Llukalkan

Say it: loo-KAL-kan

Name means: “one who causes fear”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Llukalkan was a meat-eating dinosaur with a short snout and a very strong bite. It lived in what is now Argentina about 85 million years ago. This predator had a special ear that helped it hear almost as well as a crocodile.1 2

Lived

86 to 84 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Neuquén Province, Argentina1

Food

Meat3

Length

3.95 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 4 dogs nose to tailas long as 22 bananas end to end

How big was Llukalkan compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Llukalkan had a small air-filled space in its middle ear that no other abelisaurid dinosaur has.1

Its skull was different from other abelisaurids, which is why its species name means 'different skull'.1

Llukalkan lived at the same time and place as another abelisaurid called Viavenator, and their fossils were found only 700 metres apart.1

This dinosaur was about 4 metres long, roughly the size of a small car.1

Scientists think Llukalkan had a better sense of hearing than other abelisaurids, similar to a crocodile's hearing.1

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

?How big was Llukalkan?

About 4 metres long, roughly the size of a small car.1 2

?What did Llukalkan eat?

It was a meat-eater. It ate other animals, using its powerful bite, sharp teeth, and big foot claws to catch prey.2 4

?Could Llukalkan hear well?

Yes, it had a special ear that let it hear better than other abelisaurids, almost as well as a modern crocodile.1 4

?When did Llukalkan live?

It lived about 85 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1 2

Ask Rex about Llukalkan

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Llukalkan
Named by: Gianechini et al. 20205
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Abelisauridae5
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae5
Age of the rocks: 86 to 84 million years (Santonian)5
Rock formations: Bajo de la Carpa5
Countries: Argentina5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Llukalkan was discovered in 2015 at the La Invernada site in Argentina. Scientists named it in 2021, with the name meaning 'one who causes fear' in the Mapuche language.1

Where the facts come from

Llukalkan (en.wikipedia.org)
Carnivorous dinosaur with short snout and strong bite menaced Patagonia (reuters.com)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
The 'one who causes fear' - new meat-eating predator discovered | EurekAlert! (eurekalert.org)
Llukalkan 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.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex