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86 / Mesozoic
Baryonyx
Baryonyx walkeri
A crocodile-like snout and huge thumb claw equipped this theropod to catch fish and other prey.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 130–125 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Baryonyx?
This archive records Baryonyx under the scientific name Baryonyx walkeri, with an age of About 130–125 million years ago and a range of River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain. A crocodile-like snout and huge thumb claw equipped this theropod to catch fish and other prey.
Baryonyx hunted along waterways but was not limited to fish. Its skeleton preserved fish scales and young dinosaur bones inside the body cavity.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Baryonyx at a glance
- Scientific name
- Baryonyx walkeri
- Age
- About 130–125 million years ago
- Last recorded stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Known range
- River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain
- Broad group
- dinosaur
- Archive era
- Mesozoic
- Habitat signals
- Freshwater
- Documented regions
- Europe
03 / ANATOMY
How was Baryonyx built?
Overall body plan
A crocodile-like snout and huge thumb claw equipped this theropod to catch fish and other prey.
Skull, teeth and display structures
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Baryonyx, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Limbs, balance and locomotion
Baryonyx hunted along waterways but was not limited to fish. Its skeleton preserved fish scales and young dinosaur bones inside the body cavity.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Baryonyx.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Baryonyx live?
Baryonyx hunted along waterways but was not limited to fish. Its skeleton preserved fish scales and young dinosaur bones inside the body cavity. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Baryonyx live?
This archive currently lists About 130–125 million years ago; River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 130–125 million years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as Early Cretaceous. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels Freshwater. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Baryonyx?
Primary record
A partial skeleton, stomach contents, teeth and claw anatomy reveal its mixed diet.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Baryonyx within About 130–125 million years ago and River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Baryonyx disappear?
Regional river systems and dinosaur communities changed through the Cretaceous.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Baryonyx FAQ
What was Baryonyx?
This archive records Baryonyx under the scientific name Baryonyx walkeri, with an age of About 130–125 million years ago. A crocodile-like snout and huge thumb claw equipped this theropod to catch fish and other prey.
When did Baryonyx live?
The current archive range is About 130–125 million years ago; its youngest recorded stage is Early Cretaceous.
Where was Baryonyx found?
The archive currently lists River and lake country of Western Europe · Present-day Britain. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Baryonyx?
A partial skeleton, stomach contents, teeth and claw anatomy reveal its mixed diet.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS