Pronunciation: BOO-ree-AN-o-SOR-us
Meaning: Burian lizard
Author/s: Madzia et al. (2017)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Mezholezy, Czech Republic
Discovery Chart Position: #970
Burianosaurus augustai
Apart from a single tooth crown from an indeterminate Oxfordian-aged tetanurine that was previously assigned to a long-jawed crocodyliform called Teleosaurus, Burianosaurus represents the only definitive occurrence of a non-avian dinosaur noted from the Czech Republic. It was initially described way back in 2005, when anything European and remotely Iguanodon-like was classed as an iguanodontid, and England's Iguanodon anglicus was the yardstick by which they were all measured. However, since then, Belgium's Iguanodon bernissartensis has taken the mantle of name bearer and many traditional "iguanodontids" have been found wanting, one of which is Burianosaurus, whose solitary fossil — a scavenger-chewed thighbone — turned out to belong to a non-iguanodontid ornithopod.
(Augusta and Burian's Lizard)Etymology
Burianosaurus is derived from "burian" (for Czech palaeoartist Zdenek Burian [1905-1981], who greatly influenced the perception of dinosaurs during most of the twentieth century) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, augustai, refers to the
prominent Czech palaeontologist and prolific science populariser Josef Augusta [1903-1968].
ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:432C0B78-C7E3-45D1-9AB3-12678AA047D4.
Discovery
The remains of Burianosaurus were discovered in the Korycany Beds of the Peruc Korycany Formation, Mezholezy (Kutná Hora District), Czech Republic, by Michal Moucka during a field visit to an abandoned quarry north of
Nová Lhota Village in 2003.
The holotype (NMP Ob 203) is a left thighbone that was initially described as an iguanodontid by Fejfar et al. in 2005, under the temporary catalogue number IGP MZHLZ/2003/1. The surface preserves scavenger bite marks.
