| Irritator Temporal range:Lower Cretaceous 110 mya | |
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| Reconstructed skeleton at theNational Museum of Nature and Science,Tokyo. Thepostcranium is based on remains that cannot be confidently attributed to the animal. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Spinosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Spinosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Irritator Martill et al.1996 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Irritator (say:irr-irr-it-at-or) is agenus ofspinosauridtheropoddinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil, in theLower Cretaceous. Itsfossils are known from theRomualdo Formation.[1]
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 ofnasal bones on top of theskull.[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 thatfossil dealers had addedplaster to the front of the snout.[3]
