Dinosaur genus

Becklespinax

Olshevsky 1991

Becklespinax is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 139.1–132.6 million years old, in the United Kingdom.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?0 high6 medium2 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 11 October 2026

139.1–132.6 Ma (published)

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Olshevsky 1991
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: G. Olshevsky (1991). A revision of the parainfraclass Archosauria Cope, 1869, excluding the advanced Crocodylia. Mesozoic Meanderings 2: 1–196.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Olshevsky 1991).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Lived: Berriasian to Valanginian, 139.1–132.6 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives a range this precise; NHM's records give only a broader interval, which contains it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: United Kingdom
disputed
low: NHM records it here but PBDB has no record in this country; awaiting an editor.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Parent group: Tetanurae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Order: Saurischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
Diet: carnivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Theropoda, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling, solitary (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Theropoda; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
Family: no source we use gives it yet.
Age (confirmed evidence): no source we use gives it yet.
Formations: no source we use gives it yet.
Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Held back: 1 fossil record left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); age (headline) (PBDB); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

1 open

Countries

PBDB
United KingdomNHM

One source records a country the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Did it meet…?

Did Becklespinax meet ?

Can't tell. One of them has no fossil age recorded.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Becklespinax by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same parent group: Tetanurae 3

Other genera in Tetanurae with a full profile.

Chuandongocoelurus Cruxicheiros Cryolophosaurus

Where its fossils were found

No dated fossil sites in Omnisaura yet.

Cite this page

Omnisaura (2026). Becklespinax. Future Sailors. https://www.omnisaura.com/genera/becklespinax. Data as of 11 October 2026.

What's changed

19 Oct 2026
Age (PBDB): confidence high → medium.
12 Oct 2026
Added to Omnisaura.

Every change to Omnisaura

Use this data

Download this genus as JSON With every source and licence attached. Also recorded in: Paleobiology Database · Wikipedia (English) · GBIF · Wikidata Spotted a problem? Tell us

Pictures

5 openly licensed pictures of Becklespinax on Wikimedia Commons and museum sites, each with its own author and licence.

NHM-UK_P_DF118_03_21_0331
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0
010024045_L010093732
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0
010024045_L010093732_(2)
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0
Becklespinax altispinax holotype BMNH R1828
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0

The rest are listed in the JSON download.

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.