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Megalosauridae
Megalosauridae is a monophyletic Family (taxonomy), family of Carnivore, carnivorous theropod dinosaurs within the group Megalosauroidea. Appearing in the Middle Jurassic, megalosaurids were among the first major radiation of large theropod dinosaurs. They were a relatively primitive group of basal Tetanurae, tetanurans containing two main subfamilies, Megalosaurinae and Afrovenatorinae, along with the basal genus ''Eustreptospondylus'', an unresolved taxon which differs from both subfamilies. The defining megalosaurid, ''Megalosaurus bucklandii'', was first named and described in 1824 by William Buckland after multiple finds in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, UK. ''Megalosaurus'' was the first formally described dinosaur and was the basis for the establishment of the clade Dinosauria. It is also one of the largest known Middle Jurassic carnivorous dinosaurs, with the best-preserved femur at 805 mm and a proposed body mass of around 943 kg. Megalosauridae has mainly been reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torvosaurus
''Torvosaurus'' () is a genus of large Megalosaurinae, megalosaurine Theropoda, theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 165 to 148 million years ago during the Callovian to Tithonian ages of the late Middle Jurassic, Middle and Late Jurassic period in what is now Colorado, Portugal, Germany, and possibly England, Spain, Tanzania, and Uruguay. It contains two currently recognized species, ''Torvosaurus tanneri'' and ''Torvosaurus gurneyi'', plus a third unnamed species from Germany. In 1979, the type species ''Torvosaurus tanneri'' was named. Measuring around long and weighing approximately , ''T. tanneri'' was among the largest terrestrial carnivores in North America during the Late Jurassic. Specimens of ''Torvosaurus gurneyi'' were measured up to in length and in body mass, suggesting that it was much larger than ''T. tanneri'' and was the largest terrestrial carnivore in Europe during the Late Jurassic. Based on bone morphology, ''Torvosaurus'' is thought to have had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duriavenator
''Duriavenator'' is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now England during the Middle Jurassic, about 168 million years ago. In 1882, upper and lower jaw bones of a dinosaur were collected near Sherborne in Dorset, and Richard Owen considered the fossils to belong to the species ''Megalosaurus, Megalosaurus bucklandii'', the first named non-bird dinosaur. By 1964, the specimen was recognised as belonging to a different species, and in 1974 it was described as a new species of ''Megalosaurus'', ''M. hesperis''; the Specific name (zoology), specific name means 'the West' or 'western'. Later researchers questioned whether the species belonged to ''Megalosaurus'', in which many fragmentary theropods from around the world had historically been placed. After examining the taxonomic issues surrounding ''Megalosaurus'', Roger B. J. Benson moved ''M. hesperis'' to its own genus in 2008, ''Duriavenator''; this name means "Dorset hunter". Estimated to have been long and wei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalosauroidea
Megalosauroidea (meaning 'great/big lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of tetanuran theropod dinosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous period. The group is defined as '' Megalosaurus bucklandii'' and all taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with it than with '' Allosaurus fragilis'' or '' Passer domesticus''. Members of the group include ''Spinosaurus'', ''Megalosaurus'', and '' Torvosaurus''. They are possibly paraphyletic in nature with respect to Allosauroidea, which is to say some members of this superfamily might be closer to Allosauroids than to each other, which is undesirable in cladistics. Classification The name Spinosauroidea is sometimes used in place of Megalosauroidea. The superfamily Spinosauroidea was named in 1915 by Ernst Stromer. It is a synonym of Megalosauroidea in almost all modern phylogenetic analyses, and it is therefore redundant. Spinosauroidea was defined as a clade in 1998 by Paul Sereno as the node clade c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrovenator
