Irritator challengeri
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challengeri
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(ear-ih-tay-tor)
"irritator"
Describer Martill, 1996
Also Known As Angaturama? Kellner & Campos, 1996
Type of Species challengeri
Order Saurischia
SubOrder Theropoda
InfraOrder --
Micro-Order --
SuperFamily --
Family Spinosauridae
SubFamily Spinosaurinae
Size 26 feet (8 meters) long
Period Early Cretaceous, 99 million years ago
Fossilsite Brazil
Diet Carnivore
Irritator lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, 99 million years ago in what is now Brazil. Irritator was a spinosaur from South America. It is believed that it was a fish eater. Irritator's crocodile like jaws were packed with hook shaped teeth, ideal for snaring fish. One skull has been found from this dinosaur so far. This skull was discovered by an amateur fossil hunter. This amateur used plaster to "restore" the dinosaur's broken snout . Reconstructing the dinosaur's original features proved frustrating for researchers. This carelessness by the amateur's irritated paleontologists so much that they named the dinosaur Irritator!. There are similarities among Irritator's skull and the skull of Spinosaurus and Suchomimus. And it is believed that Irritator may also have a skin sail on its back.
