ramus and an inferior ramus....

 was also recovered on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...

.

Recent research by Barret and Upchurch in 1995 suggests that it is a stegosaur similar to Huayangosaurus

Huayangosaurus

Huayangosaurus is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The name derives from "Huayang", an alternate name for Sichuan , and "saurus", meaning "lizard"...

, as the jaws are very similar. A nomen dubium

Nomen dubium

In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Note that in the ICBN and ICNB the phrase "nomen dubium" has no status In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium (Latin for "doubtful name", plural nomina dubia) is a scientific name that...

, the type species

Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is a technical phrase, involved in the application of formal names...

is Regnosaurus northamptoni.

External links

• Stegosaur page on Thescelosaurus! web site.
• Regnosaurus on Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight site.

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