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Alpkarakush

Say it: AL-puh-kuh-ROOSH

Name means: “mythical giant bird from the Epic of Manas”1

Ate: MeatOther meat-eatersMiddle Jurassic

Alpkarakush was a big meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Kyrgyzstan. It had a fancy bony brow over its eye and was about as long as a school bus.1 2

Lived

165 to 162 million years ago4

Middle Jurassic

Fossils found in

Jalal-Abad Oblast, Kyrgyzstan1 2

Food

Meat3

Length

7 to 8 m1

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 bicycles in a rowas long as 44 bananas end to end

How big was Alpkarakush compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Alpkarakush is named after a giant bird from the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas that helps heroes in trouble.1

Its fossils were found in the Balabansai Formation, which is about 165 to 161 million years old.3

The first bones were discovered in 2005 and 2006, and more were dug up in later years.1

Alpkarakush had a very strong, bumpy brow over its eye, which may have been used for display.1 2

Scientists think the larger skeleton was a late teenager, and a smaller one was a baby, suggesting they might have lived together.2

It belongs to a group called metriacanthosaurids, which were large predators with high, arched skulls and slender legs.1

The type specimen includes parts of the skull, backbone, hips, and legs, but no complete skull has been found.1 2

AI-made picture of Alpkarakush — An AI-made picture of how Alpkarakush 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 Alpkarakush

?How big was Alpkarakush?

Alpkarakush was about 7 to 8 metres long (23 to 26 feet), roughly as long as a school bus.1 2

?When did Alpkarakush live?

Alpkarakush lived during the late Middle Jurassic, about 165 to 161 million years ago.1 2

?What did Alpkarakush eat?

Alpkarakush was a meat-eating theropod dinosaur, so it hunted other animals.1 2

?Why did Alpkarakush have a brow?

Alpkarakush had a very strong, bumpy brow over its eye, which scientists think was used for display, like to attract mates or scare rivals.1 2

?Is Alpkarakush a dinosaur?

Yes, Alpkarakush is a dinosaur. It is a metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur.1 2

?Where was Alpkarakush found?

Alpkarakush fossils were found in the Balabansai Formation near Tashkumyr in Kyrgyzstan.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Alpkarakush
Named by: Rauhut et al. 20244
Group: Other meat-eaters
Family / clade: Metriacanthosauridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Allosauroidea4
Age of the rocks: 165 to 162 million years (Callovian)4
Rock formations: Balabansai4
Countries: Kyrgyzstan4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Alpkarakush was named in 2024 by Rauhut and colleagues based on fossils found near Tashkumyr, Kyrgyzstan.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if some isolated teeth found nearby really belong to Alpkarakush.1

Where the facts come from

Alpkarakush (en.wikipedia.org)
new theropod dinosaur from the Callovian Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | Oxford Academic (academic.oup.com)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Alpkarakush 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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