Thespesius facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thespesius Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 66Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
The syntype fossils
Scientific classification
Genus:	Thespesius
Species:	occidentalis
Synonyms
Agathaumas milo Cope, 1874

Thespesius, or Thespecius, is an extinct hadrosaur described by Joseph Leidy in 1876.

History of Thespesius

Thespecius was discovered in Montana in 1855. Known fossils include vertebrae and toe bones (phalanx).

The name Thespesius means wondrous one. Leidy avoided using the suffix "saurus" in the genus name because Vandiveer Hayden had claimed the bones came from a layer from the Miocene so there was a chance that the animal would turn out to be a mammal, though Leidy himself was convinced it was a dinosaurian. Thespesius turned out to be a dinosaur. The specific name occidentalis means "western" in Latin.