Tarascosaurus
Tarascosaurus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now France, about 83 to 72 million years ago. It was a small predator, only about as long as a car, and it belonged to a group of dinosaurs called abelisaurids.12
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Fun facts
Tarascosaurus was named in 1991 by French paleontologists Jean Le Loeuff and Eric Buffetaut.1
The name Tarascosaurus comes from the Tarasque, a dragon-like monster from French and Spanish folklore.1
Its fossils include a thigh bone, two back vertebrae, and a tail vertebra, all found in southern France.1
Some scientists think Tarascosaurus might be a nomen dubium, meaning its fossils are too incomplete to be sure it is a distinct species.1
Tarascosaurus lived during the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous, between 83.6 and 72.2 million years ago.2
It was a ground-dwelling dinosaur that moved actively on two legs.2
Most asked questions about Tarascosaurus
?How big was Tarascosaurus?
Tarascosaurus was a relatively small theropod, measuring about 2.5 to 3 metres (8.2 to 9.8 feet) long.1
?What did Tarascosaurus eat?
Tarascosaurus was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It was a theropod dinosaur, a group known for being meat-eaters.4
?When did Tarascosaurus live?
Tarascosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 83 to 72 million years ago, during the Campanian age.14
?Where was Tarascosaurus found?
Tarascosaurus fossils were found in southern France, in a place called Lambeau du Beausset. The bones include a thigh bone, two back vertebrae, and a tail vertebra.1
?Is Tarascosaurus a dinosaur?
Yes, Tarascosaurus is a dinosaur. It is a theropod dinosaur belonging to the family Abelisauridae.1
?Why is Tarascosaurus called a nomen dubium?
Some scientists think Tarascosaurus might be a nomen dubium, meaning its fossils are too incomplete to be sure it is a distinct species. In 2003, two studies concluded this because the material was not diagnostic enough.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Tarascosaurus
- Named by
- Le Loeuff and Buffetaut 19914
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Abelisauridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae4
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)4
- Countries
- France4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Tarascosaurus was named and described in 1991 by Jean Le Loeuff and Eric Buffetaut. They studied bones that had been collected by an unknown person from a place called Lambeau du Beausset in southern France.1
- Still debated
- Scientists debate whether Tarascosaurus is a valid genus or a nomen dubium, because its fossils are very fragmentary and may not have enough unique features.1
Where the facts come from
- Tarascosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Tarascosaurus salluvicus | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
- Tarascosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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