Dinosaur genus
Eucnemesaurus
Eucnemesaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 227.3–201.4 million years old, in South Africa.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 12 October 2026- Named by
- Van Hoepen 1920
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- E. C. N. Van Hoepen (1920). Contributions to the knowledge of the reptiles of the Karroo Formation. 6. Further dinosaurian material in the Transvaal Museum. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 7(2): 93–141.
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Van Hoepen 1920), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Type species
- Eucnemesaurus fortis
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Lived
- Norian to Rhaetian, 227.3–201.4 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation227.3–201.4 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 4 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- South Africa
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Elliot Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Family
- Riojasauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Riojasauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Resting on one source: 4 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).
Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Eucnemesaurus had gone at least 117.8 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record, a longer gap than the 66 million years between Tyrannosaurus and today.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Lived alongside
Genera found in the same rock formations, from rocks of the same age.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.