Camposaurus

Say it like this: “KAMP-o-SOR-uhs”

Camposaurus arizonensis

Camposaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Camposaurus

When: Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
Named in: 1998 · Hunt, A. P.; Lucas, S. G.; Heckert, A. B.; Sullivan, R. M.; Lockley, M. G.
Hip height: Not established
Length: Not established
Weight: Not established
Found in: the United States · Chinle
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Coelophysidae

The story in short

The genus Camposaurus dates to 1998, the year A. P. Hunt and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Late Triassic (Norian), roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Chinle Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

The fossils of Camposaurus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.

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

Close relatives

Coelophysis

Coelophysis bauri

Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago

Lucianovenator

Lucianovenator bonoi

Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago

Megapnosaurus

Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago