Dinosaurs » A-Z Dinosaurs List » Torvosaurus Dinosaur

Torvosaurus (TORE-vo-SORE-us) was a huge carnivorous dinosaur, similar in look to the Tyrannosaurus though it had larger arms, and a large body. It lived about 145 million years past, in the late Jurassic period of North America, and perhaps Portugal. It reached 10 to 12 meters (33 to 40 feet) in length, and weighed from 2 to 5 tonnes, which made it the biggest carnivore of its time.

It was first exposed by James A. Jensen and Kenneth Stadtman in the rocks of the Morrison Formation at the Dry Mesa Quarry, Colorado in 1972. The genera and the type species T. tanneri were named and described in 1979 by Peter M. Glaton and Jensen. The name Torvosaurus means "savage lizard" from the Latin torvus ("savage") and the Greek sauros ("lizard").

The holotype is represented through an upper arm bone (humerus) and lower arm bones (radius, ulna). Additional material includes some skull bones, back bones, hip bones, and hand bones. Torvosaurus skeleton can be found in the main lobby of the Museum of ancient life and the claws of Torvosaurus are exhibited at the natural history museum of London.