Look up · dinosaur 1079 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner
Rugops
Say it like this: “roo-gops”
Rugops primus
Rugops ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Niger.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
- Named in
- 2004 · Sereno, P. C.; Wilson, J. A.; Conrad, J. L.
- Hip height
- 1.5 m · 5 ft
- Length
- 4.4–6 m · 14–20 ft
- Weight
- 410–750 kg · 904–1,653 lb
- Found in
- Niger · Echkar
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Abelisauridae
The story in short
Rugops was formally named in 2004 by P. C. Sereno and colleagues. The name means “wrinkle face.”
Fossils referred to Rugops date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago. Finds come from Niger, including the Echkar Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Rugops at a length near 4.4–6 m, hips about 1.5 m high, and a body mass around 410–750 kg.
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