| Altispinax Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Barremian |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | Altispinax von Huene, 1923 |
| Species | |
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Altispinax ( /ˌæltɨˈspaɪnəks/; "high spine") is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Obernkirchen Sandstein of Niedersachsen, Germany. Material has also been referred to it from the Hastings Beds (Valanginian), Purbeck Beds (Early Cretaceous), and Lower Greensand (Aptian) of England, and the Weald Clay (Hauterivian-Barremian) of England and Belgium, but this material probably doesn't belong to Altispinax.[1][2] The type species, Altispinax dunkeri was originally described by Dames in 1884 as Megalosaurus dunkeri. In 1923, von Huene assigned it to its own genus.[3] It is known only from teeth. Vertebrae initially linked with the teeth are now known to be from the carnosaur Becklespinax. Thus Altispinax is now usually considered a nomen dubium.