page_title: Galesaurus
section_title: Discovery and naming
hierarchical_section_title: Galesaurus / Discovery and naming
caption_attribution_description: Galesaurus planiceps material in block BP/1/2513 in (A) ventral and (B) dorsal views. Note that the dorsal side (B) has a random assortment of non-mammaliaform bones; however, the skull and scapulae of BP/1/2513A and the skull of BP/1/2513B are visible, and further preparation also uncovered the dorsal part of the skull of BP/1/2513C. For the identification of individuals, see Fig. 4.
context_page_description: Galesaurus was a prehistoric carnivorous therapsid that lived between the Induan and the Olenekian age in what is now South Africa. It was incorrectly classified as a dinosaur by Sir Richard Owen in 1859.
  Notably, Galesaurus was mentioned in the first issue of Nature in 1869, where T. H. Huxley expressed confidence that it would eventually be shown to be a dinosaur. However, current opinion is that it was not a dinosaur and belongs to a mammal-like group called Cynodonts.
context_section_description: The first Galesaurus specimen was originally discovered in the Karoo Basin of South Africa and described by the naturalist Sir Richard Owen in 1859. Owen named the specimen Galesaurus planiceps, but incorrectly classified Galesaurus as a new species of dinosaur. Owen assumed that Galesaurus was reptilian because its skull resembled Rhopalodon, a synapsid that had also been misclassified as a dinosaur. Despite classifying Galesaurus as a dinosaur, Owen noted that Galesaurus was remarkably mammal-like. Owen's Galesaurus type specimen was considerably crushed and the teeth were poorly preserved. Only recently have articulated skeletons of Galesaurus been found, whose well-preserved postcranial bones yield a better understanding of Galesaurus morphology; it is now considered to be a cynodont.
  Other Galesaurus planiceps fossils that were initially identified as Glochinodon detinens in 1916 and Glochinodontoides gracilis in 1924 were synonymized subjectively with Galesaurus planiceps in 1972.
caption: Specimen in a block
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