Torvosaurus

Torvosaurus was an enormous carnivorous dinosaur that ruled both North America and Europe during the closing stages of the Jurassic period. Heavily constructed with a massive skull exceeding a metre in length, it was armed with large, compressed teeth designed for slicing deeply into flesh. With adult lengths reaching ten to eleven metres and body mass exceeding three tonnes, it was substantially larger and more robust than its frequent contemporary Allosaurus. American fossils were discovered in Colorado's Dry Mesa Quarry, while equally impressive material, later dubbed Torvosaurus gurneyi, was uncovered in the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal. Fossilised eggs containing embryonic remains have also been attributed to this genus. As an apex predator, Torvosaurus possessed the physical power necessary to tackle subadult sauropods and armoured stegosaurs across lush floodplain basins.

Torvosaurus gurneyi from Portugal is widely considered the largest terrestrial predator known from the European Jurassic.

Where and when

Torvosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic, from 153 to 148 million years ago (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age). Its remains come from United States and Portugal, in the Morrison Formation.

The numbers

Length 10 m (estimates run from 9 to 11 m). Mass about 3.4 t. Hip height about 3 m. That is 5.9 human-lengths, or 0.89 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Torvosaurus with a bus Place on the timeline