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sharp-clawed runner · Disputed
Tarascosaurus
Say it like this: “ta-RASS-ko-SOR-us”
Tarascosaurus salluvicus
Tarascosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in France.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1991 · Le Loeuff, J.; Buffetaut, E.
- Hip height
- 0.8 m · 3 ft
- Length
- 2.5–3 m · 8–10 ft
- Weight
- 90 kg · 198 lb
- Found in
- France
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Abelisauridae
The story in short
Tarascosaurus was formally named in 1991 by J. Le Loeuff and E. Buffetaut. The name means “tarasque lizard.”
Fossils referred to Tarascosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from France. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Tarascosaurus at a length near 2.5–3 m, hips about 0.8 m high, and a body mass around 90 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Abelisauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Abelisaurus
Abelisaurus comahuensis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Chenanisaurus
Chenanisaurus barbaricus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Dryptosauroides
Dryptosauroides grandis
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago