Torvosaurus Characteristics

Torvosaurus measured around 40 feet (12 metres) in length, 8 feet (2.5 metres) in height and weighed around 3 tons. It was one of the largest carnivores of its time. Torvosaurus was a bipedal dinosaur and walked on its 2 long powerful hind legs. It had strong but very short fore limbs that had large thumb claws. The head of Torvosaurus was large and elongated and was equipped with large powerful jaws containing many very sharp teeth. The tail of Torvosaurus was long, heavy and pointed and probably helped it to counter-balance. Torvosaurus was similar in appearance to Tyrannosaur Rex but had a much larger body.

Torvosaurus was a fierce carnivorous dinosaur and a predator of large herbivorous dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and sauropods, particularly the juveniles.

Fossilized remains of Torvosaurus have been found in in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, USA, North America. Torvosaurus was found by Jim Jensen and Kenneth Stadtman in 1972, in the Dry Mesa quarry in western Colorado. The holotype (single specimen) is represented through an upper arm bone (humerus) and lower arm bones (radius, ulna). Additional material includes some skull bones, back bones, hip bones, and hand bones.

The type species is T. tanneri. Torvosaurus was named by paleontologists Galton and Jensen in 1979.