Re: Torvosaurus & Giganotosaurus

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <th81@umail.umd.edu>]

At 02:22 PM 5/20/99 +0200, Thomas Hammann wrote:

>who knows something about Torvosaurus? Some sources classify it as an 
>allosaurid, others as a megalosaurid and some think that Torvosaurus does not 
>belong to one of both groups. So how does Torvosaurus really look like, and is 
>there probably more known about it (size, exact age and so on...)?

I'm astonished anyone ever called _Torvosaurus_ an allosaurid: it is a much
more primitive animal.  Whether it is a megalosaurid is a different
question: it could form a clade with _Megalosaurus_ to the exclusion of
avetheropods, but possibly not.  What is pretty secure is that _Torvosaurus_
is a primitive tetanurine.

Greg Paul's illustrations of _Torvosaurus_ (there called _Megalosaurus
tanneri_) in Predatory Dinosaurs of the World are still the best available.

As to more known about it?  Well, that's what libraries (and the
Dinosauricon and www.dinosauria.com and...) are all about... :-)

>a few days ago I've read an german article about the first analysis of the 
>dinosaur-pack found in Patagonia two years ago. There is a mysterious
passage in 
>the article: "They look like the known species Giganotosaurus, which was
thought 
>to be the biggest theropod so far. The size of the new record-holder is about 
>13,5 metres. Scientists hope that it is possible to reconstruct one
individual." 
>I wonder because it sounds like they've possibly found a new
giant-theropod. Are 
>there any indications for a new species? For me these remains clearly
belong to 
>Giganotosaurus.

Well, given that the Coria (*the man who co-described and named
_Giganotosaurus_*) and Phil Currie (*who knows more about theropods than
just about anybody alive or dead*) have suggested it isn't actually
_Giganotosaurus carolinii_, that is a pretty damn good indication it may not
be!  However, let's wait until the actually get it out of the ground,
prepare it, and compare the anatomical details with the original
_Giganotosaurus_ specimens before we make any conclusions, shall we?

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist     Webpage: http://www.geol.umd.edu
Dept. of Geology              Email:tholtz@geol.umd.edu
University of Maryland        Phone:301-405-4084
College Park, MD  20742       Fax:  301-314-9661