Aviatyrannis
"grandmother tyrant"
- Lived
- 155 to 149 million years ago, Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Portugal
- Named by
- Rauhut 2003
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
150 million years ago
Habitat
A wooded coastal swamp in what is now Portugal supported horsetails, ginkgos and cycads. Allosaurus and Dacentrurus lived in the surrounding region.
Field notes
About Aviatyrannis
What it was like
Aviatyrannis was a small theropod known from a few hip bones. It was first described as an early tyrannosauroid, but some later studies have linked it to the ornithomimosaurs instead.
Its world
It lived in the Late Jurassic, in what is now Portugal. It comes from the Alcobaça Formation, from a time when the region shared animals such as Allosaurus and the stegosaur Dacentrurus.
How it was found
Rauhut named Aviatyrannis in 2003.
Field gallery
More views of Aviatyrannis
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Aviatyrannis.
The evidence
The science behind Aviatyrannis
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A few hip bones include a low, elongated blade above the hip socket.
- The blade carries a vertical ridge, a feature also found in Tyrannomimus.
Borrowed from relatives
- A slender body and long legs follow comparisons with early ornithomimosaurs such as Tyrannomimus.
Still unknown
- Whether it belongs with early tyrannosauroids or ornithomimosaurs.
- Its adult size and skull shape.
- Its skin covering, color and exact diet.
Discovery timeline
- 2003Named itRauhut
- 2016Family treeBrusatte & Carr
- 2023Family treeHattori et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Aviatyrannis
Named it
Named a small theropod from fragmentary remains in Portugal and interpreted it as an early tyrannosauroid.
A tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. Palaeontology 46: 903-910
Read the paper : A tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Placed Aviatyrannis among early tyrannosauroids in one analysis, while another left its position poorly resolved.
The phylogeny and evolutionary history of tyrannosauroid dinosaurs. Scientific Reports 6
Read the paper : The phylogeny and evolutionary history of tyrannosauroid dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Compared the hip with Tyrannomimus and proposed that Aviatyrannis may be an early ornithomimosaur.
New theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan provides critical implications for the early evolution of ornithomimosaurs. Scientific Reports 13
Read the paper : New theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan provides critical implications for the early evolution of ornithomimosaurs (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Ornithomimosauria
Sources: Wikidata