Monday, June 13, 2022

Dino of the Week: Dubreuillosaurus


Type Species: Dubreuillosaurus valesdunensis
Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Theropoda – Carnosauria - Megalosauroidea -  Megalosauria - Megalosauridae - Megalosaurinae
Time Period: Middle Jurassic
Location: Europe (France) 
Diet: Carnivore 

Dubreuillosaurus was a large theropod that prowled the beaches of prehistoric France. The remains of a juvenile have been discovered, and in life this theropod would’ve reached about sixteen feet in length and weighed a quarter ton; however, a full grown adult may have grown up to thirty feet in length. Its remains were found in sedimentary rocks that had been laid down in coastal, mangrove swamps in what is now France. This has led scientists to speculate that it may have been piscivorous (a fish-eater). It may have caught fish in tidal pools or combed the beaches looking for tidally-stranded fish or dead marine reptiles washed ashore. It may have used its oddly long head to stand still in bays, lagoons, or inlets, waiting for fish to come near before darting its jaws under the water. This theory is supported by the fact that it had an unusually low and long skull with a length three times its height; the head shape would give Dubreuillosaurus the ability to plunge its long head into the water to catch swimming fish. Though the arms and hands of this theropod haven’t been discovered, scientists assume it had short, powerful arms with three-fingered hands like its closest relatives. 

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