Look up · dinosaur 316 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner · Doubtful name
Compsosuchus
Say it like this: “KOMP-so-SOO-kus”
Compsosuchus solus
Compsosuchus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in India.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1933 · Huene, F. V.; Matley, C. A.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- India · Lameta
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Abelisauroidea
The story in short
The genus Compsosuchus dates to 1933, the year F. V. Huene and C. A. Matley described it. The name means “elegant crocodile.”
Fossils referred to Compsosuchus date to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from India, including the Lameta Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
The fossils of Compsosuchus 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 Abelisauroidea, among the theropod dinosaurs.