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Kentrosaurus aethiopicus

Reptilia

Taxonomy
Kentrosaurus aethiopicus was named by Hennig (1915). Its type specimen is MB.R.4800.1–37, a partial skeleton, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Tendaguru quarry St, which is in a Kimmeridgian estuary/bay marl in the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. It is the type species of Doryphorosaurus.

It was recombined as Kentrurosaurus aethiopicus by Hennig (1916), Hennig (1916), Hennig (1925), Janensch (1927), Furon (1963) and Kuhn (1964); it was misspelled as Kentrorosaurus aethiopicus by Young (1944), Tatarinov (1964), Charig (1967), Fischer (1970), Swinton (1970), Galton (1982), Bonaparte (1986), Galton (1988), Galton (1990), Olshevsky and Ford (1993), Chinsamy (1997), Carpenter et al. (2001), Meyer and Thüring (2003), Galton and Upchurch (2004), Mateus (2006), Hübner and Rauhut (2007) and Maidment et al. (2008); it was considered a nomen dubium by Maidment (2010).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1915Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Hennig
1916Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Hennig p. 54
1916Kentrurosaurus aethiopicus Hennig p. 176
1925Kentrurosaurus aethiopicus Hennig p. 108
1927Kentrurosaurus aethiopicus Janensch p. 7
1944Kentrorosaurus aethiopicus Young p. 203
1963Kentrurosaurus aethiopicus Furon p. 322
1964Kentrurosaurus aethiopicus Kuhn p. 36
1964Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Tatarinov p. 572
1967Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Charig p. 715
1970Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Fischer p. 203
1970Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Swinton p. 244
1982Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Galton p. 140
1986Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Bonaparte p. 84
1988Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Galton p. 123
1990Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Galton
1993Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Olshevsky and Ford
1997Kentrosaurus aethiopus Chinsamy p. 677
2001Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Carpenter et al. p. 73
2003Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Meyer and Thüring p. 109
2004Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Galton and Upchurch p. 344
2006Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Mateus p. 231
2007Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Hübner and Rauhut p. 367
2008Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Maidment et al. pp. 373-375
2010Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Carpenter p. 158
2011Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Barrett and Maidment p. 404
2011Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Mallison p. 201–203
2011Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Rauhut p. 198
2012Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Le Loeuff et al. p. 488
2013Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Cobos and Gascó p. 20
2013Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Pereda-Suberbiola et al. p. 69
2014Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Ulansky p. 6
2015Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Saitta p. 2
2016Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Borinder et al. p. 64
2016Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Galton and Carpenter p. 191
2019Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Costa and Mateus p. 97
2021Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Müller and Garcia p. 5
2023Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Schwarz et al. p. 2

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
RankNameAuthor
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Ornithischia()
—Genasauria
—Thyreophora()
—Stegosauria()
genusKentrosaurus
speciesaethiopicus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Kentrosaurus aethiopicus Hennig 1915
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
S. C. R. Maidment et al. 2008Differs from all other stegosaurs in having dorsal vertebrae with a neural arch that is greater than double the height of the centrum and which is entirely occupied by the extremely spacious neural canal. Mid-caudal vertebrae have hook-shaped neural spines whose summits project anteriorly, and a strong ridge and tubercle on the lateral surface of the prezygapophyses. The anterior process of the ilium widens anteriorly and does not taper.
H. Mallison 2011Differs from all other stegosaurs in a marked anticlinality of the neural spines in the tail, i.e. the neural spines of the anterior caudals are posteriorly inclined, those of the middle third sub-vertical, those of the posterior third hook-shaped and anteriorly inclined. Anterior and medial caudals with strong ridge and tubercle on lateral surface of the prezygapophysis. Dorsal vertebrae with a neural arch more than twice as high as the centrum, and completely occupied by the extremely spacious neural canal. Preacetabular process of the ilium widens laterally, and does not taper. Typical in combination: Transverse processes present to the 28th caudal. Those of anterior caudals not in contact with the sacral plate rod-shaped with narrow bases. Haemal arches shaped like an inverted T. Length of ilium equal to or greater than that of femur.