Tuesday 17 December 2013

Baryonyx walkeri

Baryonyx is known from a partial skull and postcranial skeleton and is to date the most complete theropod found in England, it was discovered in a pit in Surrey, England, 1983. It was found by amateur palaeontologist William Walker. At least 70% of the specimen was recovered and is on display in the Natural History Museum, London. Its hands were equipped with a huge claw and its crocodile-like snout indicate it was probably a piscivorous animal. It is possible that the genera Suchomimus and Cristatusaurus are junior synonyms of Baryonyx. Suchosaurus cultridens from the Early Cretaceous of England, known from teeth is most probably the same animal than Baryonyx walkeri.

Name
Baryonyx walkeri
Authority
Charig & Milner, 1986
Meaning of generic name
Heavy Claw
Meaning of specific name
of Walker
Size
Length: 9 m
Remains
Partial skull and associated postcranial skeleton.
Age and Distribution
Wealden Beds, Smokejacks Pit, Ockley, Surrey, England.
Classification
Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Spinosauroidea Spinosauridae
Further Reading
A. J. Charig and A. C. Milner. 1986. "Baryonyx, a remarkable new theropod dinosaur." Nature 324(6095):359-361.

Charig, A. J., and Milner A. C., 1990, The systematic position of Baryonyx walkeri, in the light of Gauthier’s reclassification of the Theropoda: In: Dinosaur Systematics, Approaches and Perspectives. Edited by Kenneth Carpenter and Philip J. Currie. Cambridge University Press, p. 127-140.
Synonyms
possible such see text above
Images by Nobu Tamura (click to enlarge)
Baryonyx walkeri, April 5, 2007
same, February 2, 2013:

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