Pronunciation: KAM-uh-LOW-tee-uh
Meaning: for Camelot (King Arthur's castle)
Author/s: Galton (1985)
Synonyms: See below
First Discovery: Somerset, England
Discovery Chart Position: #321
Camelotia borealis
Long before Cheddar cheese was ever crafted, the County of Somerset was home to a herbivorous dinosaur called Camelotia, named after Camelot; King Arthur's legendary stronghold containing his court, his knights, his round table, and jugs of mead poured by plump-chested wenches, no doubt. But this was not its original name.
The fossils that would come to be known as Camelotia were initially christened Avalonia by Harry Seeley way back in 1898. However, that name had already been claimed by Walcott's trilobites nine years earlier. This little oversight went unnoticed for 63 years, and by the time Kuhn got around to choosing Avalonianus as a replacement name in 1961 its inventory had become an embarrassment.
In 1985, Peter Galton attempted to bring order from chaos, sifting through archosaur teeth (that have been referred to Megalosaurus cambrensis, Zanclodon, and "Newtonsaurus" at various times) and unassociated bits and bobs dumped there willy-nilly (including Wedmore Hill material that von Huene had erroneously referred to Gresslyosaurus in 1907-08) and emerged with some diagnostic vertebrae, a partial hip, and limb material. The latter became Camelotia and, sadly, represents the entirety of its remains.
It's far from clear whether the strong-limbed Camelotia is a huge "prosauropod" closely related to Melanorosaurus or one of the earliest "true" sauropods, or if melanorosaurids are sauropods themselves. Nevertheless, it's nice to see palaeontologists doing their bit to ensure the Arthurian legend lives on.
The fossils that would come to be known as Camelotia were initially christened Avalonia by Harry Seeley way back in 1898. However, that name had already been claimed by Walcott's trilobites nine years earlier. This little oversight went unnoticed for 63 years, and by the time Kuhn got around to choosing Avalonianus as a replacement name in 1961 its inventory had become an embarrassment.
In 1985, Peter Galton attempted to bring order from chaos, sifting through archosaur teeth (that have been referred to Megalosaurus cambrensis, Zanclodon, and "Newtonsaurus" at various times) and unassociated bits and bobs dumped there willy-nilly (including Wedmore Hill material that von Huene had erroneously referred to Gresslyosaurus in 1907-08) and emerged with some diagnostic vertebrae, a partial hip, and limb material. The latter became Camelotia and, sadly, represents the entirety of its remains.
It's far from clear whether the strong-limbed Camelotia is a huge "prosauropod" closely related to Melanorosaurus or one of the earliest "true" sauropods, or if melanorosaurids are sauropods themselves. Nevertheless, it's nice to see palaeontologists doing their bit to ensure the Arthurian legend lives on.
(For Camelot and the North)Etymology
Camelotia is named after King Arthurs legendary Camelot Castle in Avalon, rumoured to be located close to Camelotia's place of discovery in Somerset. The species epithet, borealis, means "north " in Latin, in reference to it being the only record of its family from the northern hemisphere. Avalonia (Walcott, 1889)
Avalonianus (Kuhn, 1961)
Discovery
The remains of Camelotia were discovered at Wedmore Hill in the Wedmore Stone Member of the Westbury Formation (Penarth Group), Wedmore, Somerset, England.
The holotype (BMNH R.2870-2874, R.2876-2878) consists of 4 back vertebrae, 5 tail vertebrae rib fragments, pubis and ischium, a right thigh and the end of a shin, and a few foot bones.
