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sharp-clawed runner
Meraxes
Say it like this: “muh-RAK-seez”
Meraxes gigas
Meraxes ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago
- Named in
- 2022 · Canale, J. I.; Apesteguía, S.; Gallina, P. A.; Mitchell, J.; Smith, N. D.; Cullen, T. M.; Shinya, A.; Haluza, A.; Gianechini, F. A.; Makovicky, P. J.
- Hip height
- 2.9 m · 10 ft
- Length
- 9–11.6 m · 30–38 ft
- Weight
- 4 tonnes
- Found in
- Argentina · Huincul
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Carcharodontosaurinae
The story in short
The genus Meraxes dates to 2022, the year J. I. Canale and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian), roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Huincul Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Meraxes at a length near 9–11.6 m, hips about 2.9 m high, and a body mass around 4 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Carcharodontosaurinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus carolinii
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
Mapusaurus
Mapusaurus roseae
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago