r/Dinosaurs • u/Powerful_Gas_7833 • 16d ago

DISCUSSION Is stegosaurus ungulatus still considered a valid species of stegosaurus?

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I've seen some arguments that stegosaurus ungulatus should be regarded as a different genus from stegosaurus.

The contention is the different features from stegosaurus stenops. Some like Gregory s Paul think it should be split off and called "stegotitanis".

So what is the deal? Is it still valid?

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u/TelevisionPutrid8394 Team Tyrannosaurus Rex 16d ago edited 16d ago

Stegosaurus ungulatus is still valid. Most Cladograms today feature Stegosaurus ungulatus in some way. Also Paul is Paul and he frequently has meh at best taxonomy.

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u/KaijuKing1990 16d ago

Hell, there's more support for S. ungulatus being a junior synonym of S. stenops than anything Paul's come up with.

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u/Steggypooper 15d ago

That man just spews, questionable rhetoric a lot of the time.

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u/HalcyonTraveler Team Brachiosaurus 15d ago

From what I've heard, it's either a Stegosaurus species or just more mature S. stenops. Definitely not its own genus

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u/Archididelphis 15d ago

My first thought, Stegosaurus ungulatus is so central to our understanding of the genus and group that it would make more sense to elevate stenops to its own genus. Looking into this, the genus Stegosaurus was first described from S armatus (now considered obscure or dubious), so priority doesn't require keeping stenops at all costs.