Genus
Valid Extinct

Baryonyx

Charig and Milner 1986

Baryonyx is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in sediments of the Weald Clay Formation, and became the holotype specimen of Baryonyx walkeri, named by palaeontologists Alan J. Charig and Angela C. Milner in 1986. The genus name Baryonyx comes from Ancient Greek βαρύς (barús), meaning "heavy" or "strong", and ὄνυξ (ónux), meaning "claw", alluding to the animal's very large claw on the first finger; the specific name, walkeri, refers to its discoverer, amateur fossil collector William J. Walker. The holotype specimen is one of the most complete theropod skeletons from the UK, and its discovery attracted media attention. Specimens later discovered in other parts of the United Kingdom and Iberia have also been assigned to the genus, though many have since been moved to new genera.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
12
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Baryonyx
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Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Theropoda Unranked clade
Neotheropoda Unranked clade
Averostra Unranked clade
Tetanurae Unranked clade
Megalosauroidea Superfamily
Spinosauridae Family
Baryonychinae Subfamily
Baryonyx Genus
Fossil sites 12 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇪🇸 Spain
6
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
4
🇵🇹 Portugal
1
🇹🇳 Tunisia
1
Geological formations
Pinilla de los Moros
3
Weald Clay
2
Wessex
1
Papo Seco
1
Aïn el Guettar
1
Temporal distribution
Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)
1
Barremian (125.77–121.4 Ma)
5
Hauterivian (132.6–125.77 Ma)
5
Valanginian (137.05–132.6 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Baryonyx walkeri 126 Ma
Bibliography
Original description
A. J. Charig and A. C. Milner. 1986. Baryonyx, a remarkable new theropod dinosaur. Nature 324(6095):359-361 DOI ↗
Bibliography (10)
S. D. Figueiredo, C. N. d. Carvalho, and P. P. Cunha, I. d. S. Carvalho. 2021. New dinosaur tracks from the lower Barremian of Portugal (Areia do Mastro Formation, Cape Espichel). Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection 9:84-96 DOI ↗
J. M. Gasca, J. I. Canudo, and R. Cebrián Rodríguez, M. Moreno-Azanza. 2012. Nuevos vertebrados fósiles de la Formación El Castellar en Gúdar, Teruel, España (Barremiense inferior, Cretácico Inferior) [New vertebrate fossils from the El Castellar Formation in Gúdar, Teruel, Spain (lower Barremian, Lower Cretaceous)]. Geo-Temas 13:187-190
P. Austen, D. Brockhurst, and K. Honeysett. 2010. Vertebrate fauna from Ashdown Brickworks, Bexhill, East Sussex. Wealden News (8):13-23
D. Srarfi, M. Ouaja, and E. Buffetaut, G. Cuny, G. Barale, S. Ferry, E. Fara. 2004. Position stratigraphique des niveaux à vertébrés du Mésozoïque Sud-Est de la Tunisie [Stratigraphic position of beds with Mesozoic vertebrates from southeastern Tunisia]. Notes du Service Géologique de Tunisie 72:5-16
J. I. Canudo and J. I. Ruiz-Omeñaca. 2003. Los restos directos de dinosaurios teropódos (excluyendo Aves) en España [Direct remains of theropod dinosaurs (excluding Aves) in Spain]. Ciencias de la Tierra 26:347-373
J. I. Ruiz-Omeñaca and J. I. Canudo. 2003. Dinosaurios (Saurischia, Ornithischia) en el Barremiense (Cretácico Inferior) de la península Ibérica [Dinosaurs (Saurischia, Ornithischia) in the Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Iberian peninsula]. Dinosaurios y Otros Reptiles Mesozóicos de España
D. Naish, S. Hutt, and D. M. Martill. 2001. Saurischian dinosaurs 2: theropods. Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. Palaeontological Association Field Guides to Fossils 10:242-309
A. J. Charig and A. C. Milner. 1997. Baryonyx walkeri, a fish-eating dinosaur from the Wealden of Surrey. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Geology Series 53(1):11-70
F. Torcida, C. Fuentes, and L. A. Izquierdo, D. Montero, V. Urién. 1997. Dientes de dinosaurios terópodos (cf. Baryonyx) en el Weald de Burgos (España) [Teeth of theropod dinosaurs (cf. Baryonyx) in the Weald of Burgos (Spain)]. Stvdia Geologica Salmanticensia 33:59-65
A. J. Charig and A. C. Milner. 1986. Baryonyx, a remarkable new theropod dinosaur. Nature 324(6095):359-361 DOI ↗