DinoDex
Long-snouted spinosaurid with a low back ridge walking in side view beside a human silhouette
Life restoration of the Brazilian spinosaurid Irritator challengeri, with a human for scale.图片来源：Sauroarchive, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 4.0来源（在新标签页中打开）

Irritator challengeri

读音： IR-ih-tay-tor chal-en-JER-eye

Tetanurae · Spinosauridae

A spinosaurid from the Early Cretaceous of north-east Brazil, known from the most complete spinosaurid skull ever found. Its long, narrow snout and conical teeth suited catching fish and other small prey on a tropical coastal lagoon.

  • Bipedal
  • Crested
  • Possibly semiaquatic
对比
时代
白垩纪· 阿普特阶
食性
食鱼性
体长
6–8 m
体重
1,000 kg
地点
Ceará, Brazil, South America

快速问答

Irritator challengeri有多大？
Irritator challengeri体长约6–8 m。髋部高约1.8–2.4 m。体重约1 t。 (Wikipedia: Irritator 2026; Paul 2016)
Irritator challengeri生活在什么时候？
Irritator challengeri生活在早白垩世，约1.196亿至1.132亿年前。 (Paleobiology Database: Irritator challengeri … 2026; Schade et al. 2023)
在哪里发现过Irritator challengeri的化石？
Irritator challengeri的化石发现于Romualdo Formation (Ceará)和Brazil。 (Martill et al. 1996; Sues et al. 2002)
Irritator challengeri吃什么？
Irritator challengeri是食鱼性或肉食性。 (Martill et al. 1996; Sues et al. 2002)
Irritator challengeri由谁命名，何时命名？
Irritator challengeri由David M. Martill et al.于1996年描述。 (Martill et al. 1996; Schade et al. 2023)

本页内容

IR-ih-tay-tor chal-en-JER-eye

时代
白垩纪119.6–113.2 Ma
食性
食鱼性
体长
6–8 m
体重
1 t
产地
Brazil, South America
分类
Tetanurae · Spinosauridae
命名
1996, David M. Martill et al.

概览

此内容目前仅提供英文版。

Irritator challengeri lived in the Araripe Basin of north-east Brazil in the late Aptian, a little over 113 million years ago. Its skull came out of a limestone concretion near Santana do Cariri, Ceará, and was sold by fossil dealers to the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany.

Dealers had built up the snout with plaster to make it look longer, which "irritated" the researchers who had to remove it; the species name honours Professor Challenger of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World". Martill and colleagues (1996) first thought it was a maniraptoran, and Sues and colleagues (2002) showed it was a spinosaurid.

CT scans by Schade and colleagues (2023) revealed almost the whole palate and braincase. The skull had binocular vision in front of the snout and a relatively weak but fast bite, and the lower jaws spread sideways when opening, like those of pelicans. It probably snapped up fish and small vertebrates, and a spinosaurid tooth has even been found in a pterosaur neck bone from the same rocks.

名称含义

From "irritation", for the frustration caused by the dealers' alterations to the skull; challengeri after Professor Challenger in Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" (Martill et al. 1996).

生物学与证据

科学家对这种动物生活方式的看法，以及每种观点的证据有多充分。

进食

  • Irritator ate pterosaurs as well as fish.

    证据等级：假说

    A spinosaurid tooth stuck in a pterosaur bone shows that some spinosaurid of the formation fed on one, by hunting or scavenging; it is not certain the tooth belonged to Irritator.

    支持 / 反对证据 · 1
    支持证据

    • 遗迹化石 · Spinosaurid tooth in a pterosaur vertebra (Romualdo Formation)

      A spinosaurid tooth embedded in a pterosaur neck vertebra from the same formation.

  • Irritator had a relatively weak but fast bite suited to snapping small prey.

    证据等级：中等证据

    Jaw mechanics and the inner ear suggest quick snaps at fish and small vertebrates rather than a crushing bite.

    支持 / 反对证据 · 2
    支持证据

    • 标本 · CT reconstruction of the Irritator skull

      Medical and micro-CT reconstructions of SMNS 58022 reveal the palate and braincase, binocular vision in front of the snout, a weak but fast bite and lower jaws that spread sideways when opening.

      标本： SMNS 58022

    • 比较解剖学 · Irritator braincase endocast

      A digital endocast and inner ear indicating fast, well-controlled downward head movements and a snout held angled about 45 degrees down.

      标本： SMNS 58022

其他

  • The Irritator holotype is the most complete spinosaurid skull known.

    证据等级：直接证据

    Only the tip of the snout and the front of the lower jaws are missing, while other spinosaurids are known mostly from snouts and isolated bones.

    支持 / 反对证据 · 1
    支持证据

    • 标本 · CT reconstruction of the Irritator skull

      Medical and micro-CT reconstructions of SMNS 58022 reveal the palate and braincase, binocular vision in front of the snout, a weak but fast bite and lower jaws that spread sideways when opening.

      标本： SMNS 58022

体型

体长
6–8 m

（26.2 英尺）

依据 SMNS 58022

身高
2 m文献范围 1.8–2.4 m

（6.6 英尺）

体重
1,000 kg
Irritator challengeri 体长约 8 米（26.2 英尺），约为身高 1.8 米的成年人的 4.4 倍。

时间线

生活在约 119.6 至 113.2 百万年前（Ma），属于中生代（252–66 Ma）。

时代： 阿普特阶 (121.4–113 Ma), 早白垩世 (145–100.5 Ma)

Late Aptian (Schade et al. 2023, after Arai & Assine 2020); PBDB gives the same bin, 119.57-113.2 Ma. Older works, and Wikipedia, date the Romualdo Formation to the Albian.

