Genyodectes
Genyodectes was a meat-eating dinosaur with a big mouth full of sharp teeth. It lived in South America during the Early Cretaceous period, about 112 million years ago. This dinosaur was one of the first meat-eating dinosaurs ever found on that continent!12
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Fun facts
Genyodectes had four teeth in its upper jaw (premaxilla), while its close relative Ceratosaurus had only three.1
The only known fossil of Genyodectes is a partial snout with teeth, found in the Cerro Barcino Formation of Argentina.12
For a long time, scientists thought Genyodectes might be a tyrannosaur or an abelisaur, but now they think it was a ceratosaur, closer to Ceratosaurus.1
Genyodectes was the second non-bird dinosaur ever described from South America, after Loncosaurus.1
The name Genyodectes means 'jaw bite' in Greek, from 'genys' (jaw) and 'dektes' (bite).1
The teeth of Genyodectes were arranged in an overlapping pattern, like shingles on a roof.1
Most asked questions about Genyodectes
?How big was Genyodectes?
About 6.25 metres long and weighed around 790 kg. That is roughly as long as a large car.1
?What did Genyodectes eat?
It was a meat-eater, like other theropod dinosaurs. Its long, sharp teeth were perfect for biting and holding onto prey.1
?Did Genyodectes have feathers?
Nobody knows for sure, because only its snout and teeth have been found. Many meat-eating dinosaurs related to it may have had feathers, but there is no direct evidence for Genyodectes.1
?Where did Genyodectes live?
It lived in what is now Argentina, South America, about 112 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.1
?Is Genyodectes a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a dinosaur. It was a theropod, a group of mostly meat-eating dinosaurs that walked on two legs.1
?How many teeth did Genyodectes have?
It had four teeth in the front part of its upper jaw (the premaxilla), while its relative Ceratosaurus had only three. The total number of teeth is not known because only part of the skull was found.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people thought Genyodectes might be the same as Abelisaurus.
Truth: Scientists now think Genyodectes is a different dinosaur, a ceratosaur, not an abelisaur.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Genyodectes
- Named by
- Woodward 19013
- Group
- Other meat-eaters
- Family / clade
- Ceratosauria3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria3
- Age of the rocks
- 113 to 100 million years (Albian)3
- Rock formations
- Cerro Barcino3
- Countries
- Argentina3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- English paleontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward named Genyodectes in 1901. The only fossil, a partial skull, was found at Cañadón Grande in Chubut, Argentina.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are still not sure exactly where in the Cerro Barcino Formation the Genyodectes fossil came from, because the original records were lost.1
Where the facts come from
- Genyodectes (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Genyodectes in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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