This section talks about "carnosaurs". We will begin with a word about its meanings. In old sources, this term included ''all'' large theropods, from ''Tyrannosaurus'' to ''Allosaurus'', from ''Ceratosaurus'' to ''Megalosaurus'', to ''Baryonyx'', ''Spinosaurus'', and sometimes even ''Dilophosaurus''. ScienceMarchesOn however, and now “carnosaurs” has a much narrower meaning, indicating only the natural lineage including ''Allosaurus'' and its closest relatives, which make together the most advanced and bird-like giant theropods after the tyrannosaurs.
But this change has happened only at the beginning of the 1990s (ceratosaurs and ''Dilophosaurus'' were removed earlier). That’s why pre-''Film/JurassicPark'' dino-fans still have the habit to call “carnosaurs” all the big meat-eaters in the dino-world - and let’s admit it, “carnosaur” is a very apt name, just meaning [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin meat[-eating] lizards]]. Thus, to avoid TaxonomicTermConfusion, we’ll use here the term “allosauroids” instead of “carnosaurs” to indicate ''Allosaurus'' relatives. [[note]] Note that Allosauroidea is slightly less inclusive than Carnosauria in some usages, although some prefer Allosauroidea & ignore Carnosauria altogether.[[/note]]
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'''The Myth's Twin:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarbosaurus Tarbosaurus]]''
Let’s start our long trip among non-stock dinosaurs with one of the closest relatives of TyrannosaurusRex: ''Tarbosaurus''. If you want to describe it, don’t worry, it’s a simple thing: just say it was the Asian twin of ''T. rex'', and you’ve given the idea.
To be more accurate, ''Tarbosaurus'' was slightly smaller than ''Tyrannosaurus'', but shared the same familiar body-shape, with large head, huge teeth, short neck, tiny forelimbs with only two functional digits, and whatnot. Those forelimbs were even smaller than those of ''T. rex'', sometimes cited as “the smallest arms in the dinosaur world” - even though the “horned” theropod ''Carnotaurus'' had even more reduced arms, as did the weird alvarezsaurids and many flightless birds. Obviously, ''Tarbosaurus'' shows up in books and documentaries as the king of the predators in its habitat, Late Cretaceous Asia, just like ''T. rex'' in North America. In fact, these two dinosaurs are so similar that some scientists have suggested that ''Tarbosaurus'' is another species of the genus ''Tyrannosaurus'', but new studies seem to disagree.
''Tarbosaurus'' has been first discovered in 1955 in Mongolia, more precisely in the Gobi Desert. Mongolia, a sparsely populated Asian country bordered by Russia and China, has always had a major role in the brief history of paleontology: despite being much smaller than China, Canada or the USA, it has given us the same number of fossils of the latter, almost all from Late Cretaceous. Among them, most of the classic Asian dinosaurs: from the famed ''Protoceratops''/''Velociraptor'' battle to the first Mesozoic dinosaur eggs ever discovered, from ''Oviraptor'' to the huge forelimbs of ''Deinocheirus'', from ''Gallimimus'' to the scythe-claws of ''Therizinosaurus''. And ''Tarbosaurus'' as well.
Interesting that the succession of geological periods (Cretaceous-Jurassic-Triassic) of the Mesozoic era, have also a distribution in latitude which is amazingly specular in Asia and in North America. In both continents, the Cretaceous terrains are those in the northern part of the range (Alberta, Canada/Montana, USA, and Mongolia/Inner Mongolia/Northern China); the Triassic terrains are the most southern (Arizona/New Mexico, USA, and the province of Yunnan, southern China); while the Jurassic one were [[CaptainObvious in the middle]] (Utah/Colorado/Wyoming, and the province of Szechuan, central China). Also note that most North American dinosaurs have been discovered in western USA and western Canada (not in the coastal region however, but only in the Mountains and Plains); while the Asian dinosaurs are concentrated in only two countries, Mongolia and China, both in the Far East. Some of the most astonishing recent discoveries about dinosaurs just come from China, especially the northern province of Liaoning (see “Birdlike theropods”).
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'''Smaller Tyrants:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albertosaurus Albertosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgosaurus Gorgosaurus]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daspletosaurus Daspletosaurus]]''
''Albertosaurus'' is the most abundant tyrannosaur in fossil record, and also the second big-sized theropod by wealth of fossil material, just after the unbeatable ''Allosaurus''. And yet, ''Albertosaurus'' has not gained much attention in films and comics as ''Tyrannosaurus'' - tyrannosaurids are so similar to each other that if one appears in cinema, people will always call it ''T. rex''. To compensate, ''Albertosaurus'' is a very common sight in many paleo-books, just as common as several [[StockDinosaurs Stock Theropods]].
Naturally, it is portrayed as the superpredator of its time, North America 80-75 million years ago, 10 million years before ''T. rex''. The menu of an ''Albertosaurus'' was probably not monotonous; several kinds of herbivores roamed North American plains at the time, from ceratopsians to hadrosaurs, from the armored ankylosaurs to small swift "hypsilophodonts" and ornithomimids. Even though tyrannosaurids are classically shown [[RuleOfCool battling some powerful prey]], they more probably hunted young individuals more often, to avoid the risk of fatal injuries or consequent infections.
Compared with the legendary ''TyrannosaurusRex'', ''Albertosaurus'' was like a leopard compared with a lion; smaller (25 ft long against the 40 ft of T. rex), it was also more slender, with longer, thinner jaws, smaller teeth, and more agile legs apt to higher top speeds than ''Tyrannosaurus''. Even the herbivores which shared their world were conformed to these predators; those which lived alongside ''T. rex'' were bigger, slower and more powerful than those living with ''Albertosaurus''.
