Chenanisaurus

Say it: chen-AN-ee-SORE-us

Name means: “Sidi Chennane lizard”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Chenanisaurus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Africa near the end of the age of dinosaurs. It was a top predator with a short, blunt snout and tiny arms, and it hunted in what is now Morocco.1 2

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Ouled Abdoun Basin, Khouribga, Morocco1

Food

Meat1 2

Length

7 to 8 m1

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 8 dogs nose to tailas long as 44 bananas end to end

How big was Chenanisaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Chenanisaurus is one of the last dinosaurs known from Africa before the asteroid hit 66 million years ago.2

Its fossils were found in a phosphate mine, which is a marine rock layer. Finding a dinosaur there is like finding a lion while hunting for whales.2

Chenanisaurus had a deep, short lower jaw, even deeper than in the related dinosaur Carnotaurus.1

It had at least ten teeth in its lower jaw, and the front teeth were D-shaped while the back ones were flat and dagger-like.1

This dinosaur was about 7 to 8 metres long, similar in size to Carnotaurus and Pycnonemosaurus.1

Chenanisaurus had very short arms, with a short upper arm bone, an even shorter lower arm, and tiny hands.2

Unlike the partly feathered T. rex, Chenanisaurus had only scales and a smaller brain.2

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

?How big was Chenanisaurus?

Chenanisaurus was about 7 to 8 metres (23 to 26 feet) long, making it one of the largest known abelisaurids.1

?What did Chenanisaurus eat?

Chenanisaurus was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It was a top predator with a short, blunt snout and sharp teeth.1 3

?When did Chenanisaurus live?

Chenanisaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 72 to 66 million years ago. It existed until the time of the asteroid impact.1 3

?Where was Chenanisaurus found?

Chenanisaurus fossils were found in phosphate mines in Morocco, in a place called the Ouled Abdoun Basin. This area was a marine environment at the time.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Chenanisaurus
Named by: Longrich et al. 20173
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Etrigansauria3
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Couche III3
Countries: Morocco3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Chenanisaurus was named in 2017 by British paleontologist Nicholas Longrich and colleagues. The fossils were found in phosphate mines near Sidi Chennane, Morocco.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Chenanisaurus was, because only a jawbone and a few teeth have been found.1

Where the facts come from

Chenanisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
“Last African dinosaur” discovered in Moroccan mine (bath.ac.uk)
Chenanisaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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