Pronunciation: OTH-nee-ELL-ee-uh
Meaning: for Othniel Charles Marsh
Author/s: Galton (1977)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Colorado, USA
Discovery Chart Position: #256
Othnielia rex
In 1973, Galton assigned a partial skeleton to a femur known as Nanosaurus rex, which he then concluded was nothing like the Nanosaurus name-bearer, Nanosaurus agilis. So he renamed the former Othnielia rex and also assigned Laosaurus consors and Laosaurus gracilis to it on a whim.
By 2007, Galton declared that the holotype femur of Othnielia (originally Nanosaurus rex) was, in fact, dubious and in no position to be accepting referred remains. So he snatched back the partial skeleton that he'd assigned to it and reinstated Laosaurus consors, then combined them under a new name: Othnielosaurus consors. The name Othnielia remained attached to the femur.
Not content with the extra work he had made for himself thus far, Galton described a new specimen in 2018 and noticed not only that it shared features with Othnielia rex, Othnielosaurus consors and Drinker nisti but also that it was anatomically similar to Nanosaurus agilis, only better. Thus, Othnielia, Othnielosaurus, Drinker and the new specimen were all assigned to Nanosaurus agilis, the critter that caused all the moving and shaking in the first place!
By 2007, Galton declared that the holotype femur of Othnielia (originally Nanosaurus rex) was, in fact, dubious and in no position to be accepting referred remains. So he snatched back the partial skeleton that he'd assigned to it and reinstated Laosaurus consors, then combined them under a new name: Othnielosaurus consors. The name Othnielia remained attached to the femur.
Not content with the extra work he had made for himself thus far, Galton described a new specimen in 2018 and noticed not only that it shared features with Othnielia rex, Othnielosaurus consors and Drinker nisti but also that it was anatomically similar to Nanosaurus agilis, only better. Thus, Othnielia, Othnielosaurus, Drinker and the new specimen were all assigned to Nanosaurus agilis, the critter that caused all the moving and shaking in the first place!
Etymology
Othnielia is named after American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. By the by, "Othniel" means "Lion of God" in Hebrew. There's no link, we just thought you might like to know. The species epithet (or specific name), rex, means "king" in Latin.
Discovery
Fossils have been assigned to Othnielia from Wyoming and Utah but the only definite specimen is YPM 1875—the 10.1 cm long holotype femur, previously known as "Nanosaurus rex"—that Benjamin Franklin Mudge discovered in the Morrison Formation at Garden Park, Colorado, in 1877.
