Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature: Dicynodon turpior + Cricosaurus + Prestosuchus + Tornieria gracilis + Rhamphorhynchus bucklandi (free pdfs)
136 views
Skip to first unread message
Ben Creisler
Dec 26, 2025, 4:30:02 PM (13 days ago) 12/26/25
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
====
====
Nomenclatural Notes
Free pdf:
R. V. Pêgas, Kamila L.N. Bandeira & Rafael C. Silva (2025)
Prestosuchus (Reptilia, Pseudosuchia, Loricata) is available from Krebs, 1976, not Huene, 1938
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 167-170
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a028
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88098
The purpose of this Nomenclatural Note is to discuss the availability of the name Prestosuchus (Reptilia, Pseudosuchia, Loricata), previously attributed to “Huene, 1938” in the literature. The name Prestosuchus has long held a prominent place in the scientific literature. However, this name has been considered as a nomen nudum, and a new generic name was recently proposed (Huenesuchus Kischlat, 2023). Here, we note that a new generic name is not required, as there is already an available name: Prestosuchus Krebs, 1976.
====
Free pdf:
Alvaro Mones (2025)
The correct year of publication of Coloradia brevis Bonaparte (currently Coloradisaurus brevis; Dinosauria, Prosauropoda, Massospondylidae) is 1979, not 1978
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 171-174
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a029
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88099
The purpose of this Nomenclatural Note is to correct the publication date of the species Coloradia brevis Bonaparte (currently Coloradisaurus brevis). It is usually cited as 1978, but it was actually printed a full year later in 1979.
====
Free pdf:
Gunnar Bivens, Tyler Greenfield & Brian Curtice (2025)
The authorship of Barosaurus africanus gracilis (currently Tornieria gracilis; Dinosauria, Sauropoda), and designation of a lectotype
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 175-180
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a030
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88100
The sauropod dinosaur name “Barosaurus africanus var. gracilis” was first proposed in 1961 by Janensch as an infrasubspecific taxon and hence not made available. Though it has been disregarded because of that, Chure and McIntosh accidentally made it available in 1989 as a subspecies by bibliographic reference, and its authorship should be attributed to them. Here, it is formally reassessed as the available name of a species tentatively assigned to the genus Tornieria. Its syntype series is characterized, and one specimen (a skull) is designated as lectotype.
====
Free pdf:
Henry N. Thomas (2025)
Rhamphorhynchus bucklandi Huxley, 1859 is the valid name and authority for a Jurassic pterosaur (Pterosauria, Rhamphorhynchidae) from England, not Pterodactylus bucklandi Meyer, 1832
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 185-189
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a032
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88102
One of the Middle Jurassic pterosaur species from the “Stonesfield Slate” formerly referred to Rhamphocephalus is frequently cited as Pterodactylus bucklandi Meyer, 1832. Meyer did not provide a description of this taxon, nor any indication of what the type material was. Consequently, Pterodactylus bucklandi Meyer, 1832 is unavailable under Article 12 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The first description of Stonesfield Slate pterosaur material was published by Huxley, who in 1859 referred this species to the genus Rhamphorhynchus and assigned a currently lost mandible as the holotype. This publication satisfies the provisions of Article 12, and so the first available name for this taxon is Rhamphorhynchus bucklandi Huxley, 1859.
The new issue of The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1) contains a number of items of interest to the DMG.
The issue contents are available as free pdfs at this link:
====
====
New Cases:
Jason D. Hogan and David J. Varricchio
Case 3917 – Troodon formosus Leidy, 1856 (Dinosauria, Theropoda): proposed conservation of current usage by designation of a neotype.
****
Mark T. Young, Arnaud Brignon, Marco Brandalise de Andrade, Stephen L. Brusatte, Yanina Herrera, Michela M. Johnson, Sven Sachs, Patrick Vignaud and Eric Wilberg
Case 3919 – Machimosaurus hugii von Meyer, 1837 (Reptilia, Crocodylomorpha, teleoSauroidea): proposed conservation of usage by designation of a neotype.
****
Stéphane Jouve, Mark T. Young, Alexander K. Hastings and Khalafallah Salih.
