Saurophaganax

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Saurophaganax
Skeletal reconstruction of Saurophaganax

Skeletal reconstruction of Saurophaganax

Temporal occurrence
Upper Jurassic ( Tithonian )
152.1 to 145 million years
Locations
Systematics
Dinosaur (dinosauria)
Lizard dinosaur (Saurischia)
Theropoda
Carnosauria
Allosauridae
Saurophaganax
Scientific name
Saurophaganax
Chure , 1995
species
  • Saurophaganax maximus Chure, 1995

Saurophaganax ("King of the Lizard Eaters") is a genus of theropod dinosaurs . Saurophaganax findscome from the Morrison Formation from the Upper Jurassic period . Because of these finds, it is now counted among the largest carnivorous dinosaurs and was, along with Allosaurus and Torvosaurus, the top predator of this region.

description

Saurophaganax was a very large allosaurid with an estimated length of 11 to over 13 m and an estimated weight of 3 to 4 tons. With that he towered over Allosaurus , another great predator of the Morrison formation. Although only very sparse skeletal remains of this genus are known, these finds show that it is related to the Allosaurus . Like him, he had a kind of headdress that ran from the snout to over the eyes and was interpreted as a sexual dimorphism , which possibly served to attract sexual partners during the mating season.

Other features are the serrated teeth and the long, curved claws that were useful in killing the prey. Similar to its close relative, the prey consisted of the larger herbivorous ornithic animals such as stegosaurs and the gigantic sauropods , which were quite common in North America in the Upper Jurassic.

Systematics

The classification of Saurophaganax has been the subject of controversial debate since it was first described in 1995 by the American paleontologist Dan Chure. There were numerous mix-ups between Saurophagus maximus and Saurophaganax maximus . The genus Saurophagus is now considered the noun dubium and Saurophaganax is the only correct name for this genus with the only species ( type species ) Saurophaganax maximus .

Furthermore, there is heated debate about whether the genus is not identical to Allosaurus , which was also due to the few remains. Therefore, some palaeontologists prefer to classify the Saurophaganax as a species of the Allosaurus , Allosaurus maximus . However, since too little fossil material is available to clearly clarify this question, the Chure classification is retained for the time being. Together with Allosaurus , Saurophaganax is the only member of the Allosauridae family , the sister family of the Sinraptoridae and the Carcharodontosauridae .

Web links

Commons : Saurophaganax  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 96, online .
  2. a b Joachim Künzel: Dinosaurs. Fascinating giants of prehistoric times. Edition XXL, Fränkisch-Crumbach 2009, ISBN 978-3-89736-343-4 , p. 128.
  3. ^ Paul Barrett , José Luis Sanz: Dinosaurs. Giants of primeval times. Illustrated Raul Martín. 4th edition. Arena, Würzburg 2006, p. 142, ISBN 3-401-05915-7 (non-fiction book for young people).
  4. ^ A b Thomas R. Holtz Jr. , Ralph E. Molnar, Philip J. Currie : Basal Tetanurae. In: David B. Weishampel , Peter Dodson , Halszka Osmólska (eds.): The Dinosauria . 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 2004, ISBN 0-520-24209-2 , pp. 71-110, here pp. 74 and 103.