Megalosaurinae
Megalosaurinae is one of the two subfamilies of Megalosauridae, a group of large, robust carnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived from the Middle to Late Jurassic. It is defined as all megalosaurids more closely related to Megalosaurus than to Afrovenator, making it the counterpart to the subfamily Afrovenatorinae. Its members include Megalosaurus, Torvosaurus, Duriavenator, and Wiehenvenator, which were among the largest predators of their time, with some exceeding a tonne in weight. Their fossils come chiefly from Europe and North America, and scattered teeth suggest the group may have ranged more widely across the Jurassic world.
Diagnosis
- Premaxilla with a greater height-to-length ratio below the external naris than in other megalosaurids, giving a taller snout tip
Genera placed directly in Megalosaurinae
- Duriavenator Bajocian (170.9–168.2 Ma)United Kingdom
- Megalosaurus Bathonian (168.2–165.3 Ma)United Kingdom
- Torvosaurus Kimmeridgian–Tithonian (154.8–143.1 Ma)United States
- Wiehenvenator Callovian (165.3–161.5 Ma)Germany
References
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Fitzinger, L. (1843). Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus Primus. Amblyglossae. 106 pp. Braumüller und Seidel.
Listed the family as "Megalosauri", attributed to Meyer, from which the subfamily name takes its authorship by coordination; Carrano and colleagues (2012) credit the subfamily rank to Paul (1988).
fitzinger1843a -
Paul, G. S. (1988). Predatory Dinosaurs of the World. Simon & Schuster, New York 1-464.
Used the subfamily Megalosaurinae, which Carrano and colleagues (2012) credit to this work.
paul1988a -
Carrano, M. T.; Benson, R. B. J.; Sampson, S. D. (2012). The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10(2): 211-300. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927
Provided the phylogenetic definition and diagnosis of Megalosaurinae.
carrano2012a