Eotyrannus

Say it like this: “EE-oh-ti-RAN-us”

Eotyrannus lengi

Eotyrannus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.

Quiz me on Eotyrannus

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2001 · Hutt, S.; Naish, D.; Martill, D. M.; Barker, M. J.; Newbery, P.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 5 m · 16 ft
Weight: 70 kg · 154 lb
Found in: the United Kingdom · Wessex
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Tyrannosauroidea

The story in short

In 2001, S. Hutt and colleagues published the name Eotyrannus.

Fossils referred to Eotyrannus date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Wessex Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Eotyrannus at a length near 5 m and a body mass around 70 kg.

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

Close relatives

Alectrosaurus

Alectrosaurus olseni

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Aviatyrannis

Aviatyrannis jurassica

Late Jurassic (Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 161.5 to 143.1 million years ago

Calamosaurus

Calamosaurus foxi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago