Valdoraptor
Name:
Valdoraptor
(Wealden thief).
Phonetic: Val-doe-rap-tor.
Named By: George Olshevsky - 1991.
Synonyms: Megalosaurus oweni.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Ornithomimosauria.
Species: V. oweni (type).
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Unknown.
Known locations: England - Tunbridge Wells Sand
Formation.
Time period: Valanginain of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial foot.
When
first described in 1858 by Richard Owen, the type specimen of
Valdoraptor was interpreted as a foot belonging to
the armoured
dinosaur Hylaeosaurus.
In 1881, John Hulke scored nearer the mark
by identifying the foot as belonging to a theropod dinosaur. From
here the foot was attributed to Megalosaurus
by Richard Lydekker in
1888 and then Altispinax
by Friedrich von Huene in 1923.
Eventually in 1991 George Olshevsky created the Valdoraptor
genus
for the foot, but this was not the end of the confusion, as the
foot has also been perceived to be similar to Neovenator
and Eotyrannus.
Despite
this, the Valdoraptor foot has been more
popularly interpreted as
belonging to an ornithomimosaur.
However this has caused confusion
and uncertainty in itself. With only a foot, it is impossible to
say how big Valdoraptor was or if it had any
special features like
skull crests or enlarged claws. We also can’t infer what it ate since
the ornithomimosaurs may have been carnivores, herbivores or even
omnivores depending upon the genus. A 2014 study (Allain et
al) concerning Valdoraptor also speculated that
this dinosaur may in
fact be synonymous with the genus Thecocoelurus.
Valdoraptor
should not be confused with the similarly named Valdosaurus.
Further reading
- A revision of the parainfraclass Archosauria Cope, 1869,
excluding the advanced Crocodylia. Mesozoic Meanderings 2 pp.
1-196 - George Olshevsky - 1991.
- Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society
of London in their discovery: basal Dinosauria and Saurischia. -
Journal of the Geological Society of London 164: 493-510. - D.
Naish & D. M. Martill - 2007.
- European ornithomimosaurs (Dinosauria, Theropoda): an
undetected record. - Geologica Acta 12(2). - R.
Allain, R. Vullo, J. Le loeuff & J.-F.
Tournepiche - 2014.
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