Long Drawn Out Dig

The holotype remains of Piatnitzkysaurus took multiple years to fully excavate from the Patagonian rocks. Dated from approximately 166 to 164 million years ago, the Callovian rocks of the Jurassic were excavated in 1977, 1982, and 1983 to remove the entire holotype specimen. The general resemblance of this dinosaur to Allosaurus was first noted by Michael Benton upon surveying the strong arms and legs of the predatory dinosaur. Many of the illustrations are very much inspired by this resemblance in addition to the actual anatomy of Piatnitzkysaurus, as can be seen here.

©Nobu Tamura