''Albertosaurus'' was also the first dinosaur ever discovered in Canada, at the end of the XIX century, but was named only in 1905 (incidentally, the same year of ''Tyrannosaurus'') [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin after the Canadian province of Alberta]], where most of the abundant Canadian dinos have been discovered. ''Albertosaurus'' has also contributed indirectly to the popular image of tyrannosaurs. The forelimbs of ''Albertosaurus'' have been known since its very first find, while those of ''T. rex'' were first discovered only in the 1990s; for almost a century the well-known two-fingered hands of "rex" have been modeled upon those of ''Albertosaurus'', debunking at the time the [[DeadHorseTrope old pop-cultural]] HandWave about portraying three-fingered tyrannosaurs. [[note]] Beware, we’re talking about ''functional'' fingers, not the so-often cited third vestigial digit present in ''T. rex''[[/note]]
Discovered in 1914, ''Gorgosaurus'' is another North American tyrannosaurid which was long considered a distinct genus compared to ''Albertosaurus''. Then, in the 1970s, Canadian paleontologist Dale Russell found the two animals so similar they had to been put under a single name: since the first created name always has priority, so was ''Albertosaurus''. Only in recent years, scientists changed idea again separating "''Gorgosaurus''" from "''Albertosaurus''" [[note]] The whole process is always quite arbitrary, never forget this[[/note]]. There has also been a curious sequence in pop-portraits: ''Gorgosaurus'' has long been the most depicted non-"rex" tyrannosaur in classic paleo-art and old books; but its long-lasting synonimization with ''Albertosaurus'' has definitively harmed its relevance, and today ''Albertosaurus'' is the new prototypical “small” North-American tyrannosaur. Also note that the name ''Gorgosaurus'' recalls that of an [[Film/{{Gorgo}} old Godzilla-like movie-monster]]; it’s an incidental thing, or not?
In the 1970s, a third North American tyrannosaur was recognized as distinct: ''Daspletosaurus''. The same size of the other two and living in the same epoch, ''Daspletosaurus'' was actually more similar to ''T. rex'' than to ''Albertosaurus'' in anatomy, and was probably the direct ancestor of ''Tyrannosaurus''. Many scientists think the more agile ''Albertosaurus''/''Gorgosaurus'' specialized on relatively easier preys such as hadrosaurs, young ceratopsians, troodonts or ornithomimids, while the more powerfully-built ''Daspletosaurus'' hunted “armored” herbivores like adult ceratopsians and ankylosaurs, [[BadAss and possibly]] ''[[BadAss Albertosaurus]]'' and ''[[BadAss Gorgosaurus]]'' themselves!
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'''Not exactly T. rexes:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryptosaurus Dryptosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alioramus Alioramus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alectrosaurus Alectrosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotyrannus Nanotyrannus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eotyrannus Eotyrannus]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yutyrannus Yutyrannus]]''
Not all tyrannosauroids were tyrannosaurids, remember this. Basal tyrannosauroids were often very different animals: smaller, more slender, with ''three fingered hands''. Not exactly ''T. rex''es… only their skull structure was analogue to the tyrannosaurids.
The most long-standing basal tyrannosauroid is ''Dryptosaurus'', the first theropod discovered in North America from not-only-teeth, in 1866, before the Bone Wars. Because of its apparently untyrannosauroidian nature and scant remains, ''Dryptosaurus'' was long considered a hard-to-classify theropod. After the discovery of North American forms, such as ''Appalachiosaurus'' ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin guess where this one has been discovered]]) & ''Bistahieversor'' (initially considered a southern species of ''Daspletosaurus''), ''Dryptosaurus'' has consistently been placed in the tyrannosauroid realm. However, it was more slender than tyrannosaurids, and we don’t know if it had two- or three-fingered hands (they have never been found). ''Dryptosaurus'' has also the distinction to be one of the few dinosaurs discovered in eastern USA, contrary to the quasi-totality of North American dinosaurs. But the main distinction of ''Dryptosaurus'' is to be the first dinosaur ever depicted by the famous paleo-artist Charles Knight (when the dinosaur was still called “Laelaps”), with two individuals fighting each other.
Other small-sized tyrannosauroids ''are'' classified as tyrannosaurids, but many are (or could be) simple juveniles of other well-known tyrannosaurids: for example, ''Nanotyrannus'' (“dwarf tyrant”). It is indeed the smallest tyrannosaurid ever discovered in North America, merely 18 ft long. Living alongside the much bigger cousin ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'', its only remain (a fragmentary skull) could have been ''actually'' based on a juvenile of what very likely is ''Tyrannosaurus rex''. Another alleged North American small tyrannosaur described as early as the 1860s, "Aublysodon", is known mainly from teeth, and it too may be just represent juveniles from known tyrannosaurids. Small tyrannosauroids are also known from Asia: ''Alioramus'' was once thought the juvenile of ''Tarbosaurus'', but has revealed a truly small tyrannosaurid with a crested, untyrannosaurian skull. Another, ''Alectrosaurus'' (perhaps the first-found large theropod in Asia), is more probably a basal tyrannosauroid like ''Dryptosaurus''. Still another, the small "Shanshanosaurus", is now regarded as a juvenile of ''Tarbosaurus''.
All these dinosaurs were Late Cretaceous, either Asian or North-American, but some basal tyrannosauroids have been found elsewhere: ''Eotyrannus'' “dawn tyrant” lived in Early Cretaceous Europe along with ''Iguanodon''. Known since 2001, its find in England made sensation both because of its earliness, and because was small (10 ft long, even though it too could be a juvenile), similar to a large “coelurosaur” with a tyrannosaur-like head, and ''long, three-fingered forelimbs''. ''Eotyrannus'' has definitively shown that tyrannosaurs were more related to ''birds'' than to the other “carnosaurs” in traditional sense.
In 2012, a new tyrannosauroid was described: ''Yutyrannus'' (appropriately "feathered tyrant") from the Early Cretaceous of China. From the same Liaoning site in which other much smaller feathered dinosaurs have been found, ''Yutyrannus'' was much bigger than them (30-foot long); this suggested that even large true tyrannosaurids were feathered. Other basal tyrannosauroids or possible basal tyrannosauroids have been discovered in Northern continents: some of them are listed in the “small/birdlike theropods” sections.
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'''Missed Moment of Glory:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodontosaurus Carcharodontosaurus]]'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deltadromeus Deltadromeus]]''
In 1995, an unexpected find deeply shook the paleontological world as well as the dino-fandom. The obscure-at-the-time ''Carcharodontosaurus'' has revealed not to be a smallish, unclassifiable theropod as always thought. It was a much more BadAss animal, whose name “great white shark lizard” has revealed [[HilariousInHindsight stunningly apt]]. A predatory dinosaur ''even bigger than T. rex''!
