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sharp-clawed runner
Thanatotheristes
Say it like this: “THA-nah-toe-theh-RISS-teez”
Thanatotheristes degrootorum
Thanatotheristes ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Canada.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2020 · Voris, J. T.; Therrien, F.; Zelenitsky, D. K.; Brown, C. M.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 8 m · 26 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Canada · Foremost
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Tyrannosaurinae
The story in short
Thanatotheristes was formally named in 2020 by J. T. Voris and colleagues. The name means “reaper of death.”
Fossils referred to Thanatotheristes date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Canada, including the Foremost Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Thanatotheristes at a length near 8 m.
On the family tree it sits in Tyrannosaurinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.