Aviatyrannis

Name: Aviatyrannis ‭(‬Grandmother tyrant‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ay-vee-ah-ty-ran-nis.
Named By: Rauhut‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Tyrannosauroidea.
Species: A.‭ ‬jurassica‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated at‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter long.
Known locations: Portugal.
Time period: Kimmeridgian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial pelvis including an ilium.

       Aviatyrannis was for lack of a better word tiny,‭ ‬although this small size is actually a hallmark of tyrannosaur ancestry.‭ ‬Although incomplete,‭ ‬the fossil remains of Aviatyrannis are very similar to another ancient tyrannosaur,‭ ‬Stokesosaurus,‭ ‬from North America.‭ ‬This has resulted in speculation that‭ ‬Aviatyrannis‭ ‬is actually a junior synonym of Stokesosaurus,‭ ‬and further fossil material may reveal the answer once and for all.‭ ‬Regardless of what may happen with the genus of Aviatyrannis in the future,‭ ‬the fossils from Portugal do prove that the early tyrannosaurs did find their way to Europe,‭ ‬probably from North America.‭ ‬This in turn goes some way to explaining the presence of Eotyrannus,‭ ‬a later tyrannosaur from the early Cretaceous that was discovered in the British Isle's.

Further reading
- A tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. - Palaeontology 46(5):903-913. - O. W. M. Rauhut - 2003.



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