In Depth
Currently considered to be a megalosauroid theropod, Piatnitzkysaurus was a smaller medium sized theropod of the Jurassic. As a predator Piatnitzkysaurus probably hunted other small dinosaurs and possibly even those slightly larger than itself. It is also almost a certainty that Piatnitzkysaurus would scavenge the carcasses of dead dinosaurs when able, since scavenging is a frequent and often observed feeding strategy in most predatory animals that are capable of killing their own prey.
Hailing from the Canadon Asfalto Formation, Piatnitzkysaurus likely lived alongside other dinosaurs such as Eoabelisaurus, Patagosaurus, Volkheimeria and Tehuelchesaurus. However it is actually a dinosaur from France called Piveteausaurus that is considered to be one of the dinosaurs most similar to Piatnitzkysaurus in form.
Further Reading
- Dinosaurs: A Jurassic assemblage from Patagonia, Jose Bonaparte - 1979. - A description of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods, R. B. J. Benson - 2010. - Braincase structure of the Middle Jurassic theropod dinosaur Piatnitzkysaurus, Rauhut - 2004.
