Piveteausaurus
"Piveteau's lizard"
Type species Piveteausaurus divesensis
- Lived
- 165 to 162 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Megalosauridae
- Found in
- France
- Named by
- Taquet and Welles 1977
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
It lived on land near a shallow sea in what is now France. Its braincase comes from the marine Marnes de Dives; other regional dinosaur finds include Megalosaurus and Streptospondylus.
Field notes
About Piveteausaurus
What it was like
Piveteausaurus was a large predator related to Megalosaurus. It is known only from the back of a skull, so its size is uncertain.
Its world
It lived about 165 million years ago, in the Middle Jurassic, in what is now France. Its bones come from the Marnes de Dives, rocks laid down in a shallow sea near land.
How it was found
Taquet and Welles named it in 1977. The type species is Piveteausaurus divesensis. The skull was once linked to Eustreptospondylus.
Field gallery
More views of Piveteausaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
The evidence
The science behind Piveteausaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A large braincase preserves the back of the skull and the bones surrounding the brain.
- The braincase is tall and has bony projections extending out to either side.
Borrowed from relatives
- The jaws, limbs and tail are restored by comparison with megalosaurids such as Eustreptospondylus and Megalosaurus.
Still unknown
- Its body size and the shape of its jaws.
- Its exact position within the megalosaurid family tree.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 1977Named itTaquet & Welles
- 2010Family treeBENSON
- 2012SkullCarrano, Benson & Sampson
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Piveteausaurus
Named it
Restudied the braincase previously assigned to Eustreptospondylus and gave it the separate genus name Piveteausaurus.
Redescription du crâne de dinosaure théropode de Dives (Normandie) [Redescription of a theropod dinosaur skull from Dives (Normandy)]. Annales de Paléontologie (Vertébrés) 63: 191-206
No link available
Family tree
Included Piveteausaurus in a family-tree analysis for the first time and placed it among megalosaurids using features of its braincase.
A description ofMegalosaurus bucklandii(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 882-935
Read the paper : A description ofMegalosaurus bucklandii(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods (opens in a new tab)Skull
Compared the braincase with other Jurassic predators and supported megalosauroid relationships while questioning how clearly the fragment distinguishes a separate genus.
The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10: 211-300
Read the paper : The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Megalosauridae
Sources: Wikidata