| Dinosaurs » A-Z Dinosaurs List » Torvosaurus Dinosaur |
| Torvosaurus
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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 (2 to 6 tons), 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. |
