ZoomDinosaurs.com Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary

BECKLESPINAX Becklespinax (meaning "Beckles' spine") was a theropod dinosaur (a tetanurid) about 15 feet (5 m) long. It was a bipedal meat-eater with spines along its back. It lived in what is now England during the early Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago. It is only known from three elongated vertebrae and teeth found by Samuel H. Beckles in the 1850's. It was named by paleontologist Olshevsky in 1991.

BEELEMODON Beelemodon (meaning " tooth") was a wolf-sized theropod dinosaur (a tetanurid). It was a bipedal meat-eater with long legs. It lived during the late Jurassic period, about 125 million years ago. It is only known from teeth and some bones found in Como Bluff, Wyoming, USA. Beelemodon was named by paleontologist Bakker in 1997 (it is a nomen nudum.

BEIPIAOSAURUS (pronounced bay-pyow-SAWR-us) Beipiaosaurus (meaning "Beipiao [China] lizard") was a plant-eating theropod dinosaur with primitive feathers (filamentous integumentary structures up to 70 mm long). This biped lived in what is now Beipiao, China during the mid-Cretaceous period, about 124 million years ago. It was named in 1998 by paleontologist Xu, Tang Zhilu and Wang Xiaolin.

BELEMNITE Belemnites (meaning "darts" or "javelins") were squid-like cephalopods that evolved during the Carboniferous period (roughly 345 to 280 million years ago); they went extinct 65 million years ago during the K-T extinction. They are common fossils, especially in Jurassic and Cretaceous period sediment, and are used as index fossils. Belemnites had a pencil-shaped body, beak-like jaws, an ink sac, eight arms with hooks made of chiton (a protein that also makes up our fingernails), and two arms with suckers. Belemnites had a hard, bullet-shaped, partly-chambered internal shell made of calcite. These marine animals were fast-moving carnivores (meat eaters) that ate fish and other marine organisms. Belemnites were eaten by Ichthyosaurs, marine crocodiles, and others. Classification: Phylum Mollusca (mollusks), Class Cephalopoda (cephalopods, fast-swimming mollusks, like squid and cuttlefish).

BELLUSAURUS (pronounced BEL-uh-SAWR-us) Bellusaurus (meaning "beautiful lizard") was a sauropod dinosaur about 16 feet (5 m) long, weighing roughly 756 kg. It was a quadrupedal plant-eater with spoon-shaped teeth and nostrils on the sides of its head. It lived in what is now China during the mid-Jurassic period, about 188-163 million years ago. It was named by paleontologist Zhiming Dong in 1988.

BENNETTITALEANS Bennettitaleans, also called cycadeoids, are primitive plants (gymnosperms) that resemble cycads (but they are not cycads), but have different methods of reproduction. Bennettitaleans lived throughout the Mesozoic Era. Examples of bennettitaleans include Williamsonia (Jurassic through end Cretaceous), Williamsoniella (Jurassic through end Cretaceous), and Zamites (Triassic).

BESANOSAURUS Besanosaurus (meaning "Besano [Lombardy, N. Italy] lizard") was a large ichthyosaur (a marine reptile, not a dinosaur) from the middle Triassic period. This carnivore ate fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles. Besanosaurus was an early member of the Family Shastasauridae. Besanosaurus named by Dal Sasso and Pinna in 1996. The type species is B. leptrhynchus.

BETASUCHUS (pronounced BAIT-oh-SOOK-us) Betasuchus (meaning "second crocodile") was a theropod dinosaur (a Lambeosaurine hadrosaur) about 10-13 feet (3-4 m) long. It was a bipedal meat-eater that lived in what is now the Netherlands during the late Cretaceous period, about 70-65 million years ago. The type species is B. sicinskii. It was named by paleontologist von Huene in 1932, but was originally described by H. Seeley and thought to be Megalosaurus. This is a doubtful genus since it is so poorly known (only a single femur, thigh bone, was found and it was in poor condition).

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