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Tanycolagreus

Say it: TAN-ee-ko-LAG-ree-us

Name means: “long-limbed hunter”1

Ate: MeatOther meat-eatersLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Tanycolagreus was a fast, meat-eating dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic. It had long legs and arms, which helped it chase down small prey like lizards and early mammals. Scientists think it was about as long as a small car!1

Lived

155 to 143 million years ago3

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, USA1

Food

Meat3 1

Length

3.3 to 4 m1

the holotype was a subadult about 3.3 m long; a larger referred specimen may have reached 4 m

Weight

up to 120 kg1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2 bicycles in a rowas long as 22 bananas end to endas heavy as 4 big dogsas heavy as 24 watermelons

How big was Tanycolagreus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Tanycolagreus had longer arms and legs than its close relative Coelurus, which is why its name means 'long-limbed hunter'.1

The first fossil of Tanycolagreus was found in 1995 at the Bone Cabin Quarry West in Wyoming, but it was not named until 2005.1

The holotype skeleton includes parts of the skull, backbone, arms, legs, and tail, but the skull is less complete than the rest of the body.1

A premaxilla (front upper jaw bone) from the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry in Utah belonged to a larger Tanycolagreus, possibly up to 4 meters long.1

Tanycolagreus lived in the Morrison Formation, the same rock layer that produced famous dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus.1

Scientists are not sure if Tanycolagreus was an early tyrannosauroid or a more primitive coelurosaur, because different studies place it in different groups.1

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

?How big was Tanycolagreus?

About 3.3 meters (11 feet) long, roughly the size of a small car. One larger fossil suggests it could reach 4 meters (13 feet) long.1

?What did Tanycolagreus eat?

It was a meat-eater. It likely hunted small prey like lizards and early mammals, and may have preyed on small dinosaurs like Nanosaurus.1 2

?When did Tanycolagreus live?

It lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, in what is now North America.1 2

?Was Tanycolagreus a dinosaur?

Yes, it was a theropod dinosaur, a group of meat-eating dinosaurs that walked on two legs.2

?Where was Tanycolagreus found?

Fossils were found in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, in the Morrison Formation. The first skeleton was found in 1995 at Bone Cabin Quarry West in Wyoming.1

?Why is it called Tanycolagreus?

Its name means 'long-limbed hunter' because its arms and legs were longer than those of its close relative Coelurus.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Tanycolagreus
Named by: Carpenter et al. 20053
Group: Other meat-eaters
Family / clade: Coelurosauria3
Classification: Theropoda3
Age of the rocks: 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)3
Rock formations: Morrison3
Countries: USA3
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Tanycolagreus was named in 2005 by Kenneth Carpenter, Clifford Miles, and Karen Cloward. The name was suggested by Ben Creisler. The species name topwilsoni honors George Eugene 'Top' Wilson, father of a benefactor who supported the research.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Tanycolagreus belongs to the tyrannosauroid group or is a more basal coelurosaur.1

Where the facts come from

Tanycolagreus (en.wikipedia.org)
Tanycolagreus Facts for Kids (kids.kiddle.co)
Tanycolagreus 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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