List of lost dinosaur specimens explained

This list of lost, damaged, or destroyed dinosaur specimens enumerates those fossil dinosaur specimens that have been discovered only to be lost or damaged after initial documentation. Some of these specimens which had gone missing were later recovered as well.

Destroyed specimens

Catalogue Number	Taxon	Age	Unit	Country	Notes
1912VIII61	Aegyptosaurus^[1]	Upper Cretaceous	Bahariya Formation	Egypt	Destroyed in Germany during World War II when the bombing of the museum it was held in took place.
IPHG 1922 X 47, X 48	Bahariasaurus^[2]	Upper Cretaceous	Bahariya Formation	Egypt	Destroyed in World War II
IPHG 1922 X46	Carcharodontosaurus	Upper Cretaceous		Algeria	Destroyed in World War II. Used by Ernst Stromer to erect Carcharodontosaurus for "Megalosaurus" saharicus.^[3]
MNHN 2001-4	Erectopus	Lower Cretaceous		France	Destroyed in World War II
	Kentrosaurus	Upper Jurassic		Tanzania	Most specimens, although not all, were destroyed when the German museum that they were in was bombed in World War II.
	Podokesaurus	Lower Jurassic		United States	The original specimen was destroyed in a museum fire.
	Poekilopleuron	Middle Jurassic		France	Destroyed in World War II
BSP 1912 VIII 19	Spinosaurus	Lower and Upper Cretaceous	Bahariya Formation	Egypt	Destroyed in Germany during World War II when the bombing of the museum it was held in took place. More material has been discovered since.

Lost specimens

Nickname	Catalogue Number	Institution	Taxon	Age	Unit	Country	Notes
Specimen 9	None		Corythosaurus			Canada
Specimen 13	None		Corythosaurus			Canada
Cardiodon type specimen			Cardiodon	Middle Jurassic	Forest Marble Formation	United Kingdom
Type specimen of Amphicoelias fragillimus	AMNH 5777	American Museum of Natural History	Amphicoelias fragillimus	Late Jurassic	Morrison Formation	United States	Named as the holotype of Amphicoelias fragillimus by Edward Drinker Cope and then subsequently lost. It is possible that Cope himself or someone else disposed of it, or that it crumbled because of inadequate preservation methods.
Companion tracks of MGUH 27219	N/A	Geological Museum of Copenhagen	Thyreophora	Rhaetian	Hoganas Formation	Sweden

References

Carpenter, K. (2006). "Biggest of the big: a critical re-evaluation of the mega-sauropod Amphicoelias fragillimus." In Foster, J.R. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2006, Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36: 131–138.
Spalding, D. A., 2001, Bones of contention: Charles H. Sternberg's lost world: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 481–503.

Notes and References

Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages Supplementary Information
Rauhut, (1995). "Zur systematischen Stellung der afrikanischen Theropoden Carcharodontosaurus Stromer 1931 und Bahariasaurus Stromer 1934." Berliner geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, E16 (Gundolf-Ernst-Festschrift): 357-375.
Stromer, 1931. Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharîjestufe (unterstes Cenoman). 10. Ein Skelett-Rest von Carcharodontosaurus nov. gen. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge. 9, 1-23
Tortosa T, Buffetaut E. 2007. Rediscovery and redescription of the holotype of Aepysaurus elephantinus Gervais 1848–1852 (Dino-sauria-Sauropoda). In : J Le Loeuff, ed. 5th Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, 12th European Workshop of Vertebrate Palaeontology, Carcassonne-Espéraza, May 15–19, 2007, Abstract volume, 64 (PDF) New historical data on the first dinosaurs found in France. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323538475_New_historical_data_on_the_first_dinosaurs_found_in_France [accessed Sep 03 2018].