[[RuleOfCool Obviously]], popular media ballyhooed the discover a lot… totally forgetting that some other giant theropods were already ''T. rex'' contestants for the “biggest” title much before 1995! ''Spinosaurus'' makes the most striking example, but there is also the obscure “Epanterias” (almost certainly just an overgrown ''Allosaurus''); not to mention ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' (see “Bird-like theropods”). But the glory of ''Carcharodontosaurus'' didn’t last a long time; merely one year later, it was surpassed by the just-discovered, almost-identical, ''only a bit bigger'', and now stock, ''[[StockDinosaurs Giganotosaurus]]''. Our “white shark dino” was a quite unlucky dinosaur, really.
However, in the 2000s, ''Spinosaurus'' has done justice to "Carcharo", taking in turn the popularity of ''Giganotosaurus'' out thanks to ''Film/JurassicParkIII''. The awesome thing is, in RealLife ''Carcharodontosaurus'' and ''Spinosaurus'', living together in Cretaceous Africa where today is Sahara, maybe contended with each other the “top-predator” niche; while ''Carcharodontosaurus'' was better-weaponed with huge jaws, ''Spinosaurus'' was more enormous-bodied and could have been even twice its weight. They can be considered the “tiger” and the “grizzly bear” of their time respectively, and it’s not a thing to exclude that ''Spinosaurus'' sometimes chased away ''Carcharodontosaurus'' from their kills like modern bears do with big cats when they live side-by-side.
Another less-impressive but still formidable carnivore was found alongside ''Carcharodontosaurus'' one year later: ''Deltadromeus''. Around 30 ft long, nearly as big as an ''Allosaurus'', ''Deltadromeus'' had long, unusually slender hind limbs for its size. This suggests it was one of the fastest-running giant theropods, and a predator as efficient as its bigger but clumsier neighbors ''Spinosaurus'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus''. Its name just means “delta runner” - a reference to the Nile's delta. Originally considered a giant primitive coelurosaur, it is more likely a primitive ceratosaur (possibly a synonym of the giant but poorly-known ''Bahariasaurus'').
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'''Pack hunters, or what?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapusaurus Mapusaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannotitan Tyrannotitan]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigilmassasaurus Sigilmassasaurus]]'',
and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concavenator Concavenator]]''
As a consolation prize, our ''Carcharodontosaurus'' has been chosen as the official namesake of its own family, a recently-identified group of gigantic Cretaceous allosauroids which were also among the most evolved carnosaurs: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin carcharodontosaurids]]. Other than ''Carcharodontosaurus'', ''Giganotosaurus'' & ''Acrocanthosaurus'' (we'll get to that one in a few), they include animals discovered in the 2000s: among these, ''Mapusaurus''.
Found only in 2006 in Argentina, it was the closest relative of ''Giganotosaurus'', and may have been its descendant in RealLife. Just as big as “Giga”, ''Mapusaurus'' was almost identical to it and to ''Carcharodontosaurus'', with huge skull filled with crests and protuberances, and the usual powerful three-fingered hands of all allosauroids. However, the most interesting thing is that its fossils seem to show proof of gregarious behavior. Even though this doesn’t automatically indicate “pack hunting”, many have now fun to imagine awesome scenarios, with pack of ''Mapusaurus'' killing together the immense sauropods of the time like ''[[StockDinosaurs Argentinosaurus]]''. This behaviour was also speculatively attributed to ''Giganotosaurus'' in the “Land of Giants” episode of the ''[[WalkingWithDinosaurs WWD]]'' series… [[HilariousInHindsight four years before]] ''[[HilariousInHindsight Mapusaurus]]'' [[HilariousInHindsight was discovered]]!
Among other carcharodontosaurids, ''Tyrannotitan'' is worthy of note because of its name “titanic tyrant”, [[RuleOfCool the most "rex"-like]] of all theropods, even though its owner, being an allosauroid, was ''not'' so closely related with ''[[TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]''. An early Cretaceous animal, it was more primitive than the examples above, but still with a fully carcharodontosaurian skull. Even more primitive are ''Sauroniops'' ("eye of [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]]"), ''Eocarcharia'' ("dawn carcharodontosaurid") and ''Veterupristisaurus'' ("old shark reptile"), all from Africa.
Another African theropod was originally thought by Ernst Stromer (''Spinosaurus''' TropeMaker) a second species of his famous dinosaur. However, it was later found that its bones actually came from two different dinosaurs: the limbs from ''Carcharodontosaurus'', and the vertebrae from a new dinosaur, which was renamed ''Sigilmassasaurus'' ("Moroccan reptile") in 1996. Some think ''Sigilmassasaurus'' will end up being the same as ''Carcharodontosaurus'', while others believe that it is instead very different.
In 2010, Europe has gifted us a new member, ''Concavenator'' from Early Cretaceous Spain. This one is maybe one of the greatest dino-discoveries of the year. It not only had a small “hump” on its hips made by elongated neural spines; its arms also show possible attachment points for filament-like structures. This would mean: ''Concavenator'' could be ''a non-coelurosaur theropod found with feathers or feather-supporting structures'' (see also "The modern megalosaurs"). Now our imagination can travel further and further, imagining feathered ''Allosaurus'', feathered ''Spinosaurus''… but wait: don’t get too excited. Other researchers have pointed out that these attachment points are more similar to those for muscles in crocodiles than feathers in birds, so this supposed evidence for feathers in ''Concavenator'' may not be valid at all.
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'''Sailbacks. Or maybe not:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrocanthosaurus Acrocanthosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metriacanthosaurus Metriacanthosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altispinax Altispinax]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becklespinax Becklespinax]]''
''[[StockDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' was not the only theropod with a ridge on its back made by elongated neural spines: there were others as well. ''Acrocanthosaurus'' is the most well-known among “these others”. However, its “sail” was very different; only one foot tall, it extended from the neck to the tail-tip, while that of ''Spinosaurus'' was far higher but limited to the back. Actually, the sail of ''Acrocanthosaurus'' could have been buried in flesh in the living animal, making it looking even bigger when seen from the side, just like what could have been for ''Spinosaurus''. Furthermore, ''Acrocanthosaurus'' was not a spinosaur relative at all (even though it and other sailbacks were classified as such in the past just because of their sails): actually was an allosauroid, traditionally classified as being between ''Giganotosaurus'' and ''Allosaurus'' phylogenetically. However, the most recent analyze support carcharodontosaurid affinities, making it closer to ''Giganotosaurus''.
