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sharp-clawed runner
Chenanisaurus
Say it like this: “sheh-NAN-eye-SOR-us”
Chenanisaurus barbaricus
Chenanisaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Morocco.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 2017 · Longrich, N. R.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X.; Jalil, N. E.; Khaldoune, F.; Jourani, E.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 7–8 m · 23–26 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Morocco · Phosphates of the Oulad Abdoun Basin
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Abelisauridae
The story in short
The genus Chenanisaurus dates to 2017, the year N. R. Longrich and colleagues described it. The name means “sidi Chennane lizard.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Morocco, including the Phosphates of the Oulad Abdoun Basin Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Chenanisaurus at a length near 7–8 m.
On the family tree it sits in Abelisauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Abelisaurus
Abelisaurus comahuensis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Dryptosauroides
Dryptosauroides grandis
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Eoabelisaurus
Eoabelisaurus mefi
Middle Jurassic (Aalenian · Bajocian) · roughly 174.7 to 168.2 million years ago