Eotyrannus
"dawn tyrant"
- Length
- 4.5 m (14.8 ft)
- Period
- Early Cretaceous (145–100 Mya)
- Place
- United Kingdom
- Food
- Carnivore
- Clade
- Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.
Eotyrannus (meaning “dawn tyrant”) is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation beds, included in Wealden Group, located in the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The remains (MIWG1997.550), consisting of assorted skull, axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton elements, from a juvenile or subadult, found in a plant debris clay bed, were described by Stephen Hutt and colleagues in early 2001. The etymology of the generic name refers to the animal’s classification as an early tyrannosaur or “tyrant lizard”, while the specific name honors the discoverer of the fossil.
What we know
- Named by Hutt et al., 2001.
- Body length estimated at about 4.5 m.
- Fossils found in United Kingdom.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Eotyrannus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.