Describer

Paul, 1988

Time

Cretaceous Early Barremian

Classification

Saurischia Theropoda Carnosauria Sinraptoridae

Diet

Carnivore

Fossilsite

Wealden Beds; Wealden of Battle, East Sussex, England

Info

Genus - Typespecies - Sail

Becklespinax altispinax (Paul, 1988) >> Acrocanthosaurus altispinax (Paul, 1988)

The type vertebrae, despite the tall and thick neural spines, share a few characters in common with corresponding vertebrae of Piatnitzkysaurus, Sinraptor, Yangchuanosaurus, and Metriacanthosaurus. So it should be provisionally classified in Sinraptoridae, pending discovery of better material. The only known specimen of Becklespinax is a set of three articulated and very distinctive dorsal vertebrae with elongate neural spines.

The three dorsals from Battle, England. As presently regognized, Becklespinax altispinax consists of an articulated series of three vertebrae from the caudal region of the dorsal series. Originally figured by Owen (1884), this specimen comes from the Wealden of Battle, England.

The neural spines of these vertebrae are elongate, five times as high as the centra. They bear no particular similarity to the dorsals of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus to which they often have been compared: in that species, the spines are craniocaudally dilated just dorsal to the arches, while in Becklespinax, thay are constricted just above the arches.

The centra phylogenetic position, although they de represent a valid taxon and are not referable to the better-known Baryonyx walkeri (Charig & Milner, 1986). Two referred isolated metatarsals described as II and Iv (Lydekker, 1889) seemingly represent two fourth metatarsals, of similar diameter but different length. They presumably do not both pertain to the same species and do not demonstrably pertain to Becklespinax altispinax.

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