List of lost dinosaur specimens

This list of lost, damaged, or destroyed dinosaur specimens enumerates those fossil dinosaur specimens that have been discovered only to be lost or damaged after initial documentation. Some of these specimens which had gone missing were later recovered as well.

Uncollected specimens[edit]

Nickname	Taxon	Age	Unit	Country	Notes	Images
Nose Mountain theropod track	Tyrannosauridae	Maastrichtian	Wapiti Formation	Canada	Single highly pathological tyrannosaur footprint that was buried under a landslide before it could be collected

Destroyed specimens[edit]

Catalogue Number	Taxon	Age	Unit	Country	Notes	Images
1912VIII61	Aegyptosaurus^[1]	Upper Cretaceous	Bahariya Formation	Egypt	Destroyed in Germany during World War II when the bombing of the museum it was held in took place.	Holotype remains
IPHG 1922 X 47, X 48	Bahariasaurus^[2]	Upper Cretaceous	Bahariya Formation	Egypt	Destroyed in World War II	Vertebra
IPHG 1922 X46	Carcharodontosaurus^[2]	Upper Cretaceous		Algeria	Destroyed in World War II. Used by Ernst Stromer to erect Carcharodontosaurus for "Megalosaurus" saharicus.^[3]	Skull of the lost specimen
MNHN 2001-4	Erectopus^[1]	Lower Cretaceous		France	Destroyed in World War II	Holotype remains
	Kentrosaurus^[1]	Upper Jurassic		Tanzania	Most specimens, although not all, were destroyed when the German museum that they were in was bombed in World War II.
	Podokesaurus^[1]	Lower Jurassic		United States	The original specimen was destroyed in a museum fire.	Type specimen
	Poekilopleuron^[1]	Middle Jurassic		France	Destroyed in World War II	Cast of the lost gastralia
BSP 1912 VIII 19	Spinosaurus^[1]	Lower and Upper Cretaceous	Bahariya Formation	Egypt	Destroyed in Germany during World War II when the bombing of the museum it was held in took place. More material has been discovered since.	Illustration of the destroyed specimen

Lost specimens[edit]

Nickname	Catalogue Number	Institution	Taxon	Age	Unit	Country	Notes	Images
Specimen 9^[4]	None		Corythosaurus^[4]			Canada		Excavation of one of the lost Corythosaurus specimens
Specimen 13^[4]	None		Corythosaurus^[4]			Canada
Cardiodon type specimen			Cardiodon	Middle Jurassic	Forest Marble Formation	United Kingdom		Holotype tooth
Type specimen of Amphicoelias fragillimus	AMNH 5777^[5]	American Museum of Natural History	Amphicoelias fragillimus^[5]	Late Jurassic^[5]	Morrison Formation^[5]	United States	Named as the holotype of Amphicoelias fragillimus by Edward Drinker Cope and then subsequently lost. It is possible that Cope himself or someone else disposed of it, or that it crumbled because of inadequate preservation methods.^[5]	Only illustration of the vertebra
Companion tracks of MGUH 27219	N/A	Geological Museum of Copenhagen	Thyreophora	Rhaetian	Hoganas Formation	Sweden		Cast of the collected track

Damaged specimens[edit]

Recovered specimens[edit]

Nickname	Catalogue Number	Institution	Taxon	Age	Unit	Country	Notes	Images
Holotype of Aepisaurus elephantinus			Aepisaurus	Middle Cretaceous (Albian)		France	Named as holotype of Aepisaurus elephantinus. Rediscovered in 2006^[6]	Cast of the humerus

Footnotes[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages Supplementary Information
^ ^a ^b Rauhut, (1995). "Zur systematischen Stellung der afrikanischen Theropoden Carcharodontosaurus Stromer 1931 und Bahariasaurus Stromer 1934." Berliner geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, E16 (Gundolf-Ernst-Festschrift): 357-375.
^ Stromer, 1931. Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharîjestufe (unterstes Cenoman). 10. Ein Skelett-Rest von Carcharodontosaurus nov. gen. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge. 9, 1-23
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Spalding (2001); "The Lost Specimens," page 499.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Carpenter, K. (2006); in passim.
^ Tortosa T, Buffetaut E. 2007. Rediscovery and redescription of the holotype of Aepysaurus elephantinus Gervais 1848–1852 (Dino-sauria-Sauropoda). In : J Le Loeuff, ed. 5th Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, 12th European Workshop of Vertebrate Palaeontology, Carcassonne-Espéraza, May 15–19, 2007, Abstract volume, 64 (PDF) New historical data on the first dinosaurs found in France. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323538475_New_historical_data_on_the_first_dinosaurs_found_in_France [accessed Sep 03 2018].

References[edit]

Carpenter, K. (2006). "Biggest of the big: a critical re-evaluation of the mega-sauropod Amphicoelias fragillimus." In Foster, J.R. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2006, Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36: 131–138.
Spalding, D. A., 2001, Bones of contention: Charles H. Sternberg's lost world: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 481–503.

[holtz2008-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages Supplementary Information

[rauhut1995-2] Rauhut, (1995). "Zur systematischen Stellung der afrikanischen Theropoden Carcharodontosaurus Stromer 1931 und Bahariasaurus Stromer 1934." Berliner geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, E16 (Gundolf-Ernst-Festschrift): 357-375.

[3] Stromer, 1931. Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharîjestufe (unterstes Cenoman). 10. Ein Skelett-Rest von Carcharodontosaurus nov. gen. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge. 9, 1-23

[spalding-sternberg-lost-499-4] Spalding (2001); "The Lost Specimens," page 499.

[carpenter2006-5] Carpenter, K. (2006); in passim.

[6] Tortosa T, Buffetaut E. 2007. Rediscovery and redescription of the holotype of Aepysaurus elephantinus Gervais 1848–1852 (Dino-sauria-Sauropoda). In : J Le Loeuff, ed. 5th Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, 12th European Workshop of Vertebrate Palaeontology, Carcassonne-Espéraza, May 15–19, 2007, Abstract volume, 64 (PDF) New historical data on the first dinosaurs found in France. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323538475_New_historical_data_on_the_first_dinosaurs_found_in_France [accessed Sep 03 2018].

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