''Acrocanthosaurus'' lived in Early Cretaceous North America, rather between ''Allosaurus'' and ''Tyrannosaurus'' in the time scale. Apart from the “sail”, it was similar to a robust ''Allosaurus'' in shape, and with its 12 m long body was as big as ''TyrannosaurusRex'', albeit of lighter build. One could even say ''Acrocanthosaurus'' [[AllYourPowersCombined combined the best powers]] of the four most popular giant theropods. The size of "rex", the overall robustness of “Giga”, the powerful three-clawed forelimbs of “Allo”, and a crested back like “Spino”. And yet, have you sometimes seen this dinosaur outside dino-books (apart from the [[DocumentaryofLies pseudo-docu]] ''Series/MonstersResurrected'')? Things get even worse if you think ''Acrocanthosaurus'' has been known since the 1940s from rather complete remains, was the top-predator of Early Cretaceous North America, and shared the same habitat with another famous (but much smaller) “killer dinosaur”, ''Deinonychus''. However, Bob Bakker’s scientific novel ''RaptorRed'' does justice to ''Acrocanthosaurus'', portraying it as the great predator of the world in which ''Utahraptor'' are the main characters.
Other two less-known “sailbacks” of smaller size and with a even less-evident crest were ''Becklespinax'' (once called “Altispinax”) and ''Metriacanthosaurus'', both European. Once placed in the “Megalosaurus wastebasket”, both are now considered allosauroids of some sort. Surprisingly, ''Becklespinax'' crested backbone was used in the middle XIX century as a model for the famous "Megalosaurus" sculpture in the Crystal Palace Park in London; this explains why the megalosaur model shows a humped back. Just as surprisingly, in spite of being a very obscure dinosaur, ''Metriacanthosaurus''' long name appears on one of the embryo-containing vials in the first ''Film/JurassicPark'' film (probably because the more famous ''Yangchuanosaurus'' was thought by some to be the same), but this detail has passed rather unnoticed.
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'''Allosaurs vs Tyrannosaurs:''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epanterias "Epanterias"]] and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurophaganax Saurophaganax]]''
One of the reasons behind the PoorMansSubstitute role ''Allosaurus'' has played in pop-culture is surely its smaller size compared with TyrannosaurusRex. But this is true only if you count the most known allosaurid species, ''Allosaurus fragilis'' (the second term, ironically, means “fragile”). Another species, ''Allosaurus maximus'' (“maximus” just means “the biggest” or ”the greatest”), has recently been thought distinct enough to be classified in its own genus, ''Saurophaganax''. Nonetheless, the latter was so similar to the classic ''Allosaurus'', it might well return to the genus ''Allosaurus'' again. ''Saurophaganax maximus'' though, sounds much [[RuleOfCool cooler]] and it means "The greatest lizard-eating master" opposed to ''Allosaurus maximus'', which means "The largest different lizard"".
Still another close kin has been described as a really huge animal, 12 m long, around the size of a ''T. rex'': "Epanterias". The astonishing thing is, "Epanterias" is known to science since as early as year 1878, ''25 years'' before ''T. rex'' was discovered! This awesome oversight is due to its extremely scant remains. But the main point is another: "Epanterias" might be another overgrown ''Allosaurus'' species as well. If true, then our ''Allosaurus'' would deserve to be considered a real rival of ''T. rex'', "Giga", and "Spino" for the “King of Dinosaurs” title.
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'''Imitators, forgers, fish-hunters, and river gods:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchomimus Suchomimus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristatusaurus Cristatusaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritator Irritator]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamosaurus Siamosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyovenator Ichthyovenator]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalaia Oxalaia]]''
No other group of large theropods was as specialized as spinosaurids. Their croc-like heads, their [[HookHand hook-like thumbclaws]], and their flat crests on their backs make them immediately recognizable; even though some other theropods had sail-backs or hook-thumbs, no one had the crocodilian-like jaws. As a group, they lasted a long time, starting in the Late Jurassic with African ''Ostafrikasaurus'' (known only from a tooth that might actually come from another type of theropod) and ending with an unnamed form from the mid-Late Cretaceous of China.
However, spinosaurids as a group are recognized only since the late 1980s/early 1990s; before, the only-two known members, ''[[StockDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' and ''[[StockDinosaurs Baryonyx]]'', were believed so different that each was put in its own family. In year 1998, a third spinosaurid was discovered in Early Cretaceous North Africa: ''Suchomimus'', “the imitator of the crocodile”. 11 m long, bigger than ''Baryonyx'' but smaller than the unbeatable ''Spinosaurus'', has long been the only dinosaur ending in -mimus that is definitely not a small bird-like coelurosaur. Very similar to ''Baryonyx'' (indeed, it and/or its fragmentary neighbor ''Cristatusaurus'' ["crested reptile"] may actually be species of that dinosaur), ''Suchomimus'' was probably a fishing specialist as well, but was distinct by spotting a noticeable spinal ridge analogue to ''Spinosaurus'', though far shorter. Since its discovery this dinosaur has gained much consideration: as an example, both ''Suchomimus'' and ''Baryonyx'' are cited in ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', when the little boy asks Alan Grant about spinosaurids. There is also a debate among dino-fans about the true identity of Rudy (the villain of ''IceAge 3''), and many think is a ''Suchomimus''; actually he's a ''Baryonyx'', but he’s so modified that correct identification is hard without asking the WordOfGod.
Another less-known spinosaurid has a name which reveals an astounding backstory: ''Irritator''. Scientists are not robots. They too have feelings, and sometimes project them in their dinosaurs’ names. This Brazilian theropod is known only from one skull. Sadly, this skull was badly affected by some fossil-poachers which rebuilt it making it longer than it originally was, even before the animal was named! When was found, scientists had hard time to rebuilt it correctly: when they finished the work, decided to call it ''Irritator'', the “irritating one”. ''Irritator'' probably includes ''Angaturama'', another spinosaurid also discovered in Brazil (indeed, the two could simply be the same specimen called two times with a different name!). Whether they're distinct or not, this mistreated skull pertains to a spinosaurid closer to ''Spinosaurus'' than to ''Baryonyx''; for obvious reasons, we don’t know if it had a “sail” or not.