Case 3943 – Hyposaurinae Nopcsa, 1928 (Crocodylomorpha, Dyrosauroidea): proposed conservation by reversal of precedence with Dyrosaurinae de Stefano, 1903 (Crocodylomorpha, Dyrosauroidea).
****
Nikolay G. Zverkov, Bruce A. Schumacher, Glenn W. Storrs and Kenneth Carpenter.
Case 3955 – Polycotylus latipinnis Cope, 1869: proposed conservation of current taxonomic usage by designation of a neotype.
======
Applications
Free pdf:
Vahe D. Demirjian (2025)
Case 3802 – Proposal to remove Dicynodon turpior Huene, 1935 (Synapsida, Dicynodontia) from the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 31-33
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a008
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88073
Jason D. Hogan and David J. Varricchio
Case 3917 – Troodon formosus Leidy, 1856 (Dinosauria, Theropoda): proposed conservation of current usage by designation of a neotype.
****
Mark T. Young, Arnaud Brignon, Marco Brandalise de Andrade, Stephen L. Brusatte, Yanina Herrera, Michela M. Johnson, Sven Sachs, Patrick Vignaud and Eric Wilberg
Case 3919 – Machimosaurus hugii von Meyer, 1837 (Reptilia, Crocodylomorpha, teleoSauroidea): proposed conservation of usage by designation of a neotype.
****
Stéphane Jouve, Mark T. Young, Alexander K. Hastings and Khalafallah Salih.
Case 3943 – Hyposaurinae Nopcsa, 1928 (Crocodylomorpha, Dyrosauroidea): proposed conservation by reversal of precedence with Dyrosaurinae de Stefano, 1903 (Crocodylomorpha, Dyrosauroidea).
****
Nikolay G. Zverkov, Bruce A. Schumacher, Glenn W. Storrs and Kenneth Carpenter.
Case 3955 – Polycotylus latipinnis Cope, 1869: proposed conservation of current taxonomic usage by designation of a neotype.
======
Applications
Free pdf:
Vahe D. Demirjian (2025)
Case 3802 – Proposal to remove Dicynodon turpior Huene, 1935 (Synapsida, Dicynodontia) from the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 31-33
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a008
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88073
The purpose of this application, under Article 80.9 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, is to remove the name Dicynodon turpior Huene, 1935 from the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology. The name D. turpior was added to the Official List by the Commission in 1995 (Opinion 1802) as per the long-standing synonymy of D. turpior with the Middle Triassic kannemeyeriiform dicynodont Dinodontosaurus oliveirai Romer, 1943, but Dicynodon turpior was subsequently declared a nomen dubium and oliveirai was reinstated as the valid epithet for the type species of Dinodontosaurus Romer, 1943. A new study of Dinodontosaurus material from Brazil and Argentina indicates that two valid species can be recognized in this genus: D. tener (Huene, 1935) (senior synonym of D. oliveirai) and D. brevirostris Cox, 1968.
=====
Free pdf:
Mark T. Young, Yanina Herrera, Eric Wilberg, Sven Sachs, Pascal Abel & Marco Brandalise de Andrade (2025)
Case 3868 – Cricosaurus Wagner, 1858 (Reptilia, Crocodylomorpha, Metriorhynchidae): proposed conservation of usage by designation of Stenosaurus elegans Wagner, 1852 as the type species
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 73-78
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a014
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88084
The purpose of this application, under Articles 70.2 and 81.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, is to change the type species of Cricosaurus Wagner, 1858 (Reptilia, Crocodylomorpha, METRIORHYNCHIDAE) to prevent nomenclatural instability. Wagner did not specify a type species when establishing Cricosaurus, and Stenosaurus elegans Wagner, 1852 was subsequently designated as the type species by Young & Andrade in 2009 using Art. 69.1. However, Young & Andrade overlooked that Kuhn, in 1968, had stated that Cricosaurus grandis was the type species, thus validly designating it as such in accordance with Art. 69.1.1. Cricosaurus has become widely used in the literature for a cosmopolitan group of marine crocodylomorphs containing 9–11 valid species that lived in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and Cricosaurus grandis is considered to belong to a different genus, Geosaurus Cuvier, 1824. If C. grandis were to be retained as the type species of Cricosaurus, that genus would become a junior subjective synonym of Geosaurus and a new genus would have to be established for the species currently in Cricosaurus. Retaining Stenosaurus elegans as the type species will ensure nomenclatural stability.
