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

Abstract

Synopsis A limb bone from the Bathonian of the Isle of Skye, previously identified as a possible femur of the sauropod dinosaur Cetiosaurus, is reassessed in light of comparisons with other sauropod material, including the lectotype of Cetiosaurus oxoniensis. Although the closest match for the Skye bone is found to be a left humerus identified as Cetiosaurus oxoniensis 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.