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sharp-clawed runner
Noasaurus
Say it like this: “NOH-ah-SAWR-us”
Noasaurus leali
Noasaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1980 · Bonaparte, J. F.; Powell, J. E.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 1 m · 3 ft
- Weight
- 15 kg · 33 lb
- Found in
- Argentina · Lecho
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Noasaurinae
The story in short
The genus Noasaurus dates to 1980, the year J. F. Bonaparte and J. E. Powell described it. The name means “northwestern Argentina lizard.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Lecho Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Noasaurus at a length near 1 m and a body mass around 15 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Noasaurinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Laevisuchus
Laevisuchus indicus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Masiakasaurus
Masiakasaurus knopfleri
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Velocisaurus
Velocisaurus unicus
Late Cretaceous (Santonian) · roughly 85.7 to 83.6 million years ago