=====
Free pdf:
Mark T. Young, Yanina Herrera, Eric Wilberg, Sven Sachs, Pascal Abel & Marco Brandalise de Andrade (2025)
Case 3868 – Cricosaurus Wagner, 1858 (Reptilia, Crocodylomorpha, Metriorhynchidae): proposed conservation of usage by designation of Stenosaurus elegans Wagner, 1852 as the type species
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 73-78
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a014
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88084
The purpose of this application, under Articles 70.2 and 81.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, is to change the type species of Cricosaurus Wagner, 1858 (Reptilia, Crocodylomorpha, METRIORHYNCHIDAE) to prevent nomenclatural instability. Wagner did not specify a type species when establishing Cricosaurus, and Stenosaurus elegans Wagner, 1852 was subsequently designated as the type species by Young & Andrade in 2009 using Art. 69.1. However, Young & Andrade overlooked that Kuhn, in 1968, had stated that Cricosaurus grandis was the type species, thus validly designating it as such in accordance with Art. 69.1.1. Cricosaurus has become widely used in the literature for a cosmopolitan group of marine crocodylomorphs containing 9–11 valid species that lived in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and Cricosaurus grandis is considered to belong to a different genus, Geosaurus Cuvier, 1824. If C. grandis were to be retained as the type species of Cricosaurus, that genus would become a junior subjective synonym of Geosaurus and a new genus would have to be established for the species currently in Cricosaurus. Retaining Stenosaurus elegans as the type species will ensure nomenclatural stability.
====
====
Nomenclatural Notes
Free pdf:
R. V. Pêgas, Kamila L.N. Bandeira & Rafael C. Silva (2025)
Prestosuchus (Reptilia, Pseudosuchia, Loricata) is available from Krebs, 1976, not Huene, 1938
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 167-170
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a028
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88098
The purpose of this Nomenclatural Note is to discuss the availability of the name Prestosuchus (Reptilia, Pseudosuchia, Loricata), previously attributed to “Huene, 1938” in the literature. The name Prestosuchus has long held a prominent place in the scientific literature. However, this name has been considered as a nomen nudum, and a new generic name was recently proposed (Huenesuchus Kischlat, 2023). Here, we note that a new generic name is not required, as there is already an available name: Prestosuchus Krebs, 1976.
====
Free pdf:
Alvaro Mones (2025)
The correct year of publication of Coloradia brevis Bonaparte (currently Coloradisaurus brevis; Dinosauria, Prosauropoda, Massospondylidae) is 1979, not 1978
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 171-174
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a029
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88099
The purpose of this Nomenclatural Note is to correct the publication date of the species Coloradia brevis Bonaparte (currently Coloradisaurus brevis). It is usually cited as 1978, but it was actually printed a full year later in 1979.
====
Free pdf:
Gunnar Bivens, Tyler Greenfield & Brian Curtice (2025)
The authorship of Barosaurus africanus gracilis (currently Tornieria gracilis; Dinosauria, Sauropoda), and designation of a lectotype
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 175-180
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a030
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88100
The sauropod dinosaur name “Barosaurus africanus var. gracilis” was first proposed in 1961 by Janensch as an infrasubspecific taxon and hence not made available. Though it has been disregarded because of that, Chure and McIntosh accidentally made it available in 1989 as a subspecies by bibliographic reference, and its authorship should be attributed to them. Here, it is formally reassessed as the available name of a species tentatively assigned to the genus Tornieria. Its syntype series is characterized, and one specimen (a skull) is designated as lectotype.
