Metriacanthosaurus

Metriacanthosaurus is the only metriacanthosaurid dinosaur named from outside of Asia. All its close relatives are from Asia.2

Its fossils were found in marine sediments. During the Late Jurassic, Europe was a group of islands surrounded by shallow seas.2

The name Metriacanthosaurus means 'moderately-spined lizard' because its backbone spines are taller than Allosaurus but shorter than Acrocanthosaurus.2

The only known specimen includes an incomplete hip, a leg bone, and part of a backbone. No skull has been found.21

Metriacanthosaurus was originally named as a species of Megalosaurus in 1923. It was given its own genus in 1964 by Alick Walker.2

It lived about 160 million years ago during the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic. Other dinosaurs from the same time include the sauropod Cetiosauriscus and the stegosaur Lexovisaurus.2