Abelisaurus

Say it: ah-BEL-ih-SORE-us

Name means: “Abel's lizard, after Roberto Abel, director of the museum where the fossil was found”1

Ate: MeatOther meat-eatersLate Cretaceous

Abelisaurus was a big meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Argentina near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It had a short, deep skull with lots of holes and bumps on its nose. Only its skull has been found, but scientists think it was a fierce predator.1 4

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Río Negro Province, Argentina4 1

Food

Meat4 1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Abelisaurus had a very large opening in its skull called the antorbital fenestra, which was proportionally bigger than in Tyrannosaurus.1

The skull of Abelisaurus is 85 centimetres (about 2.8 feet) long.1

Its nose bones were rough and bumpy, with small sharp points.1

Abelisaurus lived during the Maastrichtian age, between about 72 and 66 million years ago.4

The family Abelisauridae was named after Abelisaurus, and its relatives lived mainly in the southern continents.1

The only known fossil of Abelisaurus is a partial skull, missing the right side of the jaw and most of the palate.1

AI-made picture of Abelisaurus — An AI-made picture of how Abelisaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Abelisaurus

?How big was Abelisaurus?

Estimates vary a lot because only a skull is known. In 2016, scientists estimated about 7.4 metres (24 ft) long, but earlier guesses ranged up to 11 metres (36 ft). Its weight was estimated at about 1.65 to 3 tonnes.2 3

?What did Abelisaurus eat?

Abelisaurus was a meat-eater, with sharp teeth for tearing flesh. It may have hunted or scavenged, and some scientists think it hunted long-necked titanosaurs.2 3

?Did Abelisaurus have feathers?

Nobody knows for sure. The only fossil is a skull, and no feather impressions were found. Some related dinosaurs had feathers, but Abelisaurus probably had scaly skin, though we can't be certain.2

?Was Abelisaurus bigger than T. rex?

No, Abelisaurus was much smaller. T. rex could be over 12 metres (40 ft) long, while Abelisaurus was only about 7 to 11 metres (23 to 36 ft) long, and much lighter.2

?Why did Abelisaurus have a bumpy nose?

The bumps and ridges on its snout might have supported a crest made of keratin, which wouldn't fossilize. This could have been for display, like attracting mates or scaring rivals.2 3

?When did Abelisaurus live?

Abelisaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 83 to 66 million years ago, in what is now Argentina.2 4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Abelisaurus
Named by: Bonaparte 19844
Group: Other meat-eaters
Family / clade: Abelisauridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae4
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
Rock formations: Allen4
Countries: Argentina4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Abelisaurus was named by Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1984. The skull was found in the Allen Formation near Lago Pellegrini in Río Negro, Argentina. The name honors Roberto Abel, the director of the museum where the fossil is kept.1 4
Still debated: Because only a skull has been found, scientists are not sure how big Abelisaurus was or exactly what its body looked like.1

Where the facts come from

ABELISAURUS COMAHUENSIS, N. G., N. SP., CARNOSAURIA FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS OF PATAGONIA. (dinochecker.com)
Abelisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Abelisaurus | Science | Research Starters | EBSCOhost (ebsco.com)
Abelisaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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