Metriacanthosaurus, whose sogny name means "moderately spiny lizard," is a genus of metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic in what is now Europe.
It grew up to 8 meters long, 1.8 meters tall, and could weigh up to 1 ton.
Its skull had ridges above the eyes similar to those of allosaurids.
Metriacanthosaurus fossils are rare and fragmentary, so it is believed that its size and appearance are based on its close relatives.
It had a back with a dorsal sail, but not as pronounced as that of Acrocanthosaurus.
It was the apex predator of its ecosystem; its anatomy is believed to have made it agile and fast. It had a large skull with powerful jaws bearing sharp teeth suitable for slicing through flesh, and strong, three-fingered arms equipped with curved claws for a firm grip on its prey.
Specimens cloned by InGen during the 21st century reached lengths of 7.9 meters, heights of 3.35 meters, and weighed up to 0.91 metric tons, making them slightly smaller and lighter than some paleontological estimates.
It had a fairly typical build for a medium-sized theropod, with a bulky head containing sharp, jagged teeth. It had small triangular ridges above its eyes. The jaws were shorter and blunter than those of other theropods, giving it a distinctive profile.
The arms were quite small and ended in three-fingered hands, each of which had an average-sized claw.
The hind legs were more powerful, allowing it to reach reasonable speeds. Their feet had four toes each, the innermost of which was a reduced spur that did not touch the ground; the remaining three toes had small but thick claws.
InGen's Metriacanthosaurus clones created for Masrani Global are one meter smaller than the original species!
Did you know that Metriacanthosaurus is named after its vertebrae? The name comes from the Greek metrikos, "moderate", and akantha, "thorn".
The first clones created by InGen were featherless, while current versions of the species have protofeathers on their arms and spine.
