Dinosaurs A to Z
Silesauridae

Technosaurus

"Tech lizard"

Generic small ornithischian body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Technosaurus 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic small ornithischian body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Technosaurus
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Late Triassic (210 Mya)
Place
United States
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Silesauridae

Technosaurus (meaning “Tech lizard”, for Texas Tech University) is an extinct genus of silesaurid dinosauriforms, from the Late Triassic Cooper Canyon Formation (Dockum Group) of Texas, United States.

For about 20 years after its description, it was thought to be a basal ornithischian dinosaur, but better remains of other Triassic archosaurs have cast doubt on this interpretation. As named, it was a chimera of different animals.

What we know

  • Named by Chatterjee, 1984.
  • Fossils found in United States.

What we guess

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