Torvosaurus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Torvosaurus Fossil range: Late Jurassic
Torvosaurus tanneri
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Theropoda Family: Megalosauridae Genus: Torvosaurus Species: T. tanneri
Binomial name
Torvosaurus tanneri Galton & Jensen, 1979

Torvosaurus (TORE-vo-SORE-us) was a giant carnivorous dinosaur, similar in appearance to Tyrannosaurus although it had larger 'arms' and a bulky body. It lived about 145 million years ago, in the late Jurassic Period of what is now North America (and perhaps Portugal). It reached 10 to 12 meters (33 to 40 feet) in length and an estimated weight of 2 to 3 tonnes (2 to 3 tons), which made it the largest carnivore of its time, unless Epanterias (possibly just a big Allosaurus) truly existed in large numbers.

It was first discovered by James A. Jensen and Kenneth Stadtman in the rocks of the Morrison Formation at the Dry Mesa Quarry, Colorado in 1972. The genus and the type species T. tanneri were named and described in 1979 by Peter M. Galton and Jensen. The name Torvosaurus means 'savage lizard' from the Latin torvus meaning 'savage' and the Greek sauros meaning 'lizard').

The holotype is represented by an upper arm bone (humerus) and lower arm bones (radius and ulna). Additional material includes some skull bones, back bones, hip bones and 'hand' bones.

Torvosaurus is related to the earlier Megalosaurus but is seemingly more advanced. Its classification is still uncertain but its family Megalosauridae is most commonly held as a dead-ended branch of basal tetanurae, similar to Ceratosauria, although that group would continue on until the end of the Cretaceous.

Torvosaurus, while the largest predator of the Morrison Formation, was likely not the top predator, instead giving way to the packs of nearly as large Allosaurus that were far more common. The 8m Ceratosaurus also competed for prey, though it likely was a solitary or small group hunter and not much more common than Torvosaurus.

[edit] Largest theropod of the Jurassic

In 2006 a nearly complete maxilla found in Portugal was assigned to Torvosaurus. It measured 63 cm in length, significantly larger than the 47 cm maxilla of the American specimen (total skull length 118cm). Based on this, a skull length of 158 cm was estimated for the Portuguese specimen. This is comparable to the largest T. rex skulls, and makes Torvosaurus the largest known Jurassic theropod (surpassing Saurophaganax/Allosaurus maximus and Edmarka), and among the largest of all theropods.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• See entry on Torvosaurus at DinoData (registration required, free) (technical).