Open Paleo

Torvosaurus

Galton & Jensen, 1979 TOR-vo-SAWR-us /ˌtɔːrvoʊˈsɔːrəs/

From Latin torvus ('savage' or 'fierce') and Greek sauros ('lizard'), meaning 'savage lizard'

154.8–143.1 million years ago Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Torvosaurus is a genus of large megalosaurine theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 165 to 146.5 million years ago during the Callovian to Tithonian ages of the late Middle and Late Jurassic period in what is now Colorado, Portugal, Germany, and possibly England, Spain, Tanzania, and Uruguay. It contains two currently recognized species, Torvosaurus tanneri and Torvosaurus gurneyi, plus a third unnamed species from Germany.

Diagnosis

  1. Humerus straight and massive, with a strongly indented head, a large deltopectoral crest extending past midshaft, and a broad distal end
  2. Forearm short, with a humerus-to-radius length ratio of about 2.2 and a massive ulna (length-to-proximal-width ratio about 2.1)
  3. First manual phalanx of digit I stout, short, and twisted so the distal condyles are angled relative to the proximal end
  4. Subacetabular parts of the pubis and ischium unemarginated ventrally, forming a nearly continuous ventromedian symphysis along most of their length
  5. Obturator foramen fully enclosed in the pubis, terminating distally in a small anteroposteriorly expanded pubic foot
  6. Ilium with a very low dorsal blade tapering to a rounded posterior point and a wide brevis shelf; acetabulum wide but shallow

Species (2)

Torvosaurus tanneri Galton & Jensen, 1979

Type species

Named for Nathan Eldon Tanner, who at the time of the species' 1979 description was first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Holotype
BYU 2002 , Earth Sciences Museum, Brigham Young University
Material
Left and right humeri, radii, and ulnae (six forelimb long bones) of a single individual.
Horizon
lower Brushy Basin Member, Morrison Formation, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Dry Mesa Quarry, Colorado, United States

Torvosaurus gurneyi Hendrickx & Mateus, 2014

Honors the paleoartist James Gurney, creator of the Dinotopia book series.

Holotype
ML 1100 , Museu da Lourinhã
Material
Incomplete left maxilla bearing one erupted and one unerupted tooth, and the posterior portion of a proximal caudal vertebra.
Horizon
Praia da Amoreira-Porto Novo Member, Lourinhã Formation, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Praia da Vermelha, Lisbon, Portugal
Diagnosis
  1. Maxilla bearing fewer than eleven teeth.
  2. Interdental plates fused with a straight ventral margin, rather than terminating in broad V-shaped points that fall short of the lateral wall.
  3. Interdental wall extending nearly as far ventrally as the lateral wall of the maxillary body.
  4. No protuberant ridge on the anterior part of the medial shelf, posterior to the anteromedial process.
  5. Dorsal and medial ridges of the anteromedial process with a coincidental posterior extension.

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Brontoraptor nomen nudum Nomen nudum; general consensus treats it as a junior synonym of Torvosaurus.
Edmarka junior subjective Currently treated as a junior synonym of Torvosaurus, though future analysis may yet revalidate the genus.

Notable specimens

  • ML1188

    Museu da Lourinhã Found 2005 by Aart Walen reproductive

    A clutch of crushed eggs and embryonic material attributed to Torvosaurus from the Lourinha Formation, Portugal; the most primitive and only known basal theropod embryos, and the first evidence of a one-layered eggshell for theropod dinosaurs.

    Araújo et al. (2013)

References

  1. Araújo, R.; Castanhinha, R.; Martins, R. M. S.; Mateus, O.; Hendrickx, C.; Beckmann, F.; Schell, N.; Alves, L. C. (2013). Filling the gaps of dinosaur eggshell phylogeny: Late Jurassic theropod clutch with embryos from Portugal. Scientific Reports 3: 1924. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/srep01924 araújo2013a
  2. Galton, P. M.; Jensen, J. A. (1979). A new large theropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. Brigham Young University Geology Studies 26(1): 1-12. galton1979a
  3. Hendrickx, C.; Mateus, O. (2014). Torvosaurus gurneyi n. sp., the largest terrestrial predator from Europe, and a proposed terminology of the maxilla anatomy in nonavian theropods. PLoS ONE 9(3): e88905. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088905

    Original description of Torvosaurus gurneyi on maxilla ML 1100 from the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal.

    hendrickx2014a