Daemonosaurus
Daemonosaurus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived near the end of the Triassic Period. It had a strange skull with big front teeth that made it look a bit scary. It was one of the last early theropods before the Triassic ended.1
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Fun facts
Daemonosaurus had a skull with front teeth that stuck out forward, which is different from many other early theropods.1
It lived about 205 to 201 million years ago, right at the end of the Triassic Period.5
Daemonosaurus was a basal theropod, meaning it was one of the early meat-eating dinosaurs, but it survived until near the end of the Triassic.1
Its fossils were found in the Chinle Formation, a rock layer known for many Triassic animals.1
The name Daemonosaurus means 'demon lizard', which might make it sound scary, but it was probably not very big.1
Most asked questions about Daemonosaurus
?How big was Daemonosaurus?
It was small. Scientists estimate it was about 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) long, or maybe up to 2.2 metres (7.2 feet) long. These are guesses because only its skull and neck bones were found.3
?What did Daemonosaurus eat?
It was a meat-eater. Its big, fang-like front teeth were good for catching and eating other animals.31
?When did Daemonosaurus live?
It lived near the very end of the Triassic Period, about 205 to 201 million years ago, just before the Jurassic Period began.4
?Where was Daemonosaurus found?
Its only fossil was found at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, USA, in a rock layer called the Chinle Formation.3
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Daemonosaurus was a big, fierce predator like T. rex.
Truth: Actually, Daemonosaurus was a small, early theropod, and scientists think it was more closely related to later theropods like Coelophysis than to giant predators.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Daemonosaurus
- Named by
- Sues et al. 20115
- Group
- First dinosaurs
- Family / clade
- Saurischia5
- Age of the rocks
- 206 to 201 million years (Rhaetian)5
- Rock formations
- Chinle5
- Countries
- USA5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Daemonosaurus was named by Hans-Dieter Sues and colleagues in 2011, based on fossils from the Ghost Ranch Quarry in New Mexico.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Daemonosaurus is related to other early theropods, because it has a mix of features from different groups.1
Where the facts come from
- A late-surviving basal theropod dinosaur from the latest Triassic of North America | Proceedings B | The Royal Society (royalsocietypublishing.org)
- Daemonosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Daemonosaurus (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
- si.edu (si.edu)
- Daemonosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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