''Afrovenator'' (; "African hunter") is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Middle or Late Jurassic Period on the Tiourarén Formation and maybe the Irhazer II Formation of the Niger Sahara region in Western Africa. ''Afrovenator'' represents the only properly identified Gondwanan megalosaur, with proposed material of the group present in the Late Jurassic on Tacuarembó Formation of Uruguay and the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. Discovery and naming The remains of ''Afrovenator'' were discovered in 1993 in the Tiourarén Formation of the department of Agadez in Niger. The Tiourarén was originally thought to represent the Hauterivian to Barremian stages of the early Cretaceous Period, or approximately 132 to 125 million years ago (Sereno et al. 1994). However, re-interpretation of the sediments showed that they are probably Middle to Late Jurassic in age, dating ''Afrovenator'' to the Bathonian to Oxfordian stages, between 167 and 161 mya. The saurop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiehenvenator
''Wiehenvenator'' is a genus of Megalosauridae, megalosaurid Theropoda, theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of north western Germany. The genus contains a single species, ''W. albati''. Discovery and naming In 1998, geologist Friedrich Albat, prospecting for the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe Museum of Natural History, discovered the remains of a large theropod at the abandoned Pott quarry in the Wiehen Hills near Minden, Westphalia, Germany, Westphalia. The remains were discovered within the Ornatenton Formation, a geological formation composed mainly of mudstone, sandstones, and a horizon of carbonate concretions. The fragmentary theropod skeleton, found alongside abundant marine invertebrates and fossilized wood, was excavated between October 1998 and October 2001. At the time of their discovery, the bones were heavily weathered out of the surrounding sediments and are somewhat poorly preserved. The numerous breaks and cracks found in the material risked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piveteausaurus
''Piveteausaurus'' (meaning " Jean Piveteau's lizard") is a genus of theropod dinosaur known from a partial skull discovered in the Middle Jurassic Marnes de Dives formation of Calvados, in northern France and lived about 164.7-161.2 million years ago. In 2012 Thomas Holtz gave a possible length of 11 meters (36 feet). History and description The partial braincase that became the type specimen of ''Piveteausaurus'' was first described in 1923 by French paleontologist Jean Piveteau in illustrations and photographs of the specimen (MNHN 1920-7). The braincase is comparable in size to that of a large ''Allosaurus'', and resembles that of another megalosauroid, '' Piatnitzkysaurus'' from Argentina.Rauhut, 2004. Braincase structure of the Middle Jurassic theropod dinosaur ''Piatnitzkysaurus''. Canadian Journal of Earth Science. 41, 1109-1122. Piveteau grouped this partial skull with other specimens found earlier in that locality and described in 1808 by French naturalist Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetanurae
Tetanurae (/ˌtɛtəˈnjuːriː/ or "stiff tails") is a clade that includes most Theropoda, theropod dinosaurs, including Megalosauroidea, megalosauroids, Allosauroidea, allosauroids, and Coelurosauria, coelurosaurs (which includes Tyrannosauroidea, tyrannosauroids, Ornithomimosauria, ornithomimosaurs, Compsognathidae, compsognathids and maniraptorans, the latter including living birds). Tetanurans are defined as all theropods more closely related to modern birds than to ''Ceratosaurus'' and contain the majority of predatory dinosaur diversity. Tetanurae likely diverged from its sister group, Ceratosauria, during the late Triassic. Tetanurae first appeared in the fossil record by the Early Jurassic about 190 mya and by the Middle Jurassic had become globally distributed. The group was named by Jacques Gauthier in 1986 and originally had two main subgroups: Carnosauria and Coelurosauria, the clade containing birds and related dinosaurs such as compsognathids, tyrannosaurids, ornit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalosaurus Bucklandii
''Megalosaurus'' (meaning "great lizard", from Ancient Greek, Greek , ', meaning 'big', 'tall' or 'great' and , ', meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic Epoch (Bathonian stage, 166 million years ago) of southern England. Although fossils from other areas have been assigned to the genus, the only certain remains of ''Megalosaurus'' come from Oxfordshire and date to the late Middle Jurassic. The earliest remains of ''Megalosaurus'' were described in the 17th century, and were initially interpreted as the remains of elephants or giants. ''Megalosaurus'' was named in 1824 by William Buckland, becoming the first genus of (non-avian) dinosaur to be validly named. The type species is ''M. bucklandii'', named in 1827 by Gideon Mantell, after Buckland. In 1842, ''Megalosaurus'' was one of three genera on which Richard Owen based his Dinosauria, along with ''Iguanodon'' and ''Hylaeosaurus''. On Owen's directions a model was ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poekilopleuron
