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sharp-clawed runner
Machairasaurus
Say it like this: “muh-KY-ruh-SAWR-us”
Machairasaurus leptonychus
Machairasaurus ate plants and meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2010 · Longrich, N. R.; Currie, P. J.; Zhi-Ming, D.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 1.5 m · 5 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- China · Bayan Mandahu
- Food and walking
- Omnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Heyuanninae
The story in short
In 2010, N. R. Longrich and colleagues published the name Machairasaurus. The name means “scimitar lizard.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Bayan Mandahu Formation. It was an omnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Machairasaurus at a length near 1.5 m.
On the family tree it sits in Heyuanninae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Conchoraptor
Conchoraptor gracilis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Gobiraptor
Gobiraptor minutus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Heyuannia
Heyuannia huangi
Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago