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sharp-clawed runner
Saurornitholestes
Say it like this: “SAWR-or-NITH-o-LES-teez”
Saurornitholestes langstoni
Saurornitholestes ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Canada and the United States.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1978 · Sues, H. D.
- Hip height
- 0.6 m · 2 ft
- Length
- 1.3–1.8 m · 4–6 ft
- Weight
- 5–23 kg · 11–51 lb
- Found in
- Canada and the United States · Dinosaur Park
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Saurornitholestinae
The story in short
In 1978, H. D. Sues published the name Saurornitholestes. The name means “lizard-bird thief.”
Fossils referred to Saurornitholestes date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Canada and the United States, including the Dinosaur Park Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Saurornitholestes at a length near 1.3–1.8 m, hips about 0.6 m high, and a body mass around 5–23 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Saurornitholestinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
This entry is the whole genus. The type species is Saurornitholestes langstoni. Other named species include Saurornitholestes sullivani.
Other species with this name
- Saurornitholestes langstoni
- Saurornitholestes sullivani