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Koleken

Say it: ko-LEH-ken

Name means: “coming from clay and water”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Koleken was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Patagonia near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was a cousin of the famous Carnotaurus and had a unique skull that set it apart from other abelisaurids.1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Cerro Bayo Norte area, Chubut Province, Argentina1

Food

Meat5

Length

4.97 to 5.2 m2 3

4.97 m from Wikipedia for the immature holotype; 5.2 m from DinoAnimals.com for the largest known specimen

Weight

up to 520 kg3

520 kg from DinoAnimals.com for the largest known specimen

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 17 big dogs

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 29 bananas end to endas heavy as 100 watermelons

How big was Koleken compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Koleken is known from a partial skeleton that includes skull bones, many back and tail vertebrae, a complete pelvis, and almost complete hind limbs.1

It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.5

Koleken was a furileusaurian abelisaurid, a group of South American carnivorous dinosaurs that lived in the latest Cretaceous.1

Its name comes from the Teushen language and means 'coming from clay and water', because its fossils were found in claystone rocks from an ancient estuary.1

Koleken was named in 2024 by a team of paleontologists including Diego Pol and others.5

It lived alongside another abelisaurid, Carnotaurus, but Koleken had a different skull shape and other unique features.1

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

?How big was Koleken?

About 4.97 metres long, based on one immature specimen.2

?When did Koleken live?

It lived during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 72 to 66 million years ago.2 1

?What did Koleken eat?

Koleken was a meat-eating dinosaur, so it ate other animals.2 1

?Did Koleken have horns like Carnotaurus?

No, Koleken lacked the broad eyebrow horns that Carnotaurus had.4

?Where was Koleken found?

It was found in the La Colonia Formation in Chubut Province, Argentina.2 1

?Is Koleken a dinosaur?

Yes, Koleken is a theropod dinosaur, specifically an abelisaurid.2 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Koleken
Named by: Pol et al. 20245
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Abelisauridae5
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae5
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)5
Rock formations: La Colonia5
Countries: Argentina5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Koleken was discovered in the La Colonia Formation of Patagonia, Argentina, and was scientifically named by Pol and colleagues in 2024.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Koleken is related to other abelisaurids and how fast its group evolved.1

Where the facts come from

A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the end Cretaceous of Patagonia and evolutionary rates among the Ceratosauria (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Koleken (en.wikipedia.org)
Koleken inakayali | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
Scientists just dug up a new dinosaur—with tinier arms than a T.Rex | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
Koleken in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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