Megalosauridae: Difference between revisions
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*''[[Megalosaurus]]'' <small>([[Type (biology)|type]])</small> |
*''[[Megalosaurus]]'' <small>([[Type (biology)|type]])</small> |
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*''[[Piveteausaurus]]'' |
*''[[Piveteausaurus]]'' |
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*''[[Streptospondylus]]'' |
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*''[[Torvosaurus]]'' |
*''[[Torvosaurus]]'' |
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'''Megalosauridae''' was a [[family (biology)|family]] of relatively primitive [[Tetanurae|tetanuran]] theropod dinosaurs, order [[Saurischia]]. They were small-to-large carnivores with sharp teeth and three claws on each hand. Some members of this group were ''[[Megalosaurus]]'', ''[[Eustreptospondylus]]'' and ''[[Torvosaurus]]''. Megalosaurids first appeared in the mid [[Jurassic]] and seemed to have been displaced and replaced by other [[theropods]] by the end of that period; their fossils are known from Europe, North America, South America and Africa. They are considered by most researchers (Sereno 2005, Olshevsky 1995, Holtz 2004, etc.) to be close relatives of the [[spinosauridae|spinosaurs]]. |
'''Megalosauridae''' was a [[family (biology)|family]] of relatively primitive [[Tetanurae|tetanuran]] theropod dinosaurs, order [[Saurischia]]. They were small-to-large carnivores with sharp teeth and three claws on each hand. Some members of this group were ''[[Megalosaurus]]'', ''[[Eustreptospondylus]]'', ''[[Streptospondylus]]'' and ''[[Torvosaurus]]''. Megalosaurids first appeared in the mid [[Jurassic]] and seemed to have been displaced and replaced by other [[theropods]] by the end of that period; their fossils are known from Europe, North America, South America and Africa. They are considered by most researchers (Sereno 2005, Olshevsky 1995, Holtz 2004, etc.) to be close relatives of the [[spinosauridae|spinosaurs]]. |
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==Classification== |
==Classification== |
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The [[clade]] Megalosauridae was first given a [[phylogenetic]] definition by Allain in 2002. According to Allain's definition, a megalosaurid is any dinosaur that shares a common ancestor with ''Poekilopleuron valesdunensis'' (since reclassified as ''Dubreuillosaurus''), ''Torvosaurus'', and ''Afrovenator''.<ref name="allain2002b">Allain, R. (2002). "Discovery of megalosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) in the middle Bathonian of Normandy (France) and its implications for the phylogeny of basal Tetanurae." ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'', '''22'''(3): 548-563.</ref> In 2004, Holtz and colleagues proposed a new definition: all dinosaurs more closely related to ''Megalosaurus'' than to ''Spinosaurus'', ''Allosaurus'', or modern birds (represented by ''[[Passer domesticus]]'').<ref name="holtzetal2004">Holtz, T.R., Molnar, R.E., Currie, P.J. (2004). "Basal Tetanurae." In Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., & Osmolska, H. (Eds.). ''The Dinosauria'' (2nd Edition). Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 71-110.</ref> In 2005, Sereno rejected the use of Megalosauridae as a clade altogether, due to the fragmentary nature of ''Megalosaurus'', and used the name Torvosauridae instead, using the same definition as Holtz but replacing ''Megalosaurus'' with ''Torvosaurus''.<ref name="taxonsearch"/> |
The [[clade]] Megalosauridae was first given a [[phylogenetic]] definition by Allain in 2002. According to Allain's definition, a megalosaurid is any dinosaur that shares a common ancestor with ''Poekilopleuron valesdunensis'' (since reclassified as ''Dubreuillosaurus''), ''Torvosaurus'', and ''Afrovenator''.<ref name="allain2002b">Allain, R. (2002). "Discovery of megalosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) in the middle Bathonian of Normandy (France) and its implications for the phylogeny of basal Tetanurae." ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'', '''22'''(3): 548-563.</ref> In 2004, Holtz and colleagues proposed a new definition: all dinosaurs more closely related to ''Megalosaurus'' than to ''Spinosaurus'', ''Allosaurus'', or modern birds (represented by ''[[Passer domesticus]]'').<ref name="holtzetal2004">Holtz, T.R., Molnar, R.E., Currie, P.J. (2004). "Basal Tetanurae." In Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., & Osmolska, H. (Eds.). ''The Dinosauria'' (2nd Edition). Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 71-110.</ref> In 2005, Sereno rejected the use of Megalosauridae as a clade altogether, due to the fragmentary nature of ''Megalosaurus'', and used the name Torvosauridae instead, using the same definition as Holtz but replacing ''Megalosaurus'' with ''Torvosaurus''.<ref name="taxonsearch"/> |
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The [[cladogram]] presented here follows a study by Benson in 2010.<ref name=benson2010/><ref name="bensonetal2010">{{Cite journal | author = Benson, R.B.J., Carrano, M.T and Brusatte, S.L. | year = 2010 | title = A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic | url = | journal = Naturwissenschaften | volume = 97 | issue = 1 | pages = 71–78 | doi = 10.1007/s00114-009-0614-x }} [http://www.springerlink.com/content/l496325vp2x32617/MediaObjects/114_2009_614_MOESM1_ESM.pdf Supporting Information]</ref> |
