Saltriosaurus

"Saltriosaurus" (Saltrio-lizard) is the informal name for a theropod dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic period. It was found in 1996, when Angelo Zanella discovered its remains in a quarry in Saltrio, in northern Italy. Very little is known about the dinosaur. The name "Saltriosaurus", given to it in 2000 by Dal Sasso, is a "nomen nudum".

"Saltriosaurus" is thought to have resembled "Allosaurus", and is the oldest known three-fingered dinosaur. Like "Allosaurus", it appears to have been carnivorous and is estimated to have weighed about 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). It was 8 meters (26 ft) long and 4 meters (13 ft) tall, with a skull 70 centimeters (28 in) long. The single tooth that has been found was about 7 centimeters (2.8 in) long.

About ten percent of the skeleton has been discovered thus far: lateral tooth, dorsal rib fragments, scapular fragment, furcula, humeri, metacarpal II, phalanx II-1, phalanx III-1, phalanx III-2, manual ungual III, proximal fibula, distal tarsal III, distal tarsal IV.

References

* [http://home.comcast.net/~eoraptor/Tetanurae.htm#Saltriosaurus "Saltriosaurus" in The Theropod Database]
* [http://www.dinosaurier-web.de/galery/pages_s/saltriosaurus.html Dinosaurier-web.de]