''Siamosaurus'' was originally based on teeth, which some thought were from a fish. A skeleton announced in 2004 suggests it is a dinosaur, but it has yet to be described in the literature. In 2011, another spinosaurid was discovered in Brazil from skull remains, ''Oxalaia'': estimated to be 12-14 m in length, is now the second largest known spinosaurid and one of the biggest known theropods, maybe even bigger than ''Tyrannosaurus'' or ''Giganotosaurus''. Even newer than that is 2012's ''Ichthyovenator'', a double-sailed ''Baryonyx'' relative from Laos. Despite its name (literally "fish hunter"), neither the skull nor any other material that would indicate its diet are known.
In 2010, a comparative analysis of oxygen isotope ratios was conducted using teeth and bone samples taken from ''Spinosaurus'', ''Baryonyx'', ''Irritator'', and ''Siamosaurus'', as well as crocodilians, turtles, and contemporary terrestrial theropods like ''Carcharodontosaurus''. The study found that spinosaurids' ratios were closer to those of crocodilians and turtles, indicating they were semiaquatic to varying degrees, with ''Siamosaurus'' possessing the greatest ratio difference from terrestrial theropods ([[{{Irony}} remember, some thought it was a fish!]]) and ''Spinosaurus'' possessing the least difference. The study posited that this semiaquatic behaviour enabled the spinosaurids to avoid directly competing with other theropods for land-based prey and large crocodilians for aquatic prey.
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'''The modern megalosaurs:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustreptospondylus Eustreptospondylus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piatnitzkysaurus Piatnitzkysaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrovenator Afrovenator]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torvosaurus Torvosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciurumimus Sciurumimus]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juravenator Juravenator]]''
Roughly ''fifty'' theropod dinosaurs have once been labeled ''[[StockDinosaurs Megalosaurus]]'' at one point. Most have yet to be renamed. Many of the renamed ones have revealed to be totally unrelated animals (''Carcharodontosaurus'', ''Dilophosaurus'' and ''Majungasaurus''), but others were really cousins of the proper ''Megalosaurus''. The most important is ''Eustreptospondylus''. From Middle Jurassic Europe like ''Megalosaurus'' but smaller-sized (being 2 m shorter and more slender), its well-preserved skeleton is actually from a juvenile (some have suggested it to be the same as the more poorly known ''Magnosaurus'', also a former ''Megalosaurus'' species, but it may be more primitive). As the most well-preserved European large Jurassic theropod, ''Eustreptospondylus'' was chosen as the go-to dinosaur in the episode of the 1999 docu ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' dedicated to marine reptiles… [[AnachronismStew somehow living in the Late instead of the Middle Jurassic]]. Here our megalosaur is depicted as an inoffensive scavenger which has to hang on its world made by small islands, eating the occasional carrion the sea brings on the shore. But the most remembered scene is at the beginning: a specimen of ''Eustreptospondylus'' [[RedHerring apparently described]] as “the most fearsome predator of the Jurassic”… [[WorfEffect only to be eaten alive]] by the gigantic… erhm… OVERSIZED marine reptile ''[[StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs Liopleurodon]]''.
Among other "modern" megalosauroids, there is one which has received a deceptive name: ''Piatnitzkysaurus'' was not discovered in Russia as it seems, but in Argentina. A smallish animal (4-5 m long), it is one of the few dinosaurs known from Jurassic South America (most dinosaurs from this continent are either Triassic or Cretaceous). It shared the habitat with the much larger primitive sauropod ''Patagosaurus''; these two animal were found together in the 1970s and desribed by Jose Bonaparte, the Argentinian paleontologist who named most South American dinos between the 1970s and the 1990s; among the others, ''Saltasaurus'', ''Carnotaurus'', ''Amargasaurus'', ''Riojasaurus'', and the "mouse-lizard" ''Mussaurus''. ''Piatnitzkysaurus'' has recently become the prototype of its own group, the piatnitzkysaurids, just placed outside the proper megalosaurians (megalosaurids + spinosaurids); interestingly, the group seems to be limited to the Americas.
Most megalosaurids belonged to one of two branches: the larger, more robust megalosaurines and the smaller, slenderer afrovenatorines (traditionally "eustreptospondylines", but ''Eustreptospondylus'' itself may not belong to the group). The first branch includes ''Megalosaurus'' itself, ''Torvosaurus'' (see below) and former ''Megalosaurus'' species ''Duriavenator'' ("Dorset hunter"). The second branch is much more diverse & widespread, containing five or six taxa. ''Afrovenator'' ("African hunter"), which lent its name to the group, has had an interesting ScienceMarchesOn story. When it was named in 1994, it was thought to come from the Early Cretaceous. However, work carried out in 2009 suggests it is far older, instead hailing from the Middle Jurassic. The afrovenatorines also include the only Asian megalosaurid, ''Leshansaurus'' (originally considered a metriacanthosaurid allosauroid). These two, known from fairly good skeletons, are far more complete known than most other afrovenatorines. For example, ''Piveteausaurus'' ("Piveteau's reptile") is known only from a ''Ceratosaurus''-like braincase, which has caused much confusion (some thought the entire animal was smaller than a man). The original skeleton of ''Poekilopleuron'' ("varying ribs") was lost in WorldWarTwo, and the remaining specimens are also very fragmentary (in fact, it may even be an allosauroid); former ''Poekilopleuron'' species ''Dubreuillosaurus'' ("reptile of the Dubreuillo family") is known from a pretty decent skull.
The largest megalosaurid(s?) was found in North America and maybe Europe: ''Torvosaurus'' (“grim lizard”) and (considered the same animal here) "Edmarka rex" (not [[CaptainObvious that]] [[TyrannosaurusRex rex]]). 10 m long or more, the same size of ''Allosaurus'' but more powerfully-built, it shared the same habitat with ''Allosaurus'' and sometimes took some prey out of it. However, the fossil record seems to show that the giant megalosaurids didn’t make true rivals for allosaurs: they were much, much rarer than the latter, and this leads to speculation that allosauroids were more efficient hunters, and finally replaced definitively megalosaurids.
