Look up · dinosaur 1243 of 1,425
early dinosaur
Thecospondylus
Say it like this: “THEEK-o-SPON-di-lus”
Thecospondylus horneri
Thecospondylus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) · roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago
- Named in
- 1882 · Seeley, H. G.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United Kingdom
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- early dinosaur · Early dinosaur
- Family branch
- Dinosauria
The story in short
In 1882, H. G. Seeley published the name Thecospondylus. The name means “sheath vertebra.”
Fossils referred to Thecospondylus date to the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian), roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
The fossils of Thecospondylus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
On the family tree it sits in Dinosauria, among the earliest dinosaurs.