Altispinax

Name: Altispinax ‭(‬High spine‭)‬.
Phonetic: Al-tee-spy-nax.
Named By: Friedrich von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1923.
Synonyms: Megalosaurus dunkeri.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda, Carnosauria.
Species: A.‭ ‬dunkeri‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Highly uncertain, but roughly estimated to be about 8 meters long.
Known locations: Germany,‭ ‬Niedersachsen‭ ‬-‭ ‬Obernkirchen Sandstein.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Teeth.

       Originally described as belonging to a species of Megalosaurus in‭ ‬1884,‭ ‬Friedrich von Huene renamed the fossils of teeth and vertebrae to Altispinax in‭ ‬1923.‭ ‬This name reflects the size of the neural spines of the vertebrae,‭ ‬fossils that were later attributed to the genus after it was established upon the description of teeth. The vertebrae of Altispinax were once removed to create a new dinosaur genus named Becklespinax.‭ ‬This led to Altispinax becoming a tooth taxon for many years until a‭ ‬2016‭ ‬review of the fossils by Maisch led to the vertebrae being moved back into Altispinax,‭ ‬thus rendering Becklespinax a synonym to Altispinax.‭

Further reading
- A revision of the parainfraclass Archosauria Cope, 1869, excluding the advanced Crocodylia. - Mesozoic Meanderings 2:1-196 - G. Olshevsky - 1991.
- The nomenclatural status of the carnivorous dinosaur genus Altispinax v. Huene, 1923 (Saurischia, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of England. - Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 280(2): 215-219. M. W. Maisch - 2016.

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