Megalosauridae

Skeletal reconstruction of Piatnitzkysaurus

• Worldwide

The Megalosauridae are a group within the theropod dinosaurs. The name goes back to the first scientifically described dinosaur Megalosaurus. The Megalosauriden have long been a " trash group " were asked in all the theropods, which could not be clearly assigned to other families. With increasing knowledge of theropod more and more genera other groups have been assigned.

Today, the name Megalosauridae is rarely used in the scientific literature and is then mostly confined to a few genera massively built theropod from the Middle Jurassic of Europe. One of the problems is the fragmentary knowledge of the genus Megalosaurus itself that does not allow a satisfactory diagnosis of this family.

Most of the " classic" Megalosaurier, presumably including Megalosaurus itself, are now counted among the Spinosauroidea. In popular literature, the name Megalosauridae is, however, still common in his earlier form as the largest family of Carnosauria that occurred from the Middle Jurassic to Upper Jurassic.

• Spinosauroidea Megalosauridae Megalosaurinae ( Huxley, 1889) Megalosaurus
• Metriacanthosaurus
• Poekilopleuron
• Torvosaurus

• Eustreptospondylus
• Afrovenator
• Piatnitzkysaurus