产地

地层

地图数据：Natural Earth（公有领域）。显示的是现代位置，而非当时大陆的位置。

这些是发现化石的地点，而不是该动物生活的全部范围。

生态系统

Restoration of the Romualdo Formation environment with Irritator challengeri in the foreground, Mirischia and Thalassodromeus in the background and pterosaurs overhead.图片来源：Composition and effects by PaleoGeekSquared Background by ItaiguaraLima Irritator and flying pterosaurs by Андрей Белов Thalassodromeus by PWNZ3R Dragon Mirischia by Ademar Pereira do Nascimento, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 3.0来源（在新标签页中打开）

生活于： Romualdo (Araripe Basin)

119.57–113.2 百万年前 · 海洋边缘, 湖泊

A tropical coastal lagoon with irregular freshwater influence and marine incursions, surrounded by arid to semi-arid land; famous for fish, pterosaurs and soft tissues preserved in limestone concretions.

分类

  1. 演化支Dinosauria
  2. 演化支Saurischia
  3. 演化支Theropoda
  4. 演化支Tetanurae
  5. 总科Megalosauroidea
  6. 科Spinosauridae
  7. 亚科Spinosaurinae
  8. 属Irritator
  9. 种Irritator challengeri

分类地位： 有效

化石记录

Holotype skull of Irritator challengeri, SMNS 58022, in left and right lateral view (Sales & Schultz 2017).图片来源：Marcos A. F. Sales, Cesar L. Schultz, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde StuttgartCC BY 2.5来源（在新标签页中打开）
标本
编号类型收藏机构发现年份
SMNS 58022正模标本Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (SMNS)—

已发现的部分

正模标本: SMNS 58022

  • 保存
  • 部分保存
  • 复原
  • 未知 / 未记录
按部位查看（表格）
正模标本: SMNS 58022 的骨骼部位
部位状态
Skull部分保存 · Missing most of the premaxillae and the front of the maxillae.
Mandible部分保存 · Missing the front ends.
Teeth部分保存
Cervical vertebrae未知 / 未记录
Dorsal vertebrae未知 / 未记录
Sacrum未知 / 未记录
Caudal vertebrae未知 / 未记录
Ribs未知 / 未记录
Gastralia未知 / 未记录
Scapula / shoulder girdle未知 / 未记录
Humerus未知 / 未记录
Forearm (radius / ulna)未知 / 未记录
Hand (manus)未知 / 未记录
Pelvis未知 / 未记录
Femur未知 / 未记录
Tibia / fibula未知 / 未记录
Foot (pes)未知 / 未记录
Skull reconstructions of Irritator challengeri (SMNS 58022) and Angaturama limai (USP GP/2T-5).图片来源：Marcos A. F. Sales, Cesar L. Schultz, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 4.0来源（在新标签页中打开）

图库

Historical reconstruction: the Irritator head as originally interpreted by Martill et al. (1996), with a head crest now known to be based on a misidentified bone fragment.图片来源：PaleoGeekSquared, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing)CC BY-SA 4.0

全部标本

发现

命名年份
1996
命名者
David M. Martill et al.
模式标本
SMNS 58022

发现时间线

  1. 1996 · 正式命名

    Martill and colleagues name Irritator

    Named as a crested maniraptoran, the first dinosaur named from the formation.

    人物：David M. Martill

  2. 2002 · 修订

    Irritator redescribed as a spinosaurid

    After further preparation, Sues and colleagues confirm it is a spinosaurid.

    人物：Hans-Dieter Sues, David M. Martill

  3. 2023 · 重要研究

    CT reappraisal of the Irritator skull

    Schade and colleagues reconstruct the whole skull digitally.

    人物：Marco Schade

参考文献

  1. (2026). Paleobiology Database: Irritator challengeri occurrence and type collection 28052. The Paleobiology Database (paleobiodb.org), data service 1.2, accessed 2026-09-23. https://paleobiodb.org/data1.2/colls/list.json?coll_id=28052&show=paleoloc,strat,loc,ref,geo&pgm=gplates&vocab=pbdb（在新标签页中打开）
  2. (2026). Wikipedia: Irritator. Wikipedia (English), accessed 2026-09-24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritator（在新标签页中打开）
  3. Martill, D. M., Cruickshank, A. R. I., Frey, E., Small, P. G. & Clarke, M. (1996). A new crested maniraptoran dinosaur from the Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil. Journal of the Geological Society 153: 5-8. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.153.1.0005（在新标签页中打开）
  4. Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.
  5. Schade, M., Rauhut, O. W. M. & Evers, S. W. (2020). Neuroanatomy of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri (Dinosauria: Theropoda) indicates potential adaptations for piscivory. Scientific Reports 10: 9259. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-66261-w（在新标签页中打开）
  6. Schade, M., Rauhut, O. W. M., Foth, C., Moleman, O. & Evers, S. W. (2023). A reappraisal of the cranial and mandibular osteology of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Palaeontologia Electronica 26(2): a17. doi:10.26879/1242（在新标签页中打开）
  7. Sues, H.-D., Frey, E., Martill, D. M. & Scott, D. M. (2002). Irritator challengeri, a spinosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22: 535-547. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0535:ICASDT]2.0.CO;2（在新标签页中打开）