Open Paleo

Nuthetes

Owen, 1854 nuth-EE-teez Nomen dubium

From Koine Greek 'nouthetes' meaning 'one who admonishes' or 'a monitor', referring to the similarity of its teeth to those of a modern monitor lizard.

143.1–137.1 million years ago Berriasian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Nuthetes is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur, either a dromaeosaurid or tyrannosauroid, known only from fossil teeth and jaw fragments found in rocks of the middle Berriasian age (Early Cretaceous) in the Lulworth Formation in England and also the Angeac-Charente bonebed in France. If it was a dromaeosaurid, Nuthetes would have been a small predator.

Under dispute

Nuthetes destructor is widely regarded as a nomen dubium. It was originally described as a monitor-like lizard (Owen, 1854), later referred to Dromaeosauridae/Velociraptorinae on tooth and jaw characters (Milner, 2002), and subsequently noted to resemble proceratosaurid tyrannosauroids (Rauhut and colleagues, 2010). It is retained provisionally at Dromaeosauridae incertae sedis.

Species

Nuthetes destructor Owen, 1854 Nomen dubium

Type species

From Latin 'destructor' meaning 'destroyer', a reference to the adaptations of the teeth for piercing, cutting, and lacerating prey.

Holotype
DORCM G 913 , The Dorset County Museum
Material
Portion of the left ramus of the lower jaw with seven more or less perfect teeth
Horizon
Lulworth Formation, Berriasian, Early Cretaceous , 143.1–137.1 million years ago
Locality
Feather Quarry, Dorset, United Kingdom

References

  1. Owen, R. (1854). On some Fossil Reptilian and Mammalian Remains from the Purbecks. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 10(1-2): 420-433. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1854.010.01-02.48

    Original description of Nuthetes destructor on isolated teeth and jaw fragments from the Purbeck beds, Durlston Bay, Dorset.

    owen1854b
  2. Rauhut, O. W. M.; Milner, A. C.; Moore-Fay, S. (2010). Cranial osteology and phylogenetic position of the theropod dinosaur Proceratosaurus bradleyi (Woodward, 1910) from the Middle Jurassic of England. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158(1): 155-195. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00591.x

    Redescription of Proceratosaurus notes it resembles Nuthetes among early proceratosaurid tyrannosauroids

    rauhut2010a
  3. Milner, A. C. (2002). Theropod dinosaurs of the Purbeck Limestone Group, southern England. Special Papers in Palaeontology 68: 191-201.

    Referred Nuthetes to Dromaeosauridae and Velociraptorinae on dental and jaw characters

    milner2002a
  4. Longrich, N. R.; Martill, D. M.; Jacobs, M. L. (2022). A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography. Cretaceous Research 134. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105123 longrich2022a