Becklespinax
Becklespinax was a meat-eating dinosaur with very tall spines on its backbones. It lived in what is now England during the Early Cretaceous period. Scientists think it might have had a hump or a small sail on its back.21
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Fun facts
The name Becklespinax honors Samuel Husbands Beckles, who discovered the fossils in the 1850s.2
Its back vertebrae have spines about 35 centimeters (14 inches) tall, as tall as those of some other dinosaurs like Ichthyovenator.2
The three back vertebrae are fused together at the top of the spines, which is unusual.2
The famous Megalosaurus sculpture in Crystal Palace Park, London, was given a hump because of these fossils.2
Scientists are not sure exactly which group of theropods Becklespinax belongs to, so they call it Tetanurae incertae sedis (uncertain placement).2
Most asked questions about Becklespinax
?How big was Becklespinax?
It was about 5 metres (16 feet) long and weighed around 1 tonne (1.1 short tons).12
?Did Becklespinax have a hump?
Scientists think it might have had a hump or a small sail on its back, because its back vertebrae had very tall spines.12
?What did Becklespinax eat?
It was a carnivore, so it ate meat.1
?When did Becklespinax live?
It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 140 to 132 million years ago.12
?Why is it called Becklespinax?
The name honors Samuel Husbands Beckles, who discovered the fossils in the 1850s, and 'spinax' means 'with spines'.12
?How tall were Becklespinax's spines?
Its back spines were about 35 centimetres (14 inches) tall, as tall as those of the spinosaurid Ichthyovenator.12
?Is Becklespinax a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a large theropod dinosaur.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Becklespinax is the same as Altispinax or Acrocanthosaurus.
Truth: Becklespinax is a separate genus based on the tall-spined vertebrae. The name Altispinax was used for the same fossils, but Becklespinax is the current accepted name.2
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Becklespinax
- Named by
- Olshevsky 19913
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Tetanurae3
- Classification
- Theropoda3
- Age of the rocks
- 139 to 133 million years (Berriasian / Valanginian)3
- Rock formations
- Hastings Beds3
- Countries
- United Kingdom3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Samuel Husbands Beckles found the fossils in nodules near Battle, East Sussex, England in the early 1850s. Richard Owen described them in 1856. The dinosaur was named Becklespinax by George Olshevsky in 1991.23
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Becklespinax had a hump or a small sail on its back, and exactly which group of theropods it belongs to.2
Where the facts come from
- Becklespinax | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Altispinax (en.wikipedia.org)
- Becklespinax in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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