Genyodectes Genyodectes

"Etymology TBD"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Genyodectes 6.3 m (20.5 ft) long
4 people holding hands
Length
6.3 m (20.5 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (112 Mya)
Place
South America · Argentina · Spain
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dinosauria

Genyodectes (“jaw bite”, from the Greek words genys (“jaw”) and dektes (“bite”)) is a genus of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) of South America. The holotype material (MLP 26–39, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina) was collected from the Cerro Barcino Formation, Cañadón Grande, Departamento Paso de Indios in the Chubut Province of Argentina and consists of an incomplete snout, including the premaxillae, portions of both maxillas, the right and left dentary, many teeth, a fragment of the left splenial, and parts of the supradentaries. These elements are generally poorly preserved and some are in articulation. The premaxilla of Genyodectes possesses relatively large and protruding teeth, similar to those of Ceratosaurus. The specific name, serus, means “late”. In 2016 it was estimated to be 6.25 m in length and 790 kg in weight.

What we know

  • Named by Woodward, 1901.
  • Body length estimated at about 6.25 m.
  • Fossils found in South America and Argentina.