Torosaurus

Say it like this: “TOR-o-SAWR-us”

Torosaurus latus

Torosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Torosaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Named in: 1891 · Marsh, O. C.
Hip height: 2.8 m · 9 ft
Length: 7.5–9 m · 25–30 ft
Weight: 6–11 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Lance
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: horned dinosaur · Ceratopsian
Family branch: Chasmosaurinae

The story in short

The genus Torosaurus dates to 1891, the year O. C. Marsh described it. The name means “perforated lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Lance Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Torosaurus at a length near 7.5–9 m, hips about 2.8 m high, and a body mass around 6–11 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Chasmosaurinae, among the horned dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Agujaceratops

Agujaceratops mariscalensis

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

Anchiceratops

Anchiceratops ornatus

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

Arrhinoceratops

Arrhinoceratops brachyops

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