Lepidus

Say it like this: “LEH-pee-doos”

Lepidus praecisio

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

Quiz me on Lepidus

When: Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
Named in: 2015 · Nesbitt, S.; Ezcurra, M.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 2.8 m · 9 ft
Weight: 44 kg · 97 lb
Found in: the United States · Colorado City
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Neotheropoda

The story in short

In 2015, S. Nesbitt and M. Ezcurra published the name Lepidus.

Fossils referred to Lepidus date to the Late Triassic (Norian), roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Colorado City Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Lepidus at a length near 2.8 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 44 kg.

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

Close relatives

Cryolophosaurus

Cryolophosaurus ellioti

Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus wetherilli

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 201.4 to 184.2 million years ago

Dolichosuchus

Dolichosuchus cristatus

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