In 2012, an exquisitely preserved fossil of what may be a juvenile megalosauroid was named ''Sciurumimus'' ("squirrel mimic", in reference to its bushy tail). If it is a megalosauroid (which may or may not be the case), it pushes the origin of feathers very far back, if not as far back as ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifePrimitiveOrnithischians Tianyulong]]'', or even further. ''Juravenator'', described as a compsognathid in 2006, may be close to ''Sciurumimus''; interestingly, its feathers can only be seen under ultraviolet light.
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'''Hook Hands:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaraptor Megaraptor]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neovenator Neovenator]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuiraptor Fukuiraptor]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosteon Aerosteon]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkoraptor Orkoraptor]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australovenator Australovenator]]''
Several theropods have evolved one enormous claw on their hands/feet which vividly contrast with the smaller ones: just think about ''Baryonyx'' and ''Deinonychus'', whose names are just references to this condition. But the following one makes the UpToEleven example: ''Megaraptor''.
Discovered in the late 1990s and initially thought to be a large dromaeosaurid (hence its name), this smallish South American Late Cretaceous theropod was variably classified in the past, from a small spinosaurid to a large noasaurid – all families characterized by some sort of oversized claws. Indeed, an one-foot-long claw was the first discovered ''Megaraptor'' remain, and was wrongly put on its foot. But then other bones were discovered, and we now know this claw was on its thumb instead. ''Baryonyx'' too had enormous thumbclaws the same size of those of ''Megaraptor''; however, since ''Megaraptor'' was a much smaller theropod, this means its claw could be the biggest among all dinosaurs in respect to the overall body size. How ''Megaraptor'' used those impressive weapons is still a mystery; [[RuleOfCool for obvious reasons]], many have fun to imagine incredible massacres of herbivores, including [[NightmareFuel severed throats, disemboweled bellies]] and whatnot.
Since 2009 or so, ''Megaraptor'' is classified as an allosauroid, more precisely as a very specialized member of the family Neovenatoridae. This recently-created family is based on ''Neovenator'', a much more normally-looking 7.5 long theropod which lived in Early Cretaceous England alongside former ''Iguanodon'' species ''Mantellisaurus'' (as well as ''Iguanodon'' itself). Discovered in the 1990s, ''Neovenator'' (“new hunter”) unwillingly made a HilariousInHindsight case. It has indirectly made [[TruthInTelevision Truth In Books]] a classic in old dinosaurian portraits: that is, the battle between ''Iguanodon'' and an [[AnachronismStew anachronistic]] ''Megalosaurus'', which in RealLife lived in the Middle Jurassic. [[note]]This portrait was based on ''Valdoraptor'' of Early Cretaceous England, which fell in the usual “''Megalosaurus'' wastebasket” thing. Known only from part of a foot, this is enough to show it belongs to the avetheropods—those theropods more advanced than ''Megalosaurus''.[[/note]]
The 2009 discovery of the megaraptoran ''Australovenator'', "southern hunter", has likely revealed the true identity of the mysterious 'dwarf Allosaur' seen in WalkingWithDinosaurs. Also of note is the Japanese ''Fukuiraptor''. Initially known from the claw, this Early Cretaceous megaraptoran was initially considered a large deinonychosaur (again, the claw actually went on the hand). Another interesting member is ''Aerosteon'': discovered in Argentina only in 2008, this one shows prominent ''air sacs'' in its bones, providing more evidence that birds are dinosaurs. Younger than ''Aerosteon'' (in fact, the youngest carnosaur) and much more mysterious, ''Orkoraptor'' was once considered a [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirdlikeTheropods birdlike theropod]] (ScienceMarchesOn however, and probable carcharodontosaurid teeth younger than ''Orkoraptor'' from Brazil suggest they may have survived until the very end of the Cretaceous).
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'''Exotic names in China (except one):''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangchuanosaurus Yangchuanosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinraptor Sinraptor]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanhanosaurus Xuanhanosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaochilong Shaochilong]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolophosaurus Monolophosaurus]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasosaurus Gasosaurus]]''
Many allosauroids have been found in Asia, notably in China. This is evident if you read their names: just as an example, ''Yangchuanosaurus''. This one was basically the “Chinese ''Allosaurus''”: only a bit smaller and with a shorter, taller skull with the usual ''Allosaurus''-like crests on the snout; robust, three-fingered forelimbs, and perhaps a small ridge on its back. It was probably the top-predator of Late Jurassic Asia (155-145 million years ago), and lived alongside ''Mamenchisaurus'' “the Chinese Brontosaur” and ''Tuojiangosaurus'' “the Chinese Stegosaur”. One theropod related to ''Yangchuanosaurus'' was named ''Sinraptor'' (“Chinese robber”) in the nineties. The latter became the prototype of the allosauroid family also containing ''Yangchuanosaurus'' and the sail-backed ''Metriacanthosaurus'', the sinraptorids, more basal than allosaurians (allosaurids + carcharodontosaurians); but in 2012 this family has changed name into metriacanthosaurids.
Other Chinese allosauroids & possible allosauroids are known only from extremely scant remains: ''Szechuanosaurus'', the first large theropod found in China, but known only from teeth (some good skeletons once assigned to it are probably ''Yangchuanosaurus'' instead), ''Kaijiangosaurus'' (known from bones that may actually come from more than one species), ''Xuanhanosaurus'' (a metriacanthosaurid once believed to be able to walk on four legs, it may instead be a piatnitzkysaurid megalosauroid or a very primitive tetanuran), ''Shidaisaurus'' (another metriacanthosaurid, this one found crushed beneath a sauropod), as well as the Early Cretaceous ''Kelmayisaurus'' (known only from jaws that likely came from a carcharodontosaurid) and Late Cretaceous ''Chilantaisaurus'' (a neovenatorid similar to ''Megaraptor'', it was once considered a possible megalosauroid instead, and is also similar to carcharodontosaurids).
