Baryonyx

Baryonyx was a carnivorous theropod dinosaur discovered in clay pits just south of Dorking, England, and also in northern Spain. It has been dated to the Barremian stage of the Lower Cretaceous period, between 130 to 125 million years ago.

It was first discovered in 1983 by the amateur fossil hunter William Walker. A group of scientists lead by Alan Charig and Angela Milner of the Natural History Museum of London examined the skeleton and named the animal Baryonyx (meaning 'heavy claw'), and the species name walkeri after the man who discovered it. Other good skeletons were discovered in England and in Spain, which gave scientists a good idea of what the dinosaur was like.

Baryonyx grew up to between  long and weighed 1.2 and 1.7 t (1.3 and 1.9 short tons), and 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall at head. It had long arms which were probably used for holding on to prey, the claw on the first finger was 31 centimeters (12 in) long. It ate mostly fish, like a grizzly bear would; for this it had a long snout like a gharial, and straight, cone-like teeth perfect for fishing. It had a triangle-shaped crest on the top of its skull.

References

Category:Theropods
Category:Spinosauridae
Category:Dinosaurs of Europe