Fun Teinurosaurus Facts For Kids

Teinurosaurus (Teinurosaurus sauvagei) was a theropod dinosaur of the Late Jurassic period that became extinct about 145 million years ago. Its fossil specimen contains only a single caudal vertebra, which was excavated from the Mont-Lambert Formation of France in Europe. They were grouped under the Theropod, Saurischia, and Dinosauria clades.

These dinosaurs were flesh-eaters and preyed on a plethora of animals. Their most well-known prey was Trimucrodon, which was a medium-sized herbivore dino that existed around the same epoch and was discovered in Portugal.

Just like the Theropods, these dinosaurs belonging to the Teinurosaur genus were large dinos with bulky bodies. They walked on their hind limbs and had three-toed feet. Their body was covered with scales or osteoderms, and many of their characteristics were similar to the modern-day crocodilians and birds.

Their skull was small, with a large snout and powerful jaw bearing big teeth. They moved in small groups to capture big prey and used their sharp claws and teeth to gobble them down.

Keep on reading to learn more fascinating facts about these dinosaurs.

Teinurosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Teinurosaurus'?

Teinurosaurus is pronounced as Te-nu-ro-sau-rus.

What type of dinosaur was a Teinurosaurus?

Teinurosaurus was a Theropod dinosaur.

In which geological period did the Teinurosaurus roam the Earth?

These dinosaurs existed during the Late Jurassic Period.

When did the Teinurosaurus become extinct?

Teinurosaurus became extinct about 145 million years ago.

Where did Teinurosaurus live?

The fossil specimen of this dinosaur was discovered in the Mont-Lambert Formation of France.

What was the Teinurosauruss' habitat?

These dinosaurs inhabited the forests and grasslands. They also roamed along the rivers, streams, and in the densely vegetated swamps.

Who did the Teinurosaurus live with?

Teinurosaurus dinosaurs may have lived socially or in small groups. Some researchers also claim that they possibly hunted in groups. This allowed them to catch bigger prey.

How long did a Teinurosaurus live?

Although exact information about the life expectancy of the Teinurosaurus dinosaur is not known, we do have some information regarding the lifespan of dinosaurs belonging to the sauropods and Theropoda clade. This reveals to us that some of the large dinosaurs had a lifespan of nearly 300 years, while some lived only for 70-80 years.

How did they reproduce?

All theropods reproduced by laying eggs. Possibly their eggs were fertilized internally. Many paleontologists claim that the reproductive organs of the theropods were similar to that of the crocodilians and birds. Their eggs were amniotic in nature. Most of the theropod dinosaurs were territorial in nature and protected their eggs in groups.

Teinurosaurus Fun Facts

What did the Teinurosaurus look like

Teinurosaurus dinosaur, also called stretched-tail lizard, had a bulky body with a flattened tail. Quills or osteoderms were present on their body. They were bipedal with three-toed feet.

Their physical appearance was closely related to the avians. Just like most therapods, this dinosaur of the Teinurosaurus genus possessed a large snout a powerful jaw with big teeth.

The sharp claws, along with the teeth, helped them to capture their prey. A single vertebra specimen found reveals not much information about these species. However, several researchers claim that they had similarities with most other theropods of that epoch.

How many bones did a Teinurosaurus have?

Due to the missing fossil specimen of these French dinosaurs of the Teinurosaurus genus, we cannot provide information about the exact number of bones they had. Moreover, only a single caudal vertebra was found, which was not sufficient to highlight much information.

How did they communicate?

Just like other dinosaurs, these tail lizard dinos of the genus Teinurosaurus may have communicated visually as well as vocally. They produced low grunts and other such sounds.

How big was the Teinurosaurus?

These tail lizard dinos were undoubtedly bulky with scales on their body. Their average length was about 37.4 ft (11.4 m), and their height was 10 ft (3 m), which was way bigger than the Coelurus dinosaurs of the same epoch, with an average length of 8 ft (2.4 m).

How fast could a Teinurosaurus move?

The Teinurosaurus dinosaurs were bipedal, meaning they walked on their two legs. Their feet were three-toed, which gives us the idea that walking on these was not easy for them. On top of that, they had a bulky body, which was balanced by their two legs. Therefore, we can assume that these dinosaurs were not fast runners.

How much did a Teinurosaurus weigh?

These tail lizard dinosaurs of the Teinurosaurus genus were exceptionally bulky with an average weight of 1000-2000 lb (453-907 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

We don't really give names to the male and female dinosaurs.

What would you call a baby Teinurosaurus?

As the genera of reptiles laid eggs, a baby Teinurosaurus can be called a hatchling or a nestling.

How aggressive were they?

The Teinurosaurs species were flesh-eating animals. They roamed about in groups to catch big prey, among which Trimucrodon (a medium-sized herbivore dinosaur that existed in Portugal) was their favorite. This stretched-tail lizard had scales, sharp claws, and powerful jaws, all of which made it look horrendous. So we can assume that they were aggressive in nature.

Did you know…

Although Theropods followed a strict carnivorous diet, many of them evolved to insectivores as well as herbivores due to food scarcity. Some of these dinosaurs were specialized in catching fish as well. Their dentition type is called ziphodont, which includes sharp blade-like teeth with serration at the edges. It is not known whether they were slimy.

The name 'Teinurosaurus' was derived from Greek words, 'teinein' meaning 'to stretch', and 'oura' meaning 'tail', referring to the long elongated tail of these dinosaurs. The first name of their genus was given by Nopsca in the year 1928.

The specific name of this species was again given by the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in the year 1932, which was Caudocoelus sauvagei. In Latin, Caudocoelus means hollow tail.

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