Known from somewhat better remains is the Late Cretaceous carcharodontosaurid ''Shaochilong'', which has a long and convoluted story. It was originally considered a second species of ''Chilantaisaurus'' when that dinosaur was named in 1964. Starting in 1998, it was found to be a coelurosaur (although whether it was a tyrannosauroid or maniraptoran was debatable) and informally named "Alashansaurus". In 2009, it was found to be a carcharodontosaurid—one of very few from Asia— and given its current name ("shark-toothed dragon"). Its recognition as a carcharodontosaurid also helped solve a mystery. Megalosauroids & allosauroids dominated the Jurassic lands, while tyrannosaurids held sway over the latest Cretaceous world. What happened between then, however, was a mystery. Did the more primitive theropods continue to rule, or did the tyrannosaurids come to power earlier than once thought? The presence of ''Shaochilong'' in Late Cretaceous rocks favors the former.
Another reasonably complete theropod from China is not an allosauroid (though it was once considered one) but a very primitive tetanuran: ''Monolophosaurus'' (“one-crested lizard”), so-called because of its single cranial crest vaguely similar to each branch of the double-crest of the unrelated ''[[StockDinosaurs Dilophosaurus]]'', but shorted and more robust. Named in 1994 and informally known as "Jiangjunmiaosaurus" before then, it is probably a late-surviving form that managed to make its way among the more evolved allosauroids (a bit like what ''Ceratosaurus'' did in North America). ''Chuandongocoelurus'', known only from vertebrae and once considered a coelurosaur or ceratosaur, may be closest to ''Monolophosaurus''; if the known specimen is an adult, it is the smallest tetanuran outside of coelurosaurs.
As you can easily tell now after reading this page, many large theropods aren’t exactly the simplest things to pronounce. But there’s also a curious exception which comes just from China. This one makes a sort of comic relief among many huge theropod names, having one of the simplest, most obvious names one could imagine: ''Gasosaurus'' just comes from a gasoline company that funded the excavation of its skeleton. A smallish theropod, 4 m / 15 ft at the most, ''Gasosaurus'' lived in Middle Jurassic, and its appearance was a sort of middle-way between a gracile “carnosaur” and a stocky “coelurosaur” (in the older sense of these words). Its classification remains uncertain, and suggestions regarding its phylogenetic position within Theropoda range from a metriacanthosaurid to the most ancient coelurosaur known to an early ancestor of both groups. The most recent large study of tetanuran theropods considers it "best regarded as having an uncertain position within Tetanurae and probably outside Coelurosauria".
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'''Tyrannosaurs in the Deep South:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelisaurus Abelisaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majungasaurus Majungasaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aucasaurus Aucasaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekrixinatosaurus Ekrixinatosaurus]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarascosaurus Tarascosaurus]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eoabelisaurus Eoabelisaurus]]''
The theropods here are ''not'' tyrannosaurs and didn’t live in the DeepSouth, but the definition works well. Even though much more basal than tyrannosaurids, abelisaurids shared with the latter some specializations: robust skulls, long hindlimbs and shortened forelimbs. But most were only 7 m long, much smaller than the largest tyrannosaurids as well as many megalosauroids and allosauroids.
Even though some incomplete specimens had already been found before 1985 (like ''Majungasaurus'', ''Indosuchus'', and ''Genyodectes'' [[note]]the latest one was once thought one of them but has been recently re-classified as a more primitive ceratosaurian from the Early Cretaceous[[/note]]), abelisaurids were recognized as a group only in that year after the contemporary discover of its two prototypes: the unofficial one is the “horned” ''[[StockDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]''; the official one, ''Abelisaurus''. Both from Late Cretaceous Argentina, these dinosaurs didn’t look so similar; ''Abelisaurus'' skull was long-snouted and totally horn-lacking, more similar to a miniaturized ''Giganotosaurus''. However, the shape of the orbits, the narrow lower jaw, and other “small” things indicate that it was a close relative of ''Carnotaurus''. Always remember that in systematics external appearance is usually a minor factor. Unfortunately, the only thing we know from ''Abelisaurus'' is just the skull. Just one year after were found in Argentina the even scantier remains of the third abelisaurid recognized as such, ''Xenotarsosaurus''.
But other relatives found in more recent years are much more known: for example, ''Aucasaurus''. Discovered in the 2000s also in Late Cretaceous Argentina, ''Aucasaurus'' was one of the smallest members of the family (only 5 m long). Despite not showing neither horns nor a shortened skull, it (along with the more poorly known ''Ilokelesia'') was one of the closest relatives of ''Carnotaurus''. And, like the latter, had a strange look: forelimbs even more reduced than ''Carnotaurus'' itself, tiny stubs ''without any digits''.
Most abelisaurids were Late Cretaceous and have been found in South America, but remains have been found in most southern continents (once one landmass, Gondwanaland). In the same period, tyrannosaurids roamed Laurasia (the northern landmass): hence “tyrannosaurs in the DeepSouth”. However, one abelisaur (the fragmentary ''Tarascosaurus'') managed to reach Europe, which was at the time isolated to the remaining Laurasia: due to lacking of competition from the more evolved tyrannosaurids (which were absent in Europe), ''Tarascosaurus'' was able to survive and to become one of the top-predators of Late Cretaceous European islands.
Many abelisaurids showed some kind of ornamentation on their skull, though none had the "bovine" horn of a ''Carnotaurus''. ''Majungasaurus'' is an excellent example of this. Found in Madagascar, it was not bigger than ''Carnotaurus'' and shared a similar overall look, but with shorter legs and ''one single horn'' atop of its head. This dinosaur has had a curious ScienceMarchesOn story: initially only its blunt horn was known, and because of its shape was thought to be the domehead of a tiny pachycephalosaur called “Majungatholus”. Then, this name was applied to the carnivore until few years ago; for example, in ''JurassicFightClub'' this theropod appears named “Majungatholus”. Here, two adults are shown cannibalizing a young of their own species; this was based upon some marks of teeth on the bones of young ''Majungasaurus'' specimens, whose shape match the teeth of adult ''Majungasaurus''. Interestingly, ''Majungasaurus'' seems to be closely related to Indian abelisaurs like ''Rajasaurus'' & ''Indosaurus'', suggesting that these areas were connected at one point. In 2013, an early ancestor of both ''Majungasaurus'' and the Indian abelisaurs was named from early Late Cretaceous rocks in Madagascar; its name is ''Dahalokaly'' ("little thief").
