Torvosaurus

Torvosaurus (TORE-vo-SORE-us) was a giant carnivorous dinosaur, similar in appearance to the Tyrannosaurus though it had larger arms, and a bulky body. It lived about 145 million years ago, 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 largest carnivore of its time.

It was first discovered 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 by an upper arm bone (humerus) and lower arm bones (radius, ulna). Additional material includes some skull bones, back bones, hip bones, and hand bones.

External links

• Torvosaurus, from DinoData (technical).