Velocisaurus

Say it: VEL-oh-see-SORE-us

Name means: “swift lizard”1

Ate: MeatOther meat-eatersLate Cretaceous

Velocisaurus was a small, speedy dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina. It was a meat-eater, but its feet were built for running fast, maybe even to escape larger predators.1 3

Lived

86 to 84 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Neuquén and Río Negro provinces, Patagonia, Argentina1 2

Food

Meat1 3

Length

1.5 m1

estimate based on tibia length of 14 cm

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 3 house cats nose to tailas long as 8 bananas end to end

How big was Velocisaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Velocisaurus had a very unusual foot. The middle toe bone (third metatarsal) was thick and carried most of the weight, while the two side toe bones (second and fourth) were thin like rods.1

This dinosaur was one of the smallest noasaurids, only about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. That is as long as a large dog.1

Velocisaurus lived during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 85 to 83 million years ago.3 1

The first Velocisaurus fossil was just a right hind leg, found in 1985. In 2016, scientists described a second specimen that included a nearly complete left hind leg.1 2

Velocisaurus is a close relative of another weird dinosaur called Masiakasaurus, which had teeth that stuck out forward.1

This dinosaur was named by the famous paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1991. The name means 'swift lizard' because its leg and foot were built for running.1

Velocisaurus had a short, strong thigh bone (femur) that was bowed forward and had a triangular shape near the hip.2

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

?How big was Velocisaurus?

About 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) long, which is about as long as a large dog.1

?Why was Velocisaurus called 'swift lizard'?

Its leg and foot were built for running fast, so its name means 'swift lizard' in Latin.1

?When did Velocisaurus live?

It lived during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 85 to 83 million years ago.3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Velocisaurus
Named by: Bonaparte 19913
Group: Other meat-eaters
Family / clade: Noasauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria3
Age of the rocks: 86 to 84 million years (Santonian)3
Rock formations: Bajo de la Carpa3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: In 1985, Oscar de Ferrariis and Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini found fossils at Boca del Sapo in Neuquén, Argentina. In 1991, José Bonaparte named the dinosaur Velocisaurus unicus.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Velocisaurus was a pure meat-eater or an omnivore that also ate plants. A claw from its fourth toe was not very sharp, which might hint it ate some plants.1

Where the facts come from

Velocisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A new specimen of Velocisaurus unicus (Theropoda, Abelisauroidea) from the Paso Córdoba locality (Santonian), Río Negro, Argentina: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol 36 , No 4 - Get Access (tandfonline.com)
Velocisaurus 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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