Fun Lourinhanosaurus Facts For Kids

Are you keen on learning more about paleontology and geology? If so, then you would surely enjoy knowing more about a dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic period.

The fossil remains of Lourinhanosaurus were found in the Lourinhã Formation situated in Portugal, Europe. Octávio Mateus was the one to study the species diligently and give it the classification of Lourinhanosaurus antunesi. He dedicated it to another Portuguese paleontologist, Miguel Telles Antunes.

The Lourinhanosaurus existed when the earth was going through between the stages of Kimmeridgian and Tithonian around 145 million years ago. One of the surprising discoveries about the Lourinhanosaurus was the nest with 100 eggs some of which even contained fetal bones.

At times, the classification of this dinosaur has been questioned and some find it going better with allosaurus species. Some even speculated that it was better off being a part of the Megalosauroidea. So, keep on reading to know interesting Lourinhanosaurus facts.

Also, check out our articles on Eocarcharia and Altispinax to have detailed knowledge of dinosaurs.

Lourinhanosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Lourinhanosaurus'?

The name of this dinosaur is pronounced as 'lourin-hano-saurus'. It's named so as the first fossils were discovered in the Lourinhã Formation present in Portugal and New Mexico.

What type of dinosaur was a Lourinhanosaurus?

The Lourinhanosaurus is classified as a science genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. Hence, as a theropod, it would likely have had a long neck and hollow bones along with three toed feet and a smaller skull compared to its body. Octávio Mateus was the one to come up with this new genus for the dinosaur.

In which geological period did Lourinhanosaurus roam the earth?

The type specimen of the Lourinhanosaurus indicates, that the species belonged to the Late Jurassic Period between the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages. So, the dinosaur is said to go back around 145-156 million years ago according to science.

When did the Lourinhanosaurus become extinct?

Just like for any other species, we cannot really tell the exact time when the Lourinhanosaurus dinosaur got extinct. Having said that, as it's described to live between the Late Jurassic stages of Kimmeridgian and Tithonian, we can say that it has been about 145 million years since the extinction of this species.

Where did Lourinhanosaurus live?

No one can tell where a dinosaur species actually lived. But, the Lourinhanosaurus fossil remains have been found in the Lourinhã Formation that's present in Portugal, Europe. Apart from the skeleton remains, around 100 eggs in a nest were found near the Paimogo beach in Lourinhã.

What was the Lourinhanosaurus' habitat?

We don't know much about the habitat in which this theropod might have lived. But, as a carnivorous species, it would have needed to take part in regular hunting to quench its appetite.

Hence, we can assume that it lived in an area that had a lot of food availability for itself as well as for the other animals that it fed on.

Who did Lourinhanosaurus live with?

One of the most mysterious things about dinosaurs is the living pattern. We don't even know if these beings were social or solitary in nature. However, when it comes to Lourinhanosaurus, the dinosaurs from this species have been said to be in a competitive relationship with the species such as the Torvosaurus gurneyi, Ceratosaurus, and Allosaurus europaeus.

How long did a Lourinhanosaurus live?

It's quite magical to believe that these dinosaurs lived almost 145 million years ago in the past. However, we are yet to determine the lifespan of any species of dinosaurs which includes the Lourinhanosaurus.

But, most scientists believe that dinosaurs did enjoy a longer life. Also, the holotype specimen that has been collected for the Lourinhanosaurus is described as being the skeleton of a 14-17 year old dinosaur.

How did they reproduce?

Even though we don't have much information about the ways of reproduction for these theropod dinosaurs, something very species was found for this species. A type specimen of around 100 eggs were found near the Paimogo beach in Lourinhã in 1993.

Scientists were even able to find embryonic bones in some of the eggs making it a special find related to these dinosaurs. Currently, the eggs as well as the other fossil remains can be found in the Museu da Lourinhã.

Lourinhanosaurus Fun Facts

What did Lourinhanosaurus look like?

Because of the presence of skeletal remains, we are unable to get the actual representation of how the Lourinhanosaurus looked. But, modern representations created by piecing together the bones found in the ML 370 show creatures that look similar to any other theropods.

Along with having the typical short forelimbs and bigger hindlimbs, along with a long neck and tail. This dinosaur species may have had a considerably bigger head length. But, do note that these are all just assumptions.

How many bones did a Lourinhanosaurus have?

Unfortunately, we have only been able to unearth partial skeleton specimens from the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal, so we don't know the exact number of bones these dinosaurs had. The specimen with the ML 370 is the most popular, and it contains six cervical vertebrae that came with ribs, five sacral vertebrae also with ribs, and fourteen caudal vertebrae.

Moreover, the partial skeleton specimen included two ilia, both femur bones.

The most interesting things were the 32 gastroliths found in the specimens, which was the first for any theropod to have found with gastroliths (stones inside the stomach). Later another femur bone was found in the Porto das Barcas, and it was given the holotype of ML 555.

How did they communicate?

It's believed that dinosaurs mainly communicated with the help of sound. But, other than that, these theropods may have even used physical touch for communication.

How big was the Lourinhanosaurus?

The average Lourinhanosaurus size is said to be around 14.7 ft (4.5 m). The type specimen found for this genus is thought to be a sub-adult, so it would have certainly grown even more on turning a full-blown adult. Compared to it, the closely related Allosaurus dinosaurs had an average size of 39 ft (12 m).

How fast could a Lourinhanosaurus move?

Well, we can only wish to have the opportunity to see this theropod running around in its natural habitat to assess the speed. Usually, the theropod species can have a diverse speed range which can go up to 45 mph (70 kph).

How much did a Lourinhanosaurus weigh?

When it comes to the weight of these theropods, the common description states it to be around 352 lb (160 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names defined for the adult male and female of this species.

What would you call a baby Lourinhanosaurus?

A baby of the Lourinhanosaurus would have been known as a hatchling after it came out of an egg.

What did they eat?

As per the description of this theropod species, it is taken to be a carnivorous species. But, we aren't aware of the animals that were a part of its regular hunting for food.

Having said that, most scientists have the opinion that carnivorous species often hunted smaller dinosaurs as food. And, contrary to popular belief, most dinosaurs were actually herbivores.

How aggressive were they?

We don't really know how aggressive these dinosaurs may have been. However, it's a common misconception to think that dinosaurs were inherently aggressive. But, just like the common reptiles of today, apart from hunting, seldom would these animals take part in a brawl.

Did you know...

You may confuse the name of Lourinhanosaurus with that of the Lourinhasaurus, which is a classification of a sauropod genus that hails to the Late Jurassic period.

On initial discovery, the specimens were thought to go with the Allosauroidea group of dinosaurs. While others believed the Lourinhanosaurus to be better fitted for the Sinraptoridae clade, which falls under the Allosauroidea group.

Why are they called Lourinhanosaurus?

The Lourinhanosaurus gets the name from the first discoveries of bones being made in Lourinhã, Portugal of Europe. Even Octávio Mateus chose to add the word antunesi to the scientific name of these dinosaurs in the honor of Miguel Telles Antunes, who was another Portuguese paleontologist.

Who discovered Lourinhanosaurus?

The Lourinhanosaurus genus was first described by Octávio Mateus, a Portuguese paleontologist in 1998. But, the first discoveries related to the bones were first found in 1982.

The fossil remains of Lourinhanosaurus were found in the Lourinhã Formation situated in Portugal, Europe. Octávio Mateus was also the one who bestowed the classification of Lourinhanosaurus antunesi upon the dinosaur species present in this genus.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Anserimimus facts, or Lukousaurus facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable singing dinosaur coloring pages.