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The [[cladogram]] presented here follows a study by Benson in 2010.<ref name=benson2010/> |
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{{clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:80% |
{{clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:80% |
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|label1='''Megalosauridae''' |
|label1='''Megalosauridae''' |
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|1={{clade |
|1={{clade |
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|1= |
|1={{clade |
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|1=''[[Eustreptospondylus]]'' |
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|2={{clade |
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|1=''[[Magnosaurus]]'' |
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|2=''[[Streptospondylus]]'' |
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}} |
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}} |
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|label2= <font color="white">unnamed</font> |
|label2= <font color="white">unnamed</font> |
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|2={{clade |
|2={{clade |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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Revision as of 19:21, 4 November 2010
| Megalosaurids Temporal range: Middle to Late Jurassic,
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| File:Tetanurae skelgon.JPG | |
| Five megalosaurs and Cryolophosaurus | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Family: | Megalosauridae Huxley, 1869
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| Genera | |
| Synonyms | |
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Megalosauridae was a family of relatively primitive tetanuran theropod dinosaurs, order Saurischia. They were small-to-large carnivores with sharp teeth and three claws on each hand. Some members of this group were Megalosaurus, Eustreptospondylus, Streptospondylus and Torvosaurus. Megalosaurids first appeared in the mid Jurassic and seemed to have been displaced and replaced by other theropods by the end of that period; their fossils are known from Europe, North America, South America and Africa. They are considered by most researchers (Sereno 2005, Olshevsky 1995, Holtz 2004, etc.) to be close relatives of the spinosaurs.
Classification
Like Megalosaurus itself, the family Megalosauridae, coined by Huxley in 1869, had traditionally been used as a 'wastebasket' group, which included a wide variety of unrelated species (such as Dryptosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Indosaurus, and even Velociraptor). Because of this traditionally polyphyletic use, some scientists, such as Paul Sereno, reject the family name Megalosauridae in favor of Torvosauridae (coined by Jensen in 1985), despite the fact that Megalosauridae has priority under the ICZN rules governing family-level names in zoology.[1] While a 2008 review of Megalosaurus by Benson and colleagues also found that the relationships of Megalosaurus to other theropods could not be determined, and that the assignment of basal spinosauroids to the family Megalosauridae should be discontinued,[2] further work by Benson reversed this position, finding a well-supported Megalosauridae in phylogenetic analyses.[3]
Phylogeny
The clade Megalosauridae was first given a phylogenetic definition by Allain in 2002. According to Allain's definition, a megalosaurid is any dinosaur that shares a common ancestor with Poekilopleuron valesdunensis (since reclassified as Dubreuillosaurus), Torvosaurus, and Afrovenator.[4] In 2004, Holtz and colleagues proposed a new definition: all dinosaurs more closely related to Megalosaurus than to Spinosaurus, Allosaurus, or modern birds (represented by Passer domesticus).[5] In 2005, Sereno rejected the use of Megalosauridae as a clade altogether, due to the fragmentary nature of Megalosaurus, and used the name Torvosauridae instead, using the same definition as Holtz but replacing Megalosaurus with Torvosaurus.[1]
The cladogram presented here follows a study by Benson in 2010.[3][6]
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References
- ^ a b Sereno, P.C. (2005). Stem Archosauria—TaxonSearch [version 1.0, 2005 November 7]
- ^ Benson, R.B.J., Barrett, P.M., Powell, H.P., and Norman, D.B. (2008). "The taxonomic status of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of OxfordshireE, UK." Palaeontology, 51(2): 419–424.
- ^ a b Benson, R.B.J. (2010). "A description of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00569.x.
- ^ Allain, R. (2002). "Discovery of megalosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) in the middle Bathonian of Normandy (France) and its implications for the phylogeny of basal Tetanurae." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22(3): 548-563.
- ^ Holtz, T.R., Molnar, R.E., Currie, P.J. (2004). "Basal Tetanurae." In Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., & Osmolska, H. (Eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd Edition). Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 71-110.
- ^ Benson, R.B.J., Carrano, M.T and Brusatte, S.L. (2010). "A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic". Naturwissenschaften. 97 (1): 71–78. doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0614-x.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Supporting Information
