Laevisuchus
Laevisuchus was a small, fast meat-eater that lived in what is now India. It ran on two legs and was about as long as a bicycle. It hunted smaller animals in the Late Cretaceous period.1
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Fun facts
Laevisuchus is known from only a few neck and back vertebrae, and one of these was lost for many years before being rediscovered in 2012.1
Its name means 'light crocodile' because its bones were light and hollow, like a bird's.1
Scientists once thought Laevisuchus was a coelurosaur, but now they place it in the group Noasauridae, which includes other small, slender theropods.1
Laevisuchus lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.2
A dinosaur once called Jubbulpuria tenuis is now thought to be the same animal as Laevisuchus.1
Its neck bones have special air holes (pneumatopores) that made the skeleton lighter.1
Most asked questions about Laevisuchus
?How big was Laevisuchus?
Laevisuchus was small, about 2 metres long, similar in size to Masiakasaurus.1
?What did Laevisuchus eat?
It was a meat-eater, a small bipedal carnivore that hunted smaller animals.1
?When did Laevisuchus live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 71 to 66 million years ago, in the Maastrichtian stage.3
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Myth buster
Myth: Laevisuchus was a large, fearsome predator like T. rex.
Truth: Laevisuchus was actually a small dinosaur, only about 2 meters (6.6 feet) long, and likely hunted small prey.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Laevisuchus
- Named by
- Huene 19334
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Noasauridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
- Rock formations
- Lameta4
- Countries
- India4
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Also known as
- Jubbulpuria (older names now counted as the same animal)4
- Discovery
- Laevisuchus was named in 1933 by Friedrich von Huene and Charles Matley, based on fossils found near Jabalpur, India.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly where Laevisuchus fits in the noasaurid family tree, as its bones are very few.1
Where the facts come from
- Laevisuchus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- LAEVISUCHUS : DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
- Laevisuchus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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