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Megalosauridae

Megalosauridae

9.9
A group of large meat-eating dinosaurs that lived in the Jurassic and early Cretaceous
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛɡəˈloʊsɔːrɪdeɪ/
  • Specialized
: Megalosauridae
  • Scientists believe Megalosauridae were among the earliest large predatory dinosaurs of the Jurassic period.

Examples

  • The Megalosauridae family includes some of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs.

  • Fossils attributed to the Megalosauridae have been found in Europe, Africa, and South America.

  • The Megalosauridae are closely related to other large theropods like allosaurids.

  • Did you know that Megalosauridae lived during the Jurassic period?

  • Fossils attributed to the Megalosauridae have been found in Europe, Africa, and South America.

  • Scientists believe Megalosauridae were among the earliest large predatory dinosaurs of the Jurassic period.

  • The Megalosauridae family includes some of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Megalosauridae = Megalosaurus (opaque) = Megalosaurus + idae

The formation uses specialized taxonomic morphology (a genus name + the family suffix '-idae') that is not transparently interpretable by average learners.

Etymology

Megalosauridae comes from Greek parts: mega ('large') and sauros ('lizard') plus the family ending -idae ('family'). So the name means 'family of large lizards', which fits these big, meat-eating dinosaurs.