Vitosaura

Say it: vee-toh-SORE-uh

Name means: “lizard of the Vito family”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Vitosaura was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina. It was an abelisaurid, a type of ceratosaurian theropod that hunted other dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous.3 1

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Tama locality, La Rioja Province, northwestern Argentina1

Food

Meat3 1

Length

4.5 to 5.5 m2

estimated total length

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 31 bananas end to end

How big was Vitosaura compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Vitosaura was named in 2025, making it one of the newest dinosaurs discovered.3

Its fossils were found in the Los Llanos Formation, which is about 83 to 72 million years old.3

Vitosaura is the first named theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous of La Rioja Province.1

The only known specimen includes parts of the backbone, hip bones, and other fragments.1

Scientists are not sure exactly how Vitosaura is related to other abelisaurids, but it might be closely related to dinosaurs from India and Madagascar.1

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

?How big was Vitosaura?

Vitosaura was a medium sized abelisaurid, about 4.5 to 5.5 metres (14.7 to 18 feet) long. That is roughly the size of a large car.2 1

?When did Vitosaura live?

Vitosaura lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 83 to 72 million years ago.2 3

?What did Vitosaura eat?

Vitosaura was a meat-eater, like all abelisaurid theropods. It probably hunted other dinosaurs, such as titanosaurs.2 1

?Where was Vitosaura found?

Vitosaura was found in the Los Llanos Formation near Tama village in La Rioja Province, Argentina. It is the first named theropod from the Cretaceous of that province.2 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Vitosaura
Named by: Jiménez Velandia et al. 20253
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Abelisauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)3
Rock formations: Los Llanos3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Vitosaura was named in 2025 by Harold Jiménez Velandia and colleagues. The fossils were found at the Tama locality in La Rioja Province, northwestern Argentina.3 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how Vitosaura is related to other abelisaurids. It might be a non-brachyrostran abelisaurid or a non-carnotaurinin furileusaurian.1

Where the facts come from

A NEW LATE CRETACEOUS ABELISAURID SPECIES FROM LA RIOJA PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN ARGENTINA | Ameghiniana (ameghiniana.org.ar)
Vitosaura (en.wikipedia.org)
Vitosaura in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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