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sharp-clawed runner · Disputed
Kryptops
Say it like this: “CRIP-tops”
Kryptops palaios
Kryptops ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Niger.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago
- Named in
- 2008 · Sereno, P. C.; Brusatte, S. L.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 6–7 m · 20–23 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Niger · Elrhaz
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Abelisauridae
The story in short
Kryptops was formally named in 2008 by P. C. Sereno and S. L. Brusatte. The name means “covered face.”
Fossils referred to Kryptops date to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian), roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from Niger, including the Elrhaz Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Kryptops at a length near 6–7 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
Chenanisaurus
Chenanisaurus barbaricus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Dryptosauroides
Dryptosauroides grandis
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago