Torvosaurus
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Torvosaurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 153–148 Ma |
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| Mounted T. tanneri skeletal reconstruction, Museum of Ancient Life | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Megalosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Megalosaurinae |
| Genus: |
†Torvosaurus Galton & Jensen, 1979 |
| Type species | |
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†Torvosaurus tanneri Galton & Jensen, 1979 |
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| Species | |
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Torvosaurus (/ˌtɔːrvoʊˈsɔːrəs/) is a genus of carnivorous megalosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived approximately 153 to 148 million years ago during the later part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Colorado and Portugal. It contains two currently recognized species, Torvosaurus tanneri and Torvosaurus gurneyi.
In 1979 the type species Torvosaurus tanneri was named: it was a large, heavily built, bipedal carnivore, that could grow to a length of about 10 m (33 ft). T. tanneri was among the largest carnivores of its time, together with Epanterias and Saurophaganax (which could be both synonyms of Allosaurus). Specimens referred to Torvosaurus gurneyi were initially claimed to be up to eleven metres long, but later shown to be smaller. Based on bone morphology Torvosaurus is thought to have had short but very powerful arms.
The genus name Torvosaurus derives from the Latin word torvus, meaning "savage", and the Greek word sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard". The specific name tanneri, is named after first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Nathan Eldon Tanner. Torvosaurus gurneyi is dedicated to the paleoartist James Gurney, creator of the Dinotopia series of books. Torvosaurus was described and named by Peter M. Galton and James A. Jensen in 1979 and the type species is Torvosaurus tanneri.
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