Dubreuillosaurus

Dubreuillosaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic
Life restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Family:	†Megalosauridae
Genus:	†Dubreuillosaurus Allain, 2005
Species:	†D. valesdunensis
Binomial name
Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis (Allain, 2002 [originally Poekilopleuron])
Synonyms
Poekilopleuron? valesdunensis Allain, 2002 (type)

Poekilopleuron? valesdunensis Allain, 2002 (type)

Dubreuillosaurus is a genus of carnivorous dinosaur from the middle Jurassic Period. It is a megalosaurid theropod. Its fossils were found in France. The only named species, Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis, was originally described as a species of Poekilopleuron, Poekilopleuron? valesdunensis, which is still formally the type species of the genus. It was later renamed Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis when, in 2005, Allain came to the conclusion that it was not part of the genus Poekilopleuron. Its type specimen, MNHN 1998-13, is only rivalled in the number of preserved elements in this group by that of Eustreptospondylus. Dubreuillosaurus is considered to be the sister species of Magnosaurus. It did not show signs of insular dwarfism even though it was uncovered on an island.

In 1994, the mayor of Conteville in Normandy, André Dubreuil, noted that during land rehabilitation of the old quarry of Pierre de Caen, dinosaur bones had surfaced. He secured a partial skull and some ribs and notified the Paris Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. However, professional excavations only started in 1998 when the rock of the collapsed quarry face had already been spread by a bulldozer over a considerable surface. It proved necessary to dig up and sieve many cubic metres of rubble over several years, ultimately salvaging about two thousand bone fragments, varying in size between one and ten centimetres. From these scraps a more complete skeleton had to be reassembled.

In 2002, when this process had not yet been completed, Ronan Allain, after having dedicated a thesis to it, named the find as a new species of Poekilopleuron: Poekilopleuron? valesdunensis. The specific name referred to the nearby ancient battlefield of the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes, where William the Conqueror had in 1046 defeated his enemies. The naming paper also contained a description of the skull. The question mark after the generic name already indicated the assignment to Poekilopleuron was tentative. By 2005, Allain had come to the conclusion that the new species was not part of Poekilopleuron. He therefore created the new genus name Dubreuillosaurus for this species, the name honouring the Dubreuil family. The type species of the genus is the original Poekilopleuron valesdunensis, the combinatio nova is Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis. The 2005 paper also contained a description of the postcranial skeleton.

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