The fate of the "Megalosaurus" dunkeri (Dames, 1884) holotype specimen.

[Ilya Sadykov]

"I am interested in the current status of the original "M." dunkeri tooth (IGPM 1857 and UM 84). While some sources state that the specimen is lost, it was illustrated in the work of Hornung (2013), where no mention was made of it being missing or lost. Does anyone have information regarding its current status?

Jahn Hornung (2013): Contributions to the Palaeobiology of the Archosaurs (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Bückeberg Formation ('Northwest German Wealden' - Berriasian-Valanginian, Lower Cretaceous) of northern Germany

[Mickey Mortimer]

Naish (2011) wrote "This specimen was apparently in the University of Marburg and now appears to be lost", but Hurnung (2013) clearly photographed the specimen and referred to its museum label, so the obvious conclusion is that Naish was wrong and Hornung located the specimen when Naish or his contact could not. So I assume it's still at the Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut der Phillips-Universität Marburg in Marburg, Germany. 

Hornung's thesis is informative in regard to the specimen number too. He notes that when Carrano et al. (2012) called dunkeri's holotype "University of Marburg N 84", this was probably based on Huene's (1926) numbering system for his Jurassic European theropod paper where the dunkeri type is No. 84 (pp. 43 and 77). I used Carrano et al. as my reference on the Database, so I'll have to correct that and use the museum's official acronym. Also my entry says "The lack of mesial serrations in dunkeri may itself be due to wear", which turns out to be the case since Hornung states "The mesial face of the tooth is strongly corroded ... therefore no conclusions can be drawn from the absence of a mesial carina."

Notably, Hornung comes to the opposite conclusion than Maisch (2016) did in regard to what specimen is the Altispinax type, with him supporting the tooth instead of the vertebrae. I'll have to read the details to see if Maisch took into account whatever logic Hornung used.

Mickey Mortimer

References-  Huene, 1926. The carnivorous Saurischia in the Jura and Cretaceous formations, principally in Europe. Revista del Museo de La Plata. 29, 1-167.

Naish, 2011. Theropod dinosaurs. In Batten (ed.). English Wealden Fossils. The Palaeontological Association. 526-559.

Carrano, Benson and Sampson, 2012. The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10(2), 211-300.

Maisch, 2016. The nomenclatural status of the carnivorous dinosaur genus Altispinax v. Huene, 1923 (Saurischia, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of England. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 280(2), 215-219.

[Ilya Sadykov]

  Thanks for the answer! I'll be looking forward to the updates in your theropod database.  

суббота, 9 мая 2026 г. в 15:15:48 UTC+5, Mickey Mortimer: