Liliensternus
LIL-ee-en-STER-nus
- Lived
- 227 to 201 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Length
- about 5 m (16 ft)
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Germany and Switzerland
- Named by
- Welles 1984
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in meters
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
210 million years ago
Habitat
It probably lived on floodplains with open riverbanks and scattered woody plants. Other dinosaurs in its region included Plateosaurus, Efraasia and Procompsognathus.
Field notes
About Liliensternus
What it was like
Liliensternus was one of the largest and best-known meat-eating dinosaurs from the Triassic period in Europe. It was a lightly built, two-legged hunter, growing to about 5 meters (16 feet) long, with a long tail that likely helped balance its body while running.
Its skull was narrow with rows of curved, blade-like teeth, typical of an early theropod, and it probably preyed on smaller reptiles and the young of other animals living alongside it.
Its world
Liliensternus lived from about 227 to 201 million years ago, in the Late Triassic, in what is now Germany and Switzerland. Its fossils come from the Trossingen, Klettgau, and Löwenstein formations.
It shared its world with the long-necked plant eater Plateosaurus and its relatives Ruehleia and Efraasia, along with the small carnivore Procompsognathus.
How it was found
Welles named Liliensternus in 1984. Around four fossil finds are known, making it one of the better-represented theropods from this early part of the Mesozoic in Europe. Its closest relatives include Dilophosaurus, Dracovenator, and Zupaysaurus, other early members of the theropod line.
Field gallery
More views of Liliensternus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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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 Liliensternus.
The evidence
The science behind Liliensternus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Partial skeletons show a lightly built predator with a long neck and long hindlimbs.
- The preserved skull bones give parts of a narrow, toothed head.
Borrowed from relatives
- Missing skull and hand details are restored by comparison with early theropods such as Coelophysis and Dilophosaurus.
- Mostly scaly skin is inferred from comparisons with other early theropods.
Still unknown
- Its color and skin texture.
- The complete shape of its skull and hands.
- How it hunted and whether it lived in groups.
Often drawn wrong
- Large paired crests like those of Dilophosaurus are unsupported.
- Its hands faced inward rather than palm down.
- It had no enlarged raptor-style sickle claw on its foot.
Discovery timeline
- 1984Named itWelles
- 2019Family treeZahner & Brinkmann
- 2020Close relativeMarsh & Rowe
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Liliensternus
Named it
Established Liliensternus as a separate genus while comparing the skeletons of early meat-eating dinosaurs.
Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda): osteology and comparisons. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 185: 85-180
No link available
Family tree
Described Notatesseraeraptor and compared its skull and skeleton with Liliensternus and other early theropods.
A Triassic averostran-line theropod from Switzerland and the early evolution of dinosaurs. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 1146-1152
Read the paper : A Triassic averostran-line theropod from Switzerland and the early evolution of dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Detailed the skeleton of Dilophosaurus and tested its relationships with Liliensternus and other early theropods.
A comprehensive anatomical and phylogenetic evaluation of Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda) with descriptions of new specimens from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona. Journal of Paleontology 94: 1-103
Read the paper : A comprehensive anatomical and phylogenetic evaluation of Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda) with descriptions of new specimens from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Neotheropoda
Sources: Wikidata