トルヴォサウルスの化石を初めて発見したのは誰
Fossilized remains of "Torvosaurus" have been found in North America and Portugal. In 1971, Vivian Jones, of Delta, Colorado (USA), in the Calico Gulch Quarry in Moffat County, discovered a single gigantic thumb claw of a theropod. This was shown to James Alvin Jensen, a collector working for Brigham Young University. In an effort to discover comparable fossils, Vivian's husband Daniel Eddie Jones directed Jensen to the Dry Mesa Quarry, where abundant gigantic theropod bones, together with "Supersaurus" remains, proved present in rocks of the Morrison Formation. From 1972 onwards the site was excavated by Jensen and Kenneth Stadtman. The type species "Torvosaurus tanneri" was named and described in 1979 by Peter Malcolm Galton and Jensen. The genus name "Torvosaurus" derives from the Latin word "torvus", meaning "savage", and the Greek word "sauros" (σαυρος), meaning "lizard". The specific name "tanneri", is named after first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Nathan Eldon Tanner.
In 1985, Jensen could report a considerable amount of additional material, among it the first skull elements. The fossils from Colorado were further described by Brooks Britt in 1991.
The holotype BYU 2002 originally consisted of upper arm bones (humeri) and lower arm bones (radii and ulnae). The paratypes included some back bones, hip bones, and hand bones. When the material described in 1985 is added, the main missing elements are the shoulder girdle and the thighbone. The original thumb claw, specimen BYUVP 2020, was only provisionally referred as it had been found in a site 195 kilometres away from the Dry Mesa Quarry. The holotype and paratypes represented at least three individuals: two adults and a juvenile. In 1991 Britt concluded that there was no proof that the front limbs of the holotype were associated and chose the left humerus as the lectotype. Several single bones and teeth found in other American sites have been referred to "Torvosaurus".
In 1992, fossils of a large theropod found at Como Bluff in Wyoming, containing skull, shoulder girdle, pelvis and rib elements, were named by Robert T. Bakker "et al." as the species "Edmarka rex". Bakker "et al" were impressed with the size of "Edmarka", noting that it "would rival "T. rex" in total length," and viewing this approximate size as "a natural ceiling for dinosaurian meat-eaters." This was often considered a junior synonym of "Torvosaurus". The same site has rendered comparable remains for which the "nomen nudum" "Brontoraptor" has been used. Most researchers now regard both specimens as belonging to "Torvosaurus tanneri".
Vivian Jones