Epanterias

Epanterias

The dinosaur genus Allosaurus has a complex taxonomic history, including multiple proposed species of which only a few are considered valid today. The genus was first described in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh from a very fragmentary specimen found in Colorado. For several decades, Allosaurus was known under the name Antrodemus, until a 1976 publication re-established the name Allosaurus. In 2023, another, much more complete specimen found in the same quarry was selected as the neotype (the specimen on which the taxon is based, replacing the inadequate original specimen). Four species are considered potentially valid. Besides the well-known type species A. fragilis, these are A. europaeus, A. jimmadseni, and A. anax. A. europaeus, based on a specimen from Portugal, is the only species found outside of North America. Its validity is contested, and some researchers found it to be a synonym of A. fragilis