''Poekilopleuron'' (meaning "varied ribs") is a genus of carnosaurian theropod dinosaur, which lived during the middle Bathonian of the Jurassic, about 168 to 166 million years ago. The genus has been used under many different spelling variants, although only one, ''Poekilopleuron'', is valid. The type species is ''P. bucklandii'', named after William Buckland, and many junior synonyms of it have also been erected. Little material is currently known, as the holotype was destroyed in World War II, although many casts of the material still exist. Discovery and naming ''Poekilopleuron'' is a genus of theropod with a long and complex history. The holotype was discovered in July 1835 near La Maladrerie and the genus was named and first described by Jacques Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps in a report published in 1836, based on holotype material that is now destroyed. In 1837, Eudes-Deslongchamps published a more detailed account of this discovery in a monographEudes-Deslongchamps J.-A. (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalosaurus
''Megalosaurus'' (meaning "great lizard", from Ancient Greek, Greek , ', meaning 'big', 'tall' or 'great' and , ', meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic Epoch (Bathonian stage, 166 million years ago) of southern England. Although fossils from other areas have been assigned to the genus, the only certain remains of ''Megalosaurus'' come from Oxfordshire and date to the late Middle Jurassic. The earliest remains of ''Megalosaurus'' were described in the 17th century, and were initially interpreted as the remains of elephants or giants. ''Megalosaurus'' was named in 1824 by William Buckland, becoming the first genus of (non-avian) dinosaur to be validly named. The type species is ''M. bucklandii'', named in 1827 by Gideon Mantell, after Buckland. In 1842, ''Megalosaurus'' was one of three genera on which Richard Owen based his Dinosauria, along with ''Iguanodon'' and ''Hylaeosaurus''. On Owen's directions a model was ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eustreptospondylus
''Eustreptospondylus'' ( ;), from Ancient Greek εὖ (''eû''), meaning "well", στρεπτός (''streptós''), meaning "twisted", and σπόνδυλος (''spóndulos''), meaning "vertebra", is a genus of megalosaurid theropod dinosaur, from the Callovian and Kimmeridgian stages of the Jurassic period (some time between 166 and 154 million years ago) in southern England, at a time when Europe was a series of scattered islands (due to tectonic movement at the time which raised the sea-bed and flooded the lowland). Discovery and naming In 1870, workers at the Summertown Brick Pit, just north of Oxford, England, found the skeleton of a theropod. The remains were acquired by the local bookseller James Parker, who brought them to the attention of Oxford Professor John Phillips. Phillips described the bones in 1871, but did not name them. At the time, the remains represented the most complete skeleton of a large theropod ever found. ''Eustreptospondylus'' is still the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dubreuillosaurus
''Dubreuillosaurus'' is a genus of carnivorous dinosaur from the middle Jurassic Period. It is a megalosaurid theropod. Its fossils were found in France. The only named species, ''Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis'', was originally described as a species of '' Poekilopleuron'', ''Poekilopleuron? valesdunensis'', which is still formally the type species of the genus. It was later renamed ''Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis'' when, in 2005, Allain came to the conclusion that it was not part of the genus ''Poekilopleuron''. Its type specimen, MNHN 1998-13, is only rivalled in the number of preserved elements in this group by that of '' Eustreptospondylus''. ''Dubreuillosaurus'' is considered to a sister taxon of '' Magnosaurus''. It did not show signs of insular dwarfism even though it was uncovered on an island. Discovery and naming In 1994, the mayor of Conteville in Normandy, André Dubreuil, noted that during land rehabilitation of the old quarry of ''Pierre de Caen'', dinosaur bone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
