Daemonosaurus chauliodus

"demon"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Daemonosaurus 2.2 m (7.2 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
2.2 m (7.2 ft)
Period
Late Triassic (237–201 Mya)
Place
North America · Mexico · New Mexico, USA
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.

Daemonosaurus is an extinct genus of possible theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic of New Mexico. The only known fossil is a skull and neck fragments from deposits of the latest Triassic Chinle Formation at Ghost Ranch. Daemonosaurus was an unusual dinosaur with a short skull and large, fang-like teeth. It lived alongside early neotheropods such as Coelophysis, which would have been among the most common dinosaurs by the end of the Triassic. However, Daemonosaurus retains several plesiomorphic (“primitive”) traits of the snout, and it likely lies outside the clade Neotheropoda. It may be considered a late-surviving basal theropod or non-theropod basal saurischian, possibly allied to other early predatory dinosaurs such as herrerasaurids or Tawa.

What we know

  • Named by Sues et al. 2011.
  • Body length estimated at about 2.2 m.
  • Fossils found in North America and Mexico.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Daemonosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.