
Dinosaur profile
Metriacanthosaurus
Pronunciation
Met-ree-ah-can-foe-sore-us
Moderately spined lizard
Large Theropod
8.2 meters long
Late Jurassic
159-154 million years ago
United Kingdom
DietCarnivore
About Metriacanthosaurus
Metriacanthosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic period (about 164 to 161 million years ago) in what is now Europe and Asia. It was a large and heavily built animal, with an estimated length of around 8 meters (26 feet) and a weight of around 2 to 3 tons. It had a long, narrow skull with large, sharp teeth, and its neck and tail were both relatively long. Its body was supported by sturdy, columnar legs, and it had three toes on each foot, each equipped with a sharp claw. Metriacanthosaurus was a fast and agile predator, and it probably preyed on a variety of large herbivorous dinosaurs. It is known from a few fragmentary fossils, including parts of the skull, vertebrae, and hindlimbs.
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