Irritator

genus of native reptiles (fossil)

Irritator (say: irr-irr-it-at-or) is a genus of spinosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil, in the Lower Cretaceous. Its fossils are known from the Romualdo Formation.[1]

Irritator
Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous
110 mya
Reconstructed skeleton at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. The postcranium is based on remains that cannot be confidently attributed to the animal.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: Spinosauridae
Subfamily: Spinosaurinae
Genus: Irritator
Martill et al. 1996
Species
  • I. challengeri Martill et al. 1996 (type)
Synonyms
  • Angaturama limai? Kellner & Campos 1996

Irritator had straight and cone-shaped teeth. Its jaws were low, long and slender, with the nostrils placed well back from the front of the snout (all consistent with fish-eating). Irritator also had a narrow crest made of nasal bones on top of the skull.[2] Irritator's name comes from the English word "Irritation". It was given its name due to the feelings of the scientists who described it when they found that fossil dealers had added plaster to the front of the snout.[3]

References change

  1. Aureliano, Tito; Ghilardi, Aline M.; Buck, Pedro V.; Fabbri, Matteo; Samathi, Adun; Delcourt, Rafael; Fernandes, Marcelo A.; Sander, Martin (2018-05-03). "Semi-aquatic adaptations in a spinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil". Cretaceous Research. 90: 283–295. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.04.024. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 134353898.
  2. Sues, H. D.; Frey, E.; Martill, D. M.; Scott, D. M. (2002). "Irritator challengeri, a spinosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22 (3): 535–547. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0535:ICASDT]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 131050889.
  3. Martill, D. M.; Cruickshank, A. R. I.; Frey, E.; Small, P. G.; Clarke, M. (1996). "A new crested maniraptoran dinosaur from the Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil" (PDF). Journal of the Geological Society. 153 (1): 5–8. Bibcode:1996JGSoc.153....5M. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.153.1.0005. S2CID 131339386.