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Lourinhanosaurus

Say it: loo-RIN-yan-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “Lourinhã lizard”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Jurassic

Lourinhanosaurus was a big meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Portugal during the Late Jurassic. It was one of the top predators of its time, and it had a surprising secret in its stomach.1 2

Lived

152 to 145 million years ago4

Late Jurassic

Fossils found in

Peralta, near Lourinhã, Portugal1 2

Food

Meat1

Length

4.5 m1

the holotype was a sub-adult

Weight

160 kg1

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 5 big dogs

as long as 4 dogs nose to tailas long as 25 bananas end to endas heavy as 32 watermelons

How big was Lourinhanosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Lourinhanosaurus was the first non-bird theropod dinosaur ever found with gastroliths, or stomach stones. Scientists found 32 smooth pebbles in its rib cage.2 1

The holotype specimen was a sub-adult, about 14 to 17 years old when it died. It measured about 4.5 metres (15 feet) long and weighed around 160 kilograms (350 pounds).1

Its name means 'Lourinhã lizard', after the town of Lourinhã in Portugal where its fossils were found. The species name antunesi honors Portuguese paleontologist Miguel Telles Antunes.1 2

The first fossils were discovered in 1982, but the dinosaur was not named and described until 1998 by Portuguese paleontologist Octávio Mateus.1

Lourinhanosaurus lived alongside other large predators like Torvosaurus gurneyi, Allosaurus europaeus, and Ceratosaurus in the Lourinhã Formation.1

Scientists are not sure exactly which group of theropods Lourinhanosaurus belongs to. It has been placed in Allosauroidea, Carnosauria, Megalosaurinidae, Sinraptoridae, and even Coelurosauria by different experts.3

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

?How big was Lourinhanosaurus?

About 4.5 metres (15 feet) long and weighed around 160 kilograms (350 pounds). That is about as long as a small car.1

?What did Lourinhanosaurus eat?

It was a meat-eater that probably hunted other dinosaurs. It also swallowed stones called gastroliths to help grind up food in its stomach.1 2

?Did Lourinhanosaurus have feathers?

Nobody knows for sure. No feathers have been found with its fossils, and scientists are not sure which group of theropods it belongs to.1

?When did Lourinhanosaurus live?

It lived during the Late Jurassic Period, about 152 to 145 million years ago.1

?Where was Lourinhanosaurus found?

Its fossils were found near the town of Lourinhã in Portugal, at a place called Peralta.1 2

?Is Lourinhanosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a carnivorous theropod dinosaur.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Lourinhanosaurus
Named by: Mateus 19984
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Coelurosauria4
Classification: Theropoda4
Age of the rocks: 152 to 145 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)4
Rock formations: Lourinhã4
Countries: Portugal4
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The first remains of Lourinhanosaurus were found in 1982 at Peralta, near Lourinhã, Portugal. Portuguese paleontologist Octávio Mateus named and described the dinosaur in 1998, naming the species L. antunesi after paleontologist Miguel Telles Antunes.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate which group of theropods Lourinhanosaurus belongs to. It has been classified as an allosauroid, a carnosaur, a megalosaurinid, a sinraptorid, and even a coelurosaur.3

Where the facts come from

Lourinhanosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Lourinhanosaurus antunesi, A New Upper Jurassic Allosauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Lourinhã, Portugal (docentes.fct.unl.pt)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Lourinhanosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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