====
Free pdf:
Henry N. Thomas (2025)
Rhamphorhynchus bucklandi Huxley, 1859 is the valid name and authority for a Jurassic pterosaur (Pterosauria, Rhamphorhynchidae) from England, not Pterodactylus bucklandi Meyer, 1832
The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 82(1): 185-189
doi: https://doi.org/10.21805/bzn.v82.a032
https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88102
One of the Middle Jurassic pterosaur species from the “Stonesfield Slate” formerly referred to Rhamphocephalus is frequently cited as Pterodactylus bucklandi Meyer, 1832. Meyer did not provide a description of this taxon, nor any indication of what the type material was. Consequently, Pterodactylus bucklandi Meyer, 1832 is unavailable under Article 12 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The first description of Stonesfield Slate pterosaur material was published by Huxley, who in 1859 referred this species to the genus Rhamphorhynchus and assigned a currently lost mandible as the holotype. This publication satisfies the provisions of Article 12, and so the first available name for this taxon is Rhamphorhynchus bucklandi Huxley, 1859.
Mickey Mortimer
Dec 26, 2025, 7:00:07 PM (13 days ago) 12/26/25
to Dinosaur Mailing Group
"Vahe D. Demirjian (2025)
Case 3802 – Proposal to remove Dicynodon turpior Huene, 1935 (Synapsida, Dicynodontia) from the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology"
Case 3802 – Proposal to remove Dicynodon turpior Huene, 1935 (Synapsida, Dicynodontia) from the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology"
Reading the case, this seems completely unnecessary to me. turpior is apparently undiagnostic within Dinodontosaurus, being based on a humerus, while the diagnostic species (tener, brevirostris) preserve type skulls that are distinguishable. So why not just have all three species in Dinodontosaurus? turpior isn't even the type species, so we don't even have a Diplodocus longus situation here. Since the ICZN doesn't rule on diagnosability (because it's subjective), there's no reason an indeterminate taxon can't be on the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology. Is there something I'm missing that warrants the ICZN stepping in here?
Mickey Mortimer
Mickey Mortimer
Dec 26, 2025, 10:31:52 PM (12 days ago) 12/26/25
to Dinosaur Mailing Group
Also, the Prestosuchus paper lacks a pdf link to download on the BZN website, and the address that should be it based on the other articles' addresses ( https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/article/view/88098/82764 ) comes up 404 Not Found.
Mickey Mortimer
Skye McDavid
Dec 26, 2025, 10:35:40 PM (12 days ago) 12/26/25
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
I had this same issue. Forwarding a PDF that Alb Chen was able to download for me.
Skye McDavid
(she/her)
https://www.skyemcdavid.com/
This message was sent from a mobile device at a time that is convenient for me. I do not expect you to reply outside of your normal working hours
(she/her)
https://www.skyemcdavid.com/
This message was sent from a mobile device at a time that is convenient for me. I do not expect you to reply outside of your normal working hours
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dinosaur Mailing Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to DinosaurMailingG...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/DinosaurMailingGroup/8cb22fca-2ede-4065-8c84-65a5f320bad2n%40googlegroups.com.
Mickey Mortimer
Dec 26, 2025, 11:10:48 PM (12 days ago) 12/26/25
to Dinosaur Mailing Group
Thanks for that, Skye!
Also tangentially relevant to this Group is an entry in the Closure of Cases article-
"Case 3358 – Koskinonodon (Temnospondyli: Metoposauridae), a replacement name for preoccupied Buettneria Case, 1922. Bill D. Mueller. [No notice of receipt published; Case not published.]"
"Case 3358 – Koskinonodon (Temnospondyli: Metoposauridae), a replacement name for preoccupied Buettneria Case, 1922. Bill D. Mueller. [No notice of receipt published; Case not published.]"
I guess this is one of the cases mentioned to be closed "where no communication was received, by default." Wonder what the details to that were...
Mickey Mortimer
Bill Parker
Dec 26, 2025, 11:57:12 PM (12 days ago) 12/26/25
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
The author passed away a few years ago.
On Fri, Dec 26, 2025 at 9:10 PM Mickey Mortimer <therizino...@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for that, Skye!Also tangentially relevant to this Group is an entry in the Closure of Cases article-
"Case 3358 – Koskinonodon (Temnospondyli: Metoposauridae), a replacement name for preoccupied Buettneria Case, 1922. Bill D. Mueller. [No notice of receipt published; Case not published.]"I guess this is one of the cases mentioned to be closed "where no communication was received, by default." Wonder what the details to that were...
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages