Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Barilium

Barilium is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of Iguanodon by Richard Lydekker in 1888, the specific epithet honouring the discoverer Charles Dawson, who collected the holotype during the 1880s.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
486 w
Citations
8
Source
Barilium
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
Pelvis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Ornithopoda
Clade: Styracosterna
Genus: Barilium
Norman, 2010
Species:
B. dawsoni
Binomial name
Barilium dawsoni
(Lydekker, 1888 [originally Iguanodon])
Synonyms
  • Iguanodon dawsoni Lydekker, 1888
  • Torilion dawsoni Carpenter & Ishida, 2010
  • Sellacoxa pauli Carpenter & Ishida, 2010
  • Kukufeldia tilgatensis McDonald et al., 2010

Barilium is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of Iguanodon (I. dawsoni) by Richard Lydekker in 1888, the specific epithet honouring the discoverer Charles Dawson, who collected the holotype during the 1880s.1

Middle dorsal vertebra source ↗

In 2010 it was reclassified as a separate genus by David Norman. The generic name Barilium is derived from Greek barys, "heavy", and Latin ilium.2 Later in 2010, Kenneth Carpenter and Yusuke Ishida independently assigned it to the new genus Torilion,3 which is thus a junior objective synonym of Barilium. It is known from two partial skeletons found near St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex, England,4 from the middle Valanginian-age Lower Cretaceous Wadhurst Clay.5 Lydekker based the species on the syntype series BMNH R798, 798a, 803-805, 806, 798b, 802, 802a and 799-801. Norman chose NHMUK R 798 and R802, a dorsal vertebra and a left ilium, as the lectotype.

A contemporary of Hypselospinus (also once thought to be a species of Iguanodon), Barilium was a robust iguanodontian estimated at 8 metres (26 feet) long.6

Barilium is separated from Hypselospinus on the basis of vertebral and pelvic characters, size, and build.6 For example, Barilium was more robust than Hypselospinus, with large Camptosaurus-like vertebrae featuring short neural spines, whereas Hypselospinus is known for its "long, narrow, and steeply inclined neural spines".7

References

References

  1. Lydekker, Richard (1888). "Note on a new Wealden iguanodont and other dinosaurs". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 44 (1–4): 46–61. Bibcode:1888QJGS...44...46L. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1888.044.01-04.08. S2CID 129803661.
  2. Norman, David B. (2010). "A taxonomy of iguanodontians (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the lower Wealden Group (Cretaceous: Valanginian) of southern England" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2489: 47–66. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2489.1.3.
  3. Carpenter, K. and Ishida, Y. (2010). "Early and “Middle” Cretaceous Iguanodonts in Time and Space." Journal of Iberian Geology, 36 (2): 145-164.
  4. Norman, David B. (2004). "Basal Iguanodontia". In Weishampel, D.B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H. (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 413–437. ISBN 978-0-520-24209-8.
  5. Paul, Gregory S. (2008). "A revised taxonomy of the iguanodont dinosaur genera and species" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 29 (2): 192–216. Bibcode:2008CrRes..29..192P. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2007.04.009.
  6. Blows, W. T. (1997). "A review of Lower and middle Cretaceous dinosaurs from England". In Lucas, S.G.; Kirkland, J.I.; Estep, J.W. (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 14. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. pp. 29–38.
  7. Naish, Darren; Martill, David M. (2008). "Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: Ornithischia". Journal of the Geological Society, London. 165 (3): 613–623. Bibcode:2008JGSoc.165..613N. doi:10.1144/0016-76492007-154. S2CID 129624992.