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sharp-clawed runner
Sarcosaurus
Say it like this: “SAHR-ko-SAWR-us”
Sarcosaurus woodi
Sarcosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) · roughly 199.5 to 192.9 million years ago
- Named in
- 1921 · Andrews, C. W.
- Hip height
- 0.7 m · 2 ft
- Length
- 3.5–5 m · 11–16 ft
- Weight
- 50–140 kg · 110–309 lb
- Found in
- the United Kingdom · Scunthorpe Mudstone
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Neotheropoda
The story in short
In 1921, C. W. Andrews published the name Sarcosaurus. The name means “flesh lizard.”
It lived in the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian), roughly 199.5 to 192.9 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Scunthorpe Mudstone Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Sarcosaurus at a length near 3.5–5 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 50–140 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