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sharp-clawed runner
Xenotarsosaurus
Say it like this: “zen-o-TAR-so-SAWR-us”
Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei
Xenotarsosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago
- Named in
- 1986 · Martínez, R. D.; Giménez, O.; Rodríguez, J.; Bochatey, G.
- Hip height
- 1.3 m · 4 ft
- Length
- 5.4–6 m · 18–20 ft
- Weight
- 430–750 kg · 948–1,653 lb
- Found in
- Argentina · Bajo Barreal
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Abelisauridae
The story in short
The genus Xenotarsosaurus dates to 1986, the year R. D. Martínez and colleagues described it. The name means “strange ankle lizard.”
Fossils referred to Xenotarsosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian), roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Bajo Barreal Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Xenotarsosaurus at a length near 5.4–6 m, hips about 1.3 m high, and a body mass around 430–750 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