Bothriospondylus has had a long taxonomic history as a sauropod dinosaur yet today the genus is regarded as dubious. This is because the type material of Bothriospondylus, really just a few vertebrae, has been so badly eroded that it is impossible to identify any unique features for the genus. This makes it impossible to assign any further fossil material to the Bothriospondylus, which to an extent has also been used as a wastebasket taxon. Indeed, any time that new fossil material has been attributed to the genus, it has usually ended up being assigned as belonging to other genera, with names including Pelorosaurus, Lapparentosaurus and Nopcsaspondylus.
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