In paleontology, it is all to common for creatures to be based on poor remains, which do little to set them apart from related forms. When more compete specimens are uncovered, or when the known bones are restudied, strange features may come to light. Such was the case with abelisaurid bones uncovered in a dynamite explosion in 2004. Initial study of these bones suggested their owner was similar to other abelisaurs, if different enough to warrant a genus of its own: ''Ekrixinatosaurus'' ("explosion-born reptile"). A 2011 reexamination suggests that it was far larger than previously estimated, at 11 meters in length. This makes it larger than most tyrannosaurs, and by far the largest of the abelisaurs.
Ever since they were recognized as a group, the abelisaurids have posed many problems for paleontologists. Arguably the biggest of these was their relationship to other theropods. As noted before, they show some similarities to tyrannosauroids (indeed, the abelisaur ''Indosuchus'' was once considered a tyrannosaur, and the mysterious large theropod ''Labocania'' is similar to both groups), while it was also briefly proposed that they were late megalosaurids. However, since at least TheNineties or so, they have been found to be ceratosaurs close to the typically much smaller noasaurids. With one mystery solved, however, another arose: when & where did the earliest abelisaurids live, and what did they look like? This question went unanswered for nearly twenty years. In 2012, the paleontological community received the long-awaited answer in the form of ''Eoabelisaurus'' ("dawn ''Abelisaurus''"). Hailing from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina, its arms were longer than those of the more advanced abelisaurids, but still shorter than those of the tyrannosaurids.
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'''Even palaeontologists have fun:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryolophosaurus Cryolophosaurus]]'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojirasaurus Gojirasaurus]]''
Paleontologists are not necessarily those [[{{Nerd}} nerdy people]] one could believe. Many do fit more in the AdventurerArchaeologist and BadassBookworm tropes - think about the famed ''Australopithecus'' specimen nicknamed [[Music/TheBeatles Lucy]]; the cowboy-looking Bob Bakker; the “Bone Wars” fought by two archenemical guys…. and above all, [[IndianaJones Roy Chapman Andrews]]. And yes, paleontologists ''do'' consume pop-cultural products just like all the other people.
In the 1990s, even the most sceptical people were forced to change their idea about, in front of these two new-discovered theropods: ''Cryolophosaurus'' and ''Gojirasaurus''. Because the uniquely curly shape of its crest, the former [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous was initially named]] "[[ElvisPresley Elvisaurus]]"; the latter has been named after “Gojira”, [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous which is the Japanese name of]] Franchise/{{Godzilla}}. And since RuleOfCool undisputly dominates every time dinosaurs are involved... some paleo-artists have been giving to our Godzillasaur unlikely features such as prominent/raised scutes along its back, [[DinosaursAreDragons just to make it look like its namesake!]]
Talking more seriously, these two theropods are interesting because, along with ''Dilophosaurus'' and other less-known animals such as ''Halticosaurus'', ''Liliensternus'', ''Sarcosaurus'', and ''Zupaysaurus'', they are among the earliest large-sized carnivores. ''Cryolophosaurus'' means “crested lizard from ice”; this because was the third dinosaur found in Antarctica, and the first one named, in 1993. But wait, it has not been found enclosed in ice. Even though is cool to think, this is an impossible thing in RealLife. Not counting ice has formed on Antarctica only ''after'' the Cretaceous mass-extinction, bones cannot turn in stone [[FridgeLogic when surrounded by solid water]]… Antarctic dinosaurs have been found encased in ''rocks'' like everywhere in the world, in the rare ice-free portions of Antarctica at its extreme “north”.
''Cryolophosaurus'' was an Early Jurassic theropod 5-6 m long, which (along with the Chinese ''Sinosaurus'') could be a close relative of ''Dilophosaurus''; however, others think the original identification as an early tetanuran may be correct. Found in Texas in 1997, ''Gojirasaurus'' was an ever more primitive theropod from Triassic: 15 ft long, was several times heavier than most carnivorous dinosaur from Triassic. Thus, it has been hailed as “the first big-sized meat-eating dino” just like the “younger” ''Dilophosaurus''. Despite this, ''Gojirasaurus'' had a quite incospicuous look, similar to a robust ''Coelophysis'' and lacking any crest.
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'''An only-historical relevance:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinodon Deinodon]]'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratosaurus Teratosaurus]]''
We can also mention two virtually-unknown animals which have had nonetheless a great relevance in the past, but have lost it due to ScienceMarchesOn. ''Teratosaurus'': (“monster lizard”) lived in Europe during the Triassic period. Discovered as early as the middle of the XIX century, it was 6 m long, and has long detained the record of “the first giant meat-eating dinosaur”. In old books, ''Teratosaurus'' was portrayed as a generic-looking “carnosaur” which hunted the neighboring prosauropod ''[[StockDinosaurs Plateosaurus]]''. Then, in the mid 1980s, it was discovered that ''Teratosaurus'' was actually reconstructed upon very fragmentary remains mixed with bones belonging to ''Plateosaurus'': these new studies showed it was ''not even a dinosaur'', but a four-legged, non-dinosaurian archosaur related to ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles Postosuchus]]'', and now has totally gone out of fashion.[[note]]Interestingly, the reverse happened to the megalosaur ''Streptospondylus'', which was once considered a crocodile.[[/note]]
The other example is "Deinodon" (“terrible tooth”). Few people today are aware of this pratically unknown dinosaur, described only from teeth. Nonetheless, “Deinodon” has been the ''very first'' carnivorous dinosaur described in North America, in 1856, when dinosaurs were still only-European things. Its describer, Joseph Leidy, didn’t realize that he named the first tyrannosaur. Now scientists think the “Deinodon” teeth pertain to another better-known tyrannosaurid, perhaps ''Albertosaurus''. However, “Deinodon” has left one memory: once, the tyrannosaurid family used to be called “deinodontids”. Or rather, this ''should'' be the correct name for tyrannosaurids, but is obscured by how ingrained the term "tyrannosaurid" now is.