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Spinosaurids
The Spinosauridae (or spinosaurids) are a clade or Family (taxonomy), family of tetanuran theropod dinosaurs comprising ten to seventeen known genera. They came into prominence during the Cretaceous Geological period, period. Spinosaurid fossils have been recovered worldwide, including Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. Their remains have generally been attributed to the Early Cretaceous, Early to Mid Cretaceous. Spinosaurids were large Bipedalism, bipedal carnivores. Their crocodilian-like skulls were long, low and narrow, bearing conical teeth with reduced or absent Glossary of dinosaur anatomy#serrations, serrations. The tips of their upper and Glossary of dinosaur anatomy#mandible, lower jaws fanned out into a spoon-shaped structure similar to a Rosette (design), rosette, behind which there was a Glossary of dinosaur anatomy#subnarial gap, notch in the upper jaw that the expanded tip of the lower jaw fit into. The Glossary of dinosaur anatomy#bony nostrils, nostrils of spi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baryonyx
''Baryonyx'' () is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in sediments of the Weald Clay Formation, and became the holotype specimen of ''Baryonyx walkeri'', named by palaeontologists Alan J. Charig and Angela C. Milner in 1986. The generic name, ''Baryonyx'', means "heavy claw" and alludes to the animal's very large claw on the first finger; the specific name, ''walkeri'', refers to its discoverer, amateur fossil collector William J. Walker. The holotype specimen is one of the most complete theropod skeletons from the UK (and remains the most complete Spinosaurid), and its discovery attracted media attention. Specimens later discovered in other parts of the United Kingdom and Iberia have also been assigned to the genus, though many have since been moved to new genera. The holotype specimen, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irritator
''Irritator'' is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous Period, about 113 to 110 million years ago. It is known from a nearly complete skull found in the Romualdo Formation of the Araripe Basin. Fossil dealers had acquired this skull and sold it to the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. In 1996, the specimen became the holotype of the type species ''Irritator challengeri''. The genus name comes from the word "irritation", reflecting the feelings of paleontologists who found the skull had been heavily damaged and altered by the collectors. The species name is a homage to the fictional character Professor Challenger from Arthur Conan Doyle's novels. Some paleontologists regard ''Angaturama limai''—known from a snout tip that was described later in 1996—as a potential junior synonym of ''Irritator''. Both animals hail from the same stratigraphic units of the Araripe Basin. It was also previousl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siamosaurus
''Siamosaurus'' (meaning "Siam reptile") is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now known as China and Thailand during the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian to Aptian) and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth fossils; the first were found in the Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger Khok Kruat Formation. The only species ''Siamosaurus suteethorni'', whose name honours Thai palaeontologist Varavudh Suteethorn, was formally described in 1986. In 2009, four teeth from China previously attributed to a pliosaur—under the species "''Sinopliosaurus''" ''fusuiensis''—were identified as those of a spinosaurid, possibly ''Siamosaurus''. It is yet to be determined if two partial spinosaurid skeletons from Thailand and an isolated tooth from Japan also belong to ''Siamosaurus''. Since it is based only on teeth, ''Siamosaurus'' body size is uncertain, though it has been estimated at betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ichthyovenator
''Ichthyovenator'' is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Laos, sometime between 125 and 113 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous period. It is known from fossils collected from the Grès supérieurs Formation of the Savannakhet Basin, the first of which were found in 2010, consisting of a partial skeleton without the skull or limbs. This specimen became the holotype of the new genus and species ''Ichthyovenator laosensis'', and was described by palaeontologist Ronan Allain and colleagues in 2012. The generic name, meaning "fish hunter", refers to its assumed piscivorous lifestyle, while the specific name alludes to the country of Laos. In 2014, it was announced that more remains from the dig site had been recovered; these fossils included teeth, more vertebrae (backbones) and a pubic bone from the same individual. The holotype specimen is estimated to have been between long and to have weighed . ''Ichthyovenator''s te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suchomimus
''Suchomimus'' (meaning "crocodile mimic") is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, during the Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous period. It was named and described by palaeontologist Paul Sereno and colleagues in 1998, based on a partial skeleton from the Elrhaz Formation. ''Suchomimus'''s long and shallow skull, similar to that of a crocodile, earns it its generic name, while the specific name ''Suchomimus tenerensis'' alludes to the locality of its first remains, the Ténéré Desert. ''Suchomimus'' was a relatively large theropod, reaching in length and weighing . However, the age of the holotype specimen is uncertain, so it is unclear whether this size estimate would have been its maximum. The narrow skull of ''Suchomimus'' was perched on a short neck, and its forelimbs were powerfully built, bearing a giant claw on each thumb. Along the midline of the animal's back ran a low dorsal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxalaia
