| Lourinhanosaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reconstructed skeleton, Museum of Lourinhã | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Orionides |
| Clade: | Avetheropoda |
| Genus: | †Lourinhanosaurus Mateus, 1998 |
| Species: | †L. antunesi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Lourinhanosaurus antunesi Mateus, 1998 | |
Lourinhanosaurus (meaning "Lourinhã lizard") was agenus ofcarnivoroustheropoddinosaur that lived during the LateJurassic Period (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian) inPortugal. It is one of many large predators discovered at theLourinhã Formation and probably competed with coevalTorvosaurus gurneyi,Allosaurus europaeus, andCeratosaurus.[1]
Its first remains were found atPeralta, nearLourinhã, Portugal in 1982, but were not described until 1998, by Portuguese paleontologistOctávio Mateus.[2] Itstype (and to date only) species isL. antunesi, in honour of Portuguese paleontologistMiguel Telles Antunes.
Fossils of Lourinhasaurus are stored atMuseu da Lourinhã. To date, the most complete known specimen ofL. antunesi is the holotype, ML 370, which is a partialskeleton. It consists of the sixcervical (neck) vertebrae with six ribs, fivesacral (hip) vertebrae with ribs, 14caudal (tail) vertebrae, eightchevrons, bothfemora, righttibia andfibula, onemetatarsus, twoilia, and bothpubes andischia, as well as an associated 32gastroliths.[2] A femur (ML 555) found at Porto das Barcas (Lourinhã Formation; Late Jurassic) has also been referred toL. antunesi.
Besides these specimens, around 100eggs (collectively described as specimen ML 565), some of them containing embryonic bones and skin,[3] have been found in 1993 at the nearby beach ofPaimogo.[4] These were in 2001 assigned toL. antunesi.[5]
L. antunesi was rather large. The individual found was a sub-adult, measuring some 4.5 m (15 ft) in length and weighing around 160 kg (350 lb). Histology shows that the holotype specimen was between 14 and 17 years old.[6]
Though gastroliths have been found in other theropods since the description ofL. antunesi, this was the first theropod dinosaur for which this kind of remains have been assigned. It was concluded during the description that these stones belonged to the animal, and were not swallowed while eating a herbivorous dinosaur.
Dinosaur eggs and embryos, believed to be those ofLourinhanosaurus, have also been discovered; a nest containing more than 100 eggs, some with well-preserved embryos, was announced in 1998.[7][8]
The relationships ofLourinhanosaurus to other theropods have been uncertain, and no firm consensus has been reached as to its classification. Initially regarded as a primitive member ofAllosauroidea, it was later discussed as being closely related to Sinraptoridae (Metriacanthosauridae), a more inclusive clade within Allosauroidea. Since the original description, some researchers have been favourable to the idea thatL. antunesi is not even an allosauroid, but in fact a member ofMegalosauroidea, a morebasal group oftetanuran theropods. Bensonet al. (2010) found it andPoekilopleuron to belong to Sinraptoridae.[9] Carranoet al. (2012) found it to be acoelurosaur.[10] A 2022 study mentions it as a "putative metriacanthosaurid".[3]
Cau (2024) recoveredLourinhanosaurus as anAllosauroid not inside of any family, forming a clade withAorun.[11] A simplified version of the cladogram is shown below.
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