Poekilopleuron

Poekilopleuron Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 167.7–166.1 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Cast of the holotype gastralia, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Family:	†Megalosauridae
Subfamily:	†Afrovenatorinae
Genus:	†Poekilopleuron Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1838
Type species
Poekilopleuron bucklandii Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1838
Synonyms
Genus synonyms Poecilopleuron Bronn, 1837 (nomen nudum) Poikilopleuron Owen, 1842 Poecilopleurum Bronn, 1849 Poicilopleuron Joseph Leidy, 1870 Species synonyms Poikilopleuron bucklandi Owen, 1842 Poecilopleurum bucklandi Bronn, 1849 Poicilopleuron bucklandi Leidy, 1870 Megalosaurus bucklandi Hulke, 1879 Megalosaurus poikilopleuron Huene, 1926 Poekilopleuron bucklandi White, 1973 Poecilopleuron bucklandi Welles & Long, 1974

Poekilopleuron (meaning "varied ribs") is an extinct genus of megalosauroid tetanuran theropod dinosaur, which lived during the middle Bathonian of the Jurassic, about 168 to 166 million years ago. The genus has been used under many different spelling variants, although only one, Poekilopleuron, is valid. The type species is P. bucklandii, named after William Buckland, and many junior synonyms of it have also been erected. Few material is currently known, as the holotype was destroyed in World War II, although many casts of the material still exist.

Poekilopleuron is a genus of theropod with a long and complex history. The genus was first named and described by Jacques Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps in 1838, based on holotype material that is now destroyed. The holotype, which was housed in Musée de la Faculté des Sciences de Caen and destroyed during World War II, included gastralia, phalanges, a left forelimb, caudal vertebrae, chevrons, ribs and a hindlimb. Of all the material, few is still preserved, although the gastralia, phalanges and forelimb were casted and now represent the plastotype, with casts in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (specimen MNHN 1897-2) and Yale Peabody Museum (specimen YPM 4938). The original material was uncovered in a layer of the Calcaire de Caen in Normandy, France. Poekilopleuron can be assigned to the middle Bathonian in age, about 167.7 to 166 million years ago.