Look up · dinosaur 1099 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner · Disputed
Saurophaganax
Say it like this: “SAWR-o-FAG-a-naks”
Saurophaganax maximus
Saurophaganax ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1995 · Chure, D. J.
- Hip height
- 3.2 m · 11 ft
- Length
- 12 m · 39 ft
- Weight
- 4.5 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Allosauridae
The story in short
In 1995, D. J. Chure published the name Saurophaganax. The name means “lord of lizard-eaters.”
Fossils referred to Saurophaganax date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Saurophaganax at a length near 12 m, hips about 3.2 m high, and a body mass around 4.5 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Allosauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.