Masiakasaurus knopfleri

Source: http://artisticthingem.tumblr.com/

Name: Masiakasaurus knopfleri 

Name Meaning: Knopfler’s vicious lizard 

First Described: 2001 

Described By: Sampson et al. 

Classification: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Ceratosauria, Neoceratosauria, Abelisauroidea, Abelisauria, Noasauridae 

Masiakasaurus is one of my personal favorites due to the sheer bizarreness of its teeth! It was a small theropod, about two meters long. It lived about 70 million years ago, in the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, and was found in the Maevarano Formation in Madagascar. Two separate skeletons have been found, allowing it to be known quite well compared to some of our other obscure theropods. The front teeth of Masiakasaurus poointed forward and out of the mouth, and the ones on the jaw curve up to create a sort of hooking apparatus. This would allow for Masiakasaurus to capture fast moving prey. Furthermore, this shows heterodentition in a theropod dinosaur, which is not unheard of, but very uncommon. As such, Masiakasaurus represents a deviation from the usual predatory habits of theropods, going after small fast moving prey as opposed to the larger animals around at the time (such as other giant dinosaurs.) However it still could cut and slash large chunks of flesh with its back teeth, suggesting an adaptable lifestyle, opportunistically feeding on what is available. Its small size probably aided in its ability to both chase fast prey, and run away from larger theropods. 

Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masiakasaurus

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/m/masiakasaurus.html

Sampson, S. D., Carrano, M. T., Forster, C. A. A bizarre predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Nature 409: 504-508 (2001). 

Shout out goes to curiosityrex!