Irritator

Name Origin

The Provoker

Family

Spinosauridae

Classification

Diapsida, Saurischia, Theropoda

Habitat (Discovery Location)

Brazil

Period

Approximately 110 million years ago (Early Cretaceous)

Length

Approximately 6 to 8 meters

Weight

Approximately 1 ton

Diet

Carnivore (Meat-eater)

Description

Irritator was a piscivorous dinosaur belonging to the Spinosauridae family that lived in Brazil during the Early Cretaceous period.
Its name, meaning “the provoker,” is known as a very unique story in the paleontology community.

A Name Born from Irritation

Irritator was discovered around 1990.
The story began when German scientists discovered a fossil that was modified and sold by a smuggler who was illegally trading fossils in Brazil.
The skull they purchased had been horribly altered with artificial wounds, traces of acid, and unnaturally glued parts.
The enraged scientists named it “Irritator,” which means “the provoker.”

Appearance and Diet

Irritator’s long, conical teeth and long, protruding face were similar to Spinosaurus, but its snout was more slender.
Its head was similar to a pterosaur’s, and it had a crest.
Its mouth was long and narrow, like a crocodile’s, and it had teeth well-suited for catching fish.
Since its fossils were discovered in geological layers where many pterosaur and fish fossils are found, it is believed to have been a semi-aquatic dinosaur that caught fish in shallow waters.

However, a pterosaur bone with what appears to be its tooth marks has been found, suggesting it also ate other animals when necessary.
It was the smallest of the spinosaurids, and its build was very similar to Baryonyx.

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