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Quilmesaurus

Say it: keel-MAY-sore-us

Name means: “Quilmes lizard, after the Quilmes people of Argentina”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Quilmesaurus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina, near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was a medium-sized predator with strong legs, and it belonged to the same family as the famous horned dinosaur Carnotaurus.1 3

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Salitral Ojo de Agua, Río Negro province, Argentina1 3

Food

Meat3

Length

up to 5.3 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 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 29 bananas end to end

How big was Quilmesaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Quilmesaurus is known only from a partial right leg: the lower half of the thighbone and a complete shinbone.1

It lived about 75 to 66 million years ago, during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous.1

The shinbone of Quilmesaurus shows signs of a possible disease or injury, though scientists are not sure what caused it.1

Quilmesaurus was about 5.3 metres (17 feet) long, making it one of the smaller members of its family, the abelisaurids.1

Its leg bones were very sturdy, similar to those of Pycnonemosaurus, which was one of the largest abelisaurids.1

The Allen Formation where Quilmesaurus was found was once a humid coastal area with forests of palm trees and plum pines.1

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

?Was Quilmesaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Quilmesaurus was a meat-eating theropod dinosaur.1

?How big was Quilmesaurus?

About 5.3 metres (17 feet) long. This made it one of the larger members of its family, the abelisaurids.1

?What did Quilmesaurus eat?

It was a carnivore (meat-eater), like other abelisaurid dinosaurs.1

?Is Quilmesaurus a nomen dubium?

Some scientists think it might be a nomen dubium (a dubious name) because its leg bones look very similar to those of other abelisaurids and lack unique features.1 2

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Myth buster

Myth: Quilmesaurus is a valid, well-known dinosaur species.

Truth: Many scientists think Quilmesaurus may be a nomen vanum (dubious name) because its bones lack unique features that clearly separate it from other abelisaurids.1 2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Quilmesaurus
Named by: Coria 20013
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Abelisauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Allen3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: In the late 1980s, a team led by Jaime Powell found the bones near Salitral Ojo de Agua in Argentina. Rodolfo Coria named and described Quilmesaurus curriei in 2001, naming it after the Quilmes people and honoring dinosaur expert Philip Currie.1
Still debated: Scientists debate whether Quilmesaurus is a distinct species or just a set of bones that could belong to another known abelisaurid.1 2

Where the facts come from

Quilmesaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Quilmesaurus curriei Coria, 2001 (Dinosauria, Theropoda). Su validez taxonómica y relaciones filogenéticas (revista.macn.gob.ar)
Quilmesaurus 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.

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