Talos

Say it like this: “TAY-luhs”

Talos sampsoni

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

Quiz me on Talos

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2011 · Zanno, L. E.; Varricchio, D. J.; O'Connor, P. M.; Titus, A. L.; Knell, M. J.
Hip height: 0.5 m · 2 ft
Length: 2 m · 7 ft
Weight: 38 kg · 84 lb
Found in: the United States · Kaiparowits
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Troodontinae

The story in short

In 2011, L. E. Zanno and colleagues published the name Talos. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Kaiparowits Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Talos at a length near 2 m, hips about 0.5 m high, and a body mass around 38 kg.

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

Close relatives

Albertavenator

Albertavenator curriei

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago

Borogovia

Borogovia gracilicrus

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Byronosaurus

Byronosaurus jaffei

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