Baryonyx

Baryonyx lived 120 million years ago in what is now southern England. Little is known about this peculiar species, except that it probably caught fish with its huge, hooked claw.

Characteristics

In 1983 an amateur fossil collector uncovered a huge, curved claw bone in a quarry near the town of Dorking in Surry, England. Experts at London's Natural History Museum had never seen a bone that big. They soon discovered that jumbled bones of a large flesh eating dinosaur embedded in the rocks where the claw had been found.
Baryonyx provides a good example of the difficulties scientists have when studying large fossil skeletons. It was transported to the Natural History Museum still embedded in 54 blocks of rock.
The rock, which was much harder than the bones, was difficult to remove with damaging them. A variety of power tools plus chemicals were used to dissolve the iron minerals.
The Process was delicate, and progress was slow. Baryonyx was not fully extracted until 1991, so scientists have not yet reached final conclusions about the dinosaur. Fortunately, the enormous thumb claw- the first bone to be found- is one of the most distinctive features. It is also the source of the nickname given to the skeleton-"Claws."

Food &feeding

Most flesh-eating dinosaurs had high heads with serrated teeth for killing and tearing prey. But Baryonyx probably looked very different. Its snout was narrow, long, and low, with a trounded front. Baryonyx also possessed many more teeth than most of the other dinosaurs. Instead of having sharp and narrow teeth like most species, it had more rounded teeth. In fact, its head and teeth seem to have been well adapted for catching prey in the water.
This theory is strengthened by the fact that the only known skeleton was discovered in deposits close to freshwater rivers. In addition, this skeleton contained the partially digested fossil scales and teeth of fish. However, in most other respects the skeleton seems to be that of a land-dwelling dinosaur.
Perhaps Baryonyx swam in the water, snapping at its fish prey much as crocodiles of today. Or it may have sat on the riverbank or stood in shallow water and swiped at fish with its big, hooked claw. Baryonyx in tern may have been preyed upon by larger predatory dinosaurs when it was on land. In the water it may have been at risk from large crocodilelike reptiles.

Breeding

Not much is known about how Baryonyx bred. The dinosaur's closest living relatives, the birds and crocodiles, all reproduce by internal fertilization and usually lay eggs in nests. Since fossilized nests of other dinosaurs have been found, it seems likely that the female Baryonyx also laid eggs in a nest.

Scientistsdo not know how long it took for the eggs to hatch or how much are parents gave their youth. It is probable that, like today's crocodiles, the mother protected her offspring until they were old enough to fend for themselves. She may have gathered food for her young, as many birds do today.

Key facts

Size
Length: About 32 ft.
Weight: Possibly 1-1½ tons.

Breeding
Mating: Internal fertilization.
No. of eggs: Unknown.
Incubation: Unknown.

Lifestyle
Habit: Possibly a semiaquatic species that either swam to hunt prey or sat on the bank and used its big claw to catch fish
Diet: Fish. Possibly some other flesh and carrion

Full classification
Class: Reptile
Superorder: Archosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Therapoda
Family: Baryonchidae.
Genus & species: Baryonyx walkeri.