Magnosaurus
Magnosaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic,
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Skeletal diagram of the holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Family: | †Megalosauridae |
Subfamily: | †Afrovenatorinae |
Genus: | †Magnosaurus Huene, 1932 |
Type species | |
†Megalosaurus nethercombensis Huene, 1923
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Species | |
†M. nethercombensis (Huene, 1923 [originally Megalosaurus]) |
Magnosaurus (meaning 'large lizard') was a theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England. The main species, Magnosaurus nethercombensis has poorly preserved remains. It has often been confused with or included in Megalosaurus.
In 1923, German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene named Megalosaurus nethercombensis from a partial skeleton. It was found in the nineteenth century by W. Parker in Dorset. Fossils came from a possible juvenile individual. Huene interpreted it as a more primitive species of Megalosaurus.[1]
The remains are just a few fragments. Details of its anatomical features are unknown. It would have been a bipedal carnivore of moderate size for a dinosaur.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ von Huene, F. (1923). Carnivorous Saurischia in Europe since the Triassic. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 34:449-458.