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The authorship of Astrodon (Dinosauria, Sauropoda): Leidy, 1865, not Johnston, 1859.

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Abstract

The authorship of the sauropod dinosaur genus Astrodon is frequently cited as Johnston, 1859, and its type species Astrodon johnstoni is usually cited as Leidy, 1865. Although Johnston’s publication does satisfy the Code’s requirements for published work, the lack of description means it does not satisfy the criteria of availability in Article 12 for names published before 1931. Astrodon was a nomen nudum until it was made available by Leidy in his subsequent description of the nominal genus with its single new nominal species. The correct authorship of both the genus Astrodon and its type species Astrodon johnstoni is therefore Leidy, 1865.
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The holotype of the small sauropod dinosaur Astrodon pusillus Lapparent and Zbyszewski, 1957, from the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) of Portugal is shown to be the remains of a juvenile individual of the stegosaur Dacentrurus. The records of Astrodon from the Upper Jurassic of North America and the Lower Cretaceous of Africa are based on material of juvenile sauropods. However, teeth from the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal are correctly referred to Astrodon as A. valdensis (Lydekker). A review is presented of the intercontinental genera that the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous faunas of Western Europe shared with faunas of corresponding ages in North America and Africa.
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Early Cretaceous sauropods were among the first dinosaurs discovered in North America, but several aspects of their taxonomy and evolution remain poorly understood. Much of this ambiguity stems from lack of anatomical overlap among taxa and the 125-year-long taxonomic confusion surrounding the sauropods Astrodon and Pleurocoelus. New discoveries have begun to remedy the first problem, but a lack of autapomorphies in their holotypes and skeletal associations among their hypodigms renders Astrodon johnstoni, Pleurocoelus altus and Pleurocoelus nanus nomina dubia. Herein I examine the affinities of sauropods from the Trinity Group of Texas and Oklahoma previously referred to as ‘Pleurocoelus’ or ‘Astrodon’. Some of this material currently comprises the genera Paluxysaurus and Sauroposeidon from laterally equivalent strata in Texas and Oklahoma, respectively. Although representative individuals of Paluxysaurus are only two-thirds the size of Sauroposeidon, bone histology of Paluxysaurus indicates that the individuals from the type locality were not near adult size. The similar provenance, lack of morphological differences, and shared unique features support referral of Paluxysaurus to Sauroposeidon. Other sauropod remains from the Trinity Group are not referable to ‘Pleurocoelus’, ‘Astrodon’ or Sauroposeidon. Some of these remains comprise the holotype of Astrophocaudia slaughteri gen. et sp. nov., a basal titanosauriform diagnosed by a hyposphene–hypantrum system in the caudal vertebrae. A sauropod hind limb previously referred to ‘Pleurocoelus’ is instead referable to Cedarosaurus weiskopfae based on shared features of the pes. Cladistic analysis indicates that Astrophocaudia and Sauroposeidon are members of Somphospondyli, whereas Cedarosaurus is a brachiosaurid. The Trinity Group of Texas and laterally equivalent Antlers Formation of Oklahoma exhibit similar dinosaur faunas at the generic and specific levels to the Cloverly Formation of Wyoming. This homogeneity with respect to latitude stands in marked contrast to the latitudinal variation in dinosaur communities that developed later in the Cretaceous.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FE82D372-7ADA-4870-9572-3A3F607D39CE
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