''Oxalaia'' (in reference to the African deity '' Oxalá'') is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now the Northeast Region of Brazil during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, sometime between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago. Its only known fossils were found in 1999 on Cajual Island in the rocks of the Alcântara Formation, which is known for its abundance of fragmentary, isolated fossil specimens. The remains of ''Oxalaia'' were described in 2011 by Brazilian palaeontologist Alexander Kellner and colleagues, who assigned the specimens to a new genus containing one species, ''Oxalaia quilombensis''. The species name refers to the Brazilian quilombo settlements. ''Oxalaia quilombensis'' is the eighth officially named theropod species from Brazil and the largest carnivorous dinosaur discovered there. It is closely related to the African genus ''Spinosaurus'', and/or may be a junior synonym of this taxon. Although ''Oxalaia'' is known only from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus
''Spinosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian to upper Turonian stages of the Late Cretaceous period, about 99 to 93.5 million years ago. The genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material came to light in the early 21st century. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The best known species is ''S. aegyptiacus'' from Egypt, although a potential second species, ''S. maroccanus'', has been recovered from Morocco. The contemporary spinosaurid genus ''Sigilmassasaurus'' has also been synonymized by some authors with ''S. aegyptiacus'', though other researchers propose it to be a distinct taxon. Another possible junior synonym is ''Oxalaia'' from the Alcântara Formation in Brazil. ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinosaurus
''Spinosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian to upper Turonian stages of the Late Cretaceous period, about 99 to 93.5 million years ago. The genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material came to light in the early 21st century. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The best known species is ''S. aegyptiacus'' from Egypt, although a potential second species, ''S. maroccanus'', has been recovered from Morocco. The contemporary spinosaurid genus ''Sigilmassasaurus'' has also been synonymized by some authors with ''S. aegyptiacus'', though other researchers propose it to be a distinct taxon. Another possible junior synonym is ''Oxalaia'' from the Alcântara Formation in Brazil. ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ostafrikasaurus
''Ostafrikasaurus'' is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period of what is now Lindi Region, Tanzania. It is known only from fossil teeth discovered sometime between 1909 and 1912, during an expedition to the Tendaguru Formation by the Natural History Museum of Berlin. Eight teeth were originally attributed to the dubious dinosaur genus '' Labrosaurus'', and later to ''Ceratosaurus'', both known from the North American Morrison Formation. Subsequent studies attributed two of these teeth to a spinosaurid dinosaur, and in 2012, ''Ostafrikasaurus crassiserratus'' was named by French palaeontologist Eric Buffetaut, with one tooth as the holotype, and the other referred to the same species. The generic name comes from the German word for German East Africa, the former name of the colony in which the fossils were found, while the specific name comes from the Latin words for "thick" and "serrated", in reference to the form of the animal's teeth. ''Ostafrikasaurus'' h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cristatusaurus
''Cristatusaurus'' is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous Period of what is now Niger, 112 million years ago. It was a baryonychine member of the Spinosauridae, a group of large bipedal carnivores with well-built forelimbs and elongated, crocodile-like skulls. The type species ''Cristatusaurus lapparenti'' was named in 1998 by scientists Philippe Taquet and Dale Russell, on the basis of jaw bones and some vertebrae. Two claw fossils were also later assigned to ''Cristatusaurus''. The animal's generic name, which means "crested reptile", alludes to a sagittal crest on top of its snout; while the specific name is in honor of the French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent. ''Cristatusaurus'' is known from the Albian to Aptian Elrhaz Formation, where it would have coexisted with sauropod and iguanodontian dinosaurs, other theropods, and various crocodylomorphs. Originally proposed to be an indeterminate species of ''Baryonyx'', the identity of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baryonychinae
Baryonychinae is an extinct clade or subfamily of spinosaurids from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Albian) of Britain, Portugal, and Niger. In 2021, it consisted of six genera: ''Ceratosuchops'', ''Cristatusaurus'', ''Riparovenator'', ''Suchomimus'', '' Suchosaurus'', and ''Baryonyx'', the nominal genus. The clade was named by Charig & Milner in 1986 and defined by Sereno ''et al''. in 1998 and Holtz ''et al.'' in 2004 as all taxa more closely related to ''Baryonyx walkeri'' than to ''Spinosaurus aegyptiacus''. Baryonychines were large, bipedal predators with elongated, crocodile-like skulls and lower jaw tips fanning out into rosettes bearing conical, often unserrated, teeth, and a distinct premaxillary notch. They possessed robust forelimbs supporting three-fingered hands with an enlarged first digit claw, to which the subfamily name indirectly refers. Members of this group, unlike the more derived Spinosaurinae, sported only low sails or none at all. History of discovery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally carnivorous, although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores and omnivores. Theropods first appeared during the Carnian age of the late Triassic period 231.4 million years ago ( Ma) and included all the large terrestrial carnivores from the Early Jurassic until at least the close of the Cretaceous, about 66 Ma. In the Jurassic, birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods, and are today represented by about 10,500 living species. Biology Diet and teeth Theropods exhibit a wide range of diets, from insectivores to herbivores and carnivores. Strict carnivory has always been considered the ancestral diet for theropods as a group, and a wider variety of diets was historically considered a characteri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
