Megalosauridae
| Megalosaurids Temporal range: Middle - Late Jurassic, 170–148 Ma |
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| Afrovenator abakensis reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | †Megalosauria |
| Family: |
†Megalosauridae Huxley, 1869 |
| Type species | |
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†Megalosaurus bucklandii Mantell, 1827 |
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| Subgroups | |
| Synonyms | |
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Torvosauridae Jensen, 1985 |
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Torvosauridae Jensen, 1985
Eustreptospondylidae Paul, 1988
Streptospondylidae Kurzanov, 1989
Megalosauridae is a monophyletic family of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. It comes from the order Saurischia and the clade Tetanurae, and is closely related to the families Allosauridae and Spinosauridae. Some members of this family include Megalosaurus, Torvosaurus, Eustreptospondylus, and Streptospondylus. Appearing in the Middle Jurassic, megalosaurids are a relatively primitive group characterized by two unambiguous synapomorphies: a humeral deltopectoral crest that terminates about halfway along the humeral shaft and the absence of a fibular anterolateral tubercle. Megalosauridae contains two main subfamilies- Megalosaurinae, defined as all megalosaurids closer to Megalosaurus than Afrovenator, and Afrovenatorinae, defined as megalosaurids closer to Afrovenator than Megalosaurus.
The defining megalosaurid is Megalosaurus bucklandii, first named and described in 1824 by William Buckland after multiple finds in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, UK. Megalosaurus was the first formally described dinosaur and was the basis for the establishment of the clade Dinosauria. It is also one of the largest known Middle Jurassic carnivorous dinosaurs, with the best-preserved femur at 805 mm and a proposed body mass of around 943 kg. Megalosauridae is recognized as a mainly European group of dinosaurs, based on fossils found in France and the UK. However, recent discoveries in Niger have led some to consider the range of the family. Megalosaurids appeared right before the split of the supercontinent Pangaea into Gondwana and Laurasia. These large theropods therefore may have dominated both halves of the world during the Jurassic.
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