Alpkarakush

Say it like this: “Alf-kara-kush”

Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus

Alpkarakush ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic. Bones have been found in Kyrgyzstan.

Quiz me on Alpkarakush

When: Middle Jurassic (Callovian) · roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago
Named in: 2024 · Rauhut, O. W. M.; Bakirov, A. A.; Wings, O.; Fernandes, A. E.; Hübner, T. R.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 7–8 m · 23–26 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: Kyrgyzstan · Balabansai
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Metriacanthosauridae

The story in short

In 2024, O. W. M. Rauhut and colleagues published the name Alpkarakush. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Middle Jurassic (Callovian), roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago. Finds come from Kyrgyzstan, including the Balabansai Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Alpkarakush at a length near 7–8 m.

On the family tree it sits in Metriacanthosauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Shidaisaurus

Shidaisaurus jinae

Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) · roughly 170.9 to 168.2 million years ago

Yangchuanosaurus

Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis

Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian) · roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago

Yuanmouraptor

Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis

Middle Jurassic (Aalenian · Bajocian) · roughly 174.7 to 168.2 million years ago