Dino Wiki / All dinos / Meat-eating dinos

Dino card No. 1508 of 2,027

Pycnonemosaurus

Say it: PIK-no-muh-SORE-us

Name means: “dense forest lizard”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Pycnonemosaurus was a big meat-eating dinosaur with sharp teeth and strong legs. It lived in what is now Brazil, about 72 million years ago. It was one of the largest abelisaurids, a group of short-snouted predators.1

Lived

100 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Fazenda Roncador (now Jangada Roncador), Mato Grosso, Brazil1 4

Food

Meat1 4

Length

6 to 9 m1

estimates vary; early estimates 6 to 7 m, later up to 9 m

Weight

1.2 tonnes to 3.6 tonnes1

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 2.5 cars

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 50 bananas end to endas heavy as 120 big dogsas heavy as 720 watermelons

How big was Pycnonemosaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Pycnonemosaurus is the largest formally described abelisaurid, with later estimates reaching about 8.9 metres (29.2 ft) long.1

Its bones were found in red conglomeratic sandstone, and the surface was abraded, meaning the bones were partly exposed before being collected.1

The only known skeleton is incomplete, including five teeth, parts of seven tail vertebrae, a right pubis, a right tibia, and part of a right fibula.1 2

It had a small pubic foot and a hatchet-shaped cnemial crest on its tibia, which are unique features among abelisaurs.1 2

The specimen is thought to be from an immature individual, probably a subadult, so adults might have been even larger.1

Its tail vertebrae have fan-shaped transverse processes and forward projections, typical of abelisaurids, but these projections become smaller towards the end of the tail.1

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

?How big was Pycnonemosaurus?

It was about 8.9 metres long and weighed around 3.6 tonnes. That makes it the largest formally described abelisaurid.1

?What did Pycnonemosaurus eat?

It was a predator that probably ate titanosaurs, which were huge long-necked dinosaurs found in the same area. Its small, sharp teeth helped it grip struggling prey.1

?Where was Pycnonemosaurus found?

Its bones were found in Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso, in red conglomeratic sandstone of the Cachoeira do Bom Jardim Formation.1

?When did Pycnonemosaurus live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 72 million years ago, in the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian stages.1

?Was Pycnonemosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, it was a carnivorous theropod dinosaur, part of the group Abelisauridae.1

?Is Pycnonemosaurus bigger than Carnotaurus?

Yes, Pycnonemosaurus was larger. It reached about 8.9 metres long, while Carnotaurus was about 7.8 metres long.3

Ask Rex about Pycnonemosaurus

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.

Myth buster

Myth: Pycnonemosaurus was a small dinosaur.

Truth: It was actually one of the largest abelisaurids, with length estimates up to 9 metres (29.5 ft) and weight up to 3.6 tonnes (4.0 short tons).1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Pycnonemosaurus
Named by: Kellner and Campos 20024
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Abelisauridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae4
Age of the rocks: 100 to 66 million years (Cenomanian / Maastrichtian)4
Countries: Brazil4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The fossils were collected in 1952 to 1953 by Llewellyn Ivor Price at a farm called Roncador in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The species was named by Kellner and Campos in 2002.1 4
Still debated: Scientists are not sure about its exact size because the only skeleton is incomplete and from a young individual, so estimates range from 6 to 9 metres long.1

Where the facts come from

Pycnonemosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
On a theropod dinosaur (Abelisauria) from the continental Cretaceous of Brazil (eurekamag.com)
Allometry and body length of abelisauroid theropods: Pycnonemosaurus nevesi is the new king (sciencedirect.com)
Pycnonemosaurus 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