Stokesosaurus

Say it like this: “STOHK-so-SAWR-us”

Stokesosaurus clevelandi

Stokesosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.

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When: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Named in: 1974 · Madsen, J. H.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 2.5–4 m · 8–13 ft
Weight: 60 kg · 132 lb
Found in: the United States · Morrison
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Tyrannosauroidea

The story in short

The genus Stokesosaurus dates to 1974, the year J. H. Madsen described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in 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 Stokesosaurus at a length near 2.5–4 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 60 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Tyrannosauroidea, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Alectrosaurus

Alectrosaurus olseni

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Aviatyrannis

Aviatyrannis jurassica

Late Jurassic (Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 161.5 to 143.1 million years ago

Calamosaurus

Calamosaurus foxi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago