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sharp-clawed runner
Austrocheirus
Say it like this: “OSS-tro-KIE-russ”
Austrocheirus isasii
Austrocheirus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2010 · Ezcurra, M. D.; Agnolín, F. L.; Novas, F. E.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 5.5–6.5 m · 18–21 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Argentina · Cerro Fortaleza
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Noasauridae
The story in short
The genus Austrocheirus dates to 2010, the year M. D. Ezcurra and colleagues described it. The name means “southern hand.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Cerro Fortaleza Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Austrocheirus at a length near 5.5–6.5 m.
On the family tree it sits in Noasauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.