Pronunciation: AB-ro-SOR-us
Meaning: Delicate (skull) lizard
Author/s: Ouyang (1989)
Synonyms: 'Abrosaurus gigantorhinus'
First Discovery: Sichuan, China
Discovery Chart Position: #339
Abrosaurus dongpoi
Etymology
Abrosaurus is derived from the Greek "habros" (delicate, light), in reference to its very delicate skull, and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, dongpoi, is derived from "Dongpo" (to honour Su Dongpo; pen name of Su Shi (1036-1101 AD), a famous Song Dynasty writer and poet from Sichuan Province where the fossils were found) and the Latin "i" (a suffix which is used to honour male individuals). The epithet was officially published as dongpoensis (doong-paw-EN-sis) in 1989. However, the Latin suffix "-ensis" is used to honour localities rather than people, so it was changed by Peng and Shu in 1999. But there was another issue to address before that.
Abrosaurus was first described in the 1986 PhD thesis of Chinese palaeontologist Ouyang Hui, with the specific name "gigantorhinus", meaning "giant snout". However, it did not meet ICZN standards for publication, so the name remained unofficial. A paper by Zhang and Chen from 1996, in which they published the name "Abrosaurus gigantorhinus" based on said thesis, did meet ICZN standards. But Ouyang's official description of the same critter as Abrosaurus dongpoensis had been published in 1989 and claimed the naming glory, despite the epithet that had to be altered at a later date.
Discovery
The Delicate Lizard was discovered in the Lower Shaximiao (Xiashaximiao) Formation at the famous Dashanpu Quarry, Zigong County, Sichuan Province, China, in 1984.
The holotype (ZDM 5038, housed at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum) is a complete and well preserved skull. A fragmentary skull (ZDM5033) was also found in the same quarry.
