Genus
Valid Extinct

Saurophaganax

Chure 1995
Etymology Mangeur de reptiles|classification=Allosauridae|ères=jurassique supérieur (161-145 MA.)|taille=15 m? de long|poids=4 à 5 tonnes?|régime=Carnivore|géographie=USA (formation Morrison)|découverte=1930?}}

Saurophaganax is a dubious, chimeric genus of large saurischian dinosaur, possibly a sauropod, from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Morrison Formation of Oklahoma, United States. This taxon was historically considered to represent a species of Allosaurus or very large allosaurid. However, re-examinations of the attributed specimens suggested that it is a chimera of multiple dinosaur genera, since some specimens most likely belong to a diplodocid sauropod, while the other referred specimens could be reassigned to a novel species of Allosaurus.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Saurophaganax
click to enlarge
The holotype dorsal neural arch of Saurophaganax maximus OMNH 1123 in A, anterior; B, posterior; C, left lateral; D, right lateral; and E, ventral views. Abbreviations: acdl, anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; al, accessory lamina; cpol, cen-tropostzygapophyseal lamina; cprl, centroprezygapophyseal lamina; di, diapophysis; nc, neural canal; pa, parapophysis; pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; poz, postzygapophysis; prz, prezygapophysis; spol, spinopostzygapophyseal lamina; sprl?, possible spinoprezygapophyseal lamina; tpol, intrapostzygapophyseal lamina; tprl, intraprezygapophyseal lamina. © A. D. Danison, M. J. Wedel, D. E. Barta, H. N. Woodward, H. M. Flora, A. H. Lee & E. Snively · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
›
Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Averostra Unranked clade
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Tetanurae Unranked clade
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Allosauroidea Superfamily
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Allosauria Unranked clade
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Allosauridae Family
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Saurophaganax Genus
Measurements
Length
10,7 m ⓘ
Saurophaganax maximus
12 m ⓘ
Mass
3 200 kg ⓘ
Saurophaganax maximus
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
2
Geological formations
Morrison
2
Temporal distribution
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
2
Species (1)
Saurophaganax maximus 152 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
D. J. Chure. 1995. A reassessment of the gigantic theropod Saurophagus maximus from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Oklahoma, USA. A. Sun and Y. Wang (eds.), Sixth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Short Papers, China Ocean Press, Beijing
Bibliography (2)
D. R. Richmond, T. C. Hunt, and R. L. Cifelli. 2020. Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Morrison Formation in the western panhandle of Oklahoma with reference to the historical Stovall dinosaur quarries. Journal of Geology 128:477-515 DOI ↗
D. J. Chure. 1995. A reassessment of the gigantic theropod Saurophagus maximus from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Oklahoma, USA. A. Sun and Y. Wang (eds.), Sixth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Short Papers, China Ocean Press, Beijing