Fun Eustreptospondylus Facts For Kids

The Eustreptospondylus was a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Callovian and the Oxfordian stages of the Jurassic period. Previously, the Eustreptospondylus was thought to be one of the species of Megalosaurus, the first described dinosaur ever. However, owing to the distinctive curved shape of their vertebra, this theropod got a distinct genus from themselves. They were discovered in the late 19th century, and a well-structured fossil collection of this dinosaur has been discovered.

In 1870, some workers working at Summertown Brick Pit discovered the fossil of a dinosaur. This fossil was then reported to an Oxford professor named John Phillips by James Parker. At that time, the dinosaur was not named. The type species of the Streptospondylus, Streptospondylus altdorfensis, was closely related to the bones that were discovered. After studying the bone structure and examining it for days in Oxford, they were finally given a separate identity and were named Eustreptospondylus. Among all the European dinosaur species of the Jurassic period that have been discovered as of yet, the Eustreptospondylus still remains the most complete of all. Many bones of Eustreptospondylus have been recovered from the sediments. To know more about these dinosaurs, keep on reading these facts.

For similar content, check out Lucianovenator and Kryptops facts too.

How do you pronounce 'Eustreptospondylus'?

The name of the Eustreptospondylus is pronounced as 'Yoo-strep-to-spon-di-lus'. The name might seem complex to pronounce, but they are one of the most significant dinosaur species of western Europe.

What type of dinosaur was a Eustreptospondylus?

The Eustreptospondylus was a type of theropod that lived during the Callovian temporal range of the Jurassic epoch. They were first believed to be a part of the Megalosaurus, but the confusion was finally cleared in 1964 when Donald Walker classified the Eustreptospondylus as a separate group. They were different from another theropod called Magnosaurus.

In which geological period did Eustreptospondylus roam the earth?

The Eustreptospondylus was found on earth in between the middle and the late Jurassic era. They occurred in the Callovian age and extended up to the Oxfordian age. They roamed the earth between 154-163 million years ago.

When did the Eustreptospondylus become extinct?

The Eustreptospondylus became extinct around 154 million years ago in the Oxfordian stage.

Where did Eustreptospondylus live?

The skeleton of the Eustreptospondylus was discovered from the Oxford Clay Formation located in England. In that era, Europe was formed by scattered islands, and they lived in one of the Islands of present western Europe.

What was the Eustreptospondylus' habitat?

The Eustreptospondylus essentially lived in terrestrial habitats. Since their fossils were found on islands beside water bodies, it is believed that they inhabited some kinds of water bodies.

Who did Eustreptospondylus live with?

Whether the Eustreptospondylus lived in groups or they lived alone is unknown. There are no fossil records that prove that they lived in groups.

How long did a Eustreptospondylus live?

A Eustreptospondylus lived from 154-163 million years ago. They lived for nine million years on earth.

How did they reproduce?

The species of the Dinosauria clade reproduce by laying eggs. Similarly, the Eustreptospondylus was also an egg layer, and the juveniles emerged after the laid eggs hatched.

What did Eustreptospondylus look like?

It was easier to infer a physical description of the Eustreptospondylus as many parts of their remains were recovered. It was believed to be a medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur with a long and pointy snout. The nostril was large and was placed horizontally on the skull. They had wide and scary gapes caused by the oblique grooves of the jaw joints. This let the dinosaurs open their lower jaws widely. There are no records of teeth from the upper or the lower jaw, but from the teeth socket, it can be determined that they had enlarged the third tooth. The front dorsal vertebrae are not keeled, but they have hypapophysis.

There are some distinguishing anatomical structures present in a Eustreptospondylus that are possibly absent from its related genera. A shallow depression in the corner of the lacrimal. The ilium peduncle is very long as well as wide. The lower blade of the ilium, together with the outer blade, forms an attachment for the tail muscle in the dinosaurs.

How many bones did a Eustreptospondylus have?

The total number of bones present in the body of a Eustreptospondylus is unknown. However, it is a well-understood dinosaur with almost a complete skeleton. The fossil collection includes a skull with some missing elements like the nasal bone, the rear part of the lower jaw, the anterior position of the tail, the lower arms, and the jugals. Only one holotype has been discovered, and its size and structure resemble a sub-adult individual.

How did they communicate?

All the members of the Dinosauria clade communicate by vocalizations and visualization. The Eustreptospondylus also communicated similarly.

How big was the Eustreptospondylus?

The length of the Eustreptospondylusspecimen discovered was around 15.2 ft (4.6 m). They were twice the size of Neovenator.

How fast could a Eustreptospondylus move?

Apart from running, the Eustreptospondylus could also probably swim, which is suggested by their marine fossils. They were able to swim short distances; however, the speed of their movement is unknown.

How much did a Eustreptospondylus weigh?

The weight of the specimen that was discovered from Oxford was estimated to be around 481 lb (218 kg). The hypothetical adult weight is 0.5 tons (5000 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and female dinosaurs do not have any particular name. Both of them were known as Eustreptospondylus.

What would you call a baby Eustreptospondylus?

A baby dinosaur is referred to as a nestling or hatchling.

What did they eat?

The Eustreptospondylus followed a strictly carnivorous diet. The diet of these theropods included a wide variety of animals of that era, like smaller marine reptiles, dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and other dinosaurs.

How aggressive were they?

The Eustreptospondylus was carnivorous in nature. They fed on other dinosaurs and reptiles. Therefore they were considered aggressive.

Did you know...

There is a possibility that Eustreptospondylus might have suffered from insular dwarfism.

Why are they called Eustreptospondylus?

The Eustreptospondylus has an elaborate history behind its name. In 1807, a skeleton of a theropod was found in Oxford. James parker brought the skeleton to one of the professors of Oxford called John Phillips. John Phillips described the skeleton of the theropod, but he did not name the species till then. At first, the fossil was believed to be a part of the Megalosaurus genus, and it was denoted as Megalosaurus bucklandi by Arthur Smith Woodward. In 1905, Nopsca reassigned them to the Streptospondylus genus. In 1842, Richard Owen founded the genus Streptospondylus based on vertebral allocation. Nopsca decided to include them as a Streptospondylus species, and they were referred to as Streptospondylus cuvieri.

In 1964, Alick Donald Walker signed a separate genus for this dinosaur called Eustreptospondylus, and the holotype found in Oxford was renamed as Eustreptospondylus oxoniensis. This classification was due to the opisthocoelous dorsal vertebrae of the dinosaur rather than the typical procoelous vertebrae. The term 'eu' means true, and Eustreptospondylus meant true Streptospondylus. The term Streptospondylus is derived from the Greek words 'streptos' which means reversed, and 'spondylus' meaning the vertebra. Streptospondylus means turned vertebra. Therefore, Eustreptospondylus means a true Streptospondylus. The specific name of the dinosaur, 'oxoniensis' refers to its enlightenment from the Oxford Institute. The dinosaurs were considered to be identical to Streptospondylus altdorfensis.

Where was Eustreptospondylus found?

The Eustreptospondylus was a genus of Cavollian dinosaurs that were found widely in Western Europe. They played an important role in the community of western European dinosaurs. The fossils actually occurred in a marine layer of the Oxford Clay Formation. The Oxford Clay Formation is a fossil ground that dates back to the Cavollian temporal range of the Jurassic epoch.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our nanuqsaurus facts, or beipiaosaurus facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable baseball dinosaur coloring pages.

Image one by Ballista at English Wikipedia.

Image two by ABelov2014 (https://abelov2014.deviantart.com/).