Irritator
Irritator chalengeri
Pronounced: Ear - ih - tay - tor
Diet: Carnivore(meat-eater)
Name Means: "Irritation"
Length: 26 ft. (8 m)
Height: 9 ft. (3 m)
Weight: unknown
Time: Early Cretaceous - 110 million years ago
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur
have been found in South America
Irritator was an early member of the spinosaur family, which included the JP3 villain Spinosaurus It was a large meat-eater that had a small crest on its head. It received its unusual name because amateur fossil hunters modified the original fossil skull and didn't do a very good job. With all of the extra effort that was required to undo the damage, the professional scientists working on the project wanted to create a name befitting all of their hard work and the frustration that came with it.
Irritator is known from a mostly complete skull. It is important for two reasons: It was the first Early Cretaceous dinosaur found in Brazil, and it was the first South American maniraptorian found without bird-like features. The head crest is believed to have been a muscle attachment for neck muscles. Like its other family members, it is believed that Irritator hunted and ate fish regularly. |
