A re-examination of a Middle Jurassic sauropod limb bone from the Bathonian of the Isle of Skye

Abstract

A limb bone from the Bathonian of the Isle of Skye, previously identified as a possible femur of the sauropod dinosaur <i>Cetiosaurus</i>, is reassessed in light of comparisons with other sauropod material, including the lectotype of <i>Cetiosaurus oxoniensis</i>. Although the closest match for the Skye bone is found to be a left humerus identified as <i>Cetiosaurus oxoniensis</i> by J. Phillips in 1871, the identification of the Skye bone as cetiosaurid is unsafe, given the poor diagnostic power of long bones in most sauropod taxa