Berberosaurus

Say it like this: “BUHR-buh-SOR-us”

Berberosaurus liassicus

Berberosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in Morocco.

Quiz me on Berberosaurus

When: Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian · Toarcian) · roughly 192.9 to 174.7 million years ago
Named in: 2007 · Allain, R.; Tykoski, R.; Aquesbi, N.; Jalil, N. E.; Monbaron, M.; Russell, D.; Taquet, P.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 4.6–5 m · 15–16 ft
Weight: 300 kg · 661 lb
Found in: Morocco
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Ceratosauria

The story in short

The genus Berberosaurus dates to 2007, the year R. Allain and colleagues described it. The name means “berber lizard.”

Fossils referred to Berberosaurus date to the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian · Toarcian), roughly 192.9 to 174.7 million years ago. Finds come from Morocco. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Berberosaurus at a length near 4.6–5 m and a body mass around 300 kg.

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

Close relatives

Afromimus

Afromimus tenerensis

Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago

Fosterovenator

Fosterovenator churei

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago

Orthogoniosaurus

Orthogoniosaurus matleyi

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago