Austrocheirus
Austrocheirus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina during the Late Cretaceous. It was about as long as a school bus and had hands that were not tiny like those of its relatives. Scientists are still debating exactly what kind of theropod it was.12
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Fun facts
Austrocheirus is known only from a partial hand, a shin bone, foot bones, and some backbone pieces.1
Its name means 'southern hand' because its fossils were found in the southern part of South America.1
Unlike many other abelisauroids, Austrocheirus did not have tiny, shrunken forelimbs. Its hands were still full-sized.2
Some scientists think Austrocheirus might not be an abelisauroid at all. They say it could be a more general theropod whose exact family is unknown.1
The only known fossil of Austrocheirus was found on March 17, 2002, at a place called Hoyada Arroyo Seco in Argentina.2
A 2024 study suggested Austrocheirus might belong to a group called Berthasauridae, which are close relatives of abelisauroids.1
Most asked questions about Austrocheirus
?How big was Austrocheirus?
Austrocheirus was a medium sized theropod, measuring about 5.5 to 6.5 metres (18 to 21 feet) long. That is roughly as long as a school bus.1
?Why is Austrocheirus called 'southern hand'?
Its name means 'southern hand' because its fossils were found in southern South America and only a partial hand was known at first.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Austrocheirus
- Named by
- Ezcurra et al. 20104
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Noasauridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)4
- Rock formations
- Cerro Fortaleza4
- Countries
- Argentina4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Austrocheirus was named and described in 2010 by paleontologists Martin Ezcurra, Federico Agnolin, and Fernando Novas. The species name isasii honors Marcelo Pablo Isasi, who found and prepared the fossil.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure which group of theropods Austrocheirus belongs to. Some say it is an abelisauroid, others think it is a more primitive theropod, and a 2024 study placed it in a new group called Berthasauridae.1
Where the facts come from
- Austrocheirus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Zootaxa, An abelisauroid dinosaur with a non-atrophied manus from the Late Cretaceous... (mapress.com)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Austrocheirus 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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