Noasaurus
"northwestern Argentina lizard"
- Lived
- 72 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Length
- about 1 m (3 ft)
- Group
- Theropods, Noasauridae
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Bonaparte and Powell 1980
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical theropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
70 million years ago
Habitat
A sandy coastal plain in Argentina had rivers, ponds and lagoons. Saltasaurus and Neuquensaurus were among the plant eaters recorded from the Lecho Formation.
Field notes
About Noasaurus
What it was like
Noasaurus was a small, lightly built predator about 1 meter (3 feet) long. It is known from a few pieces of the skull, backbone and limbs. A large curved claw found with it was first thought to be a killing claw on the foot, like a raptor's, but later studies suggest it came from the hand.
Its world
It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Late Cretaceous, in northwestern Argentina. Its bones come from the Lecho Formation, where it lived alongside the armored titanosaur Saltasaurus.
How it was found
Bonaparte and Powell named Noasaurus in 1980 from one find. It gave its name to the noasaurids, a family of small, slender meat eaters from the southern continents.
Field gallery
More views of Noasaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Noasaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Noasaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- An upper jaw fragment preserves sharp teeth with serrated edges.
- A strongly curved, blade-like claw belongs to the hand.
- The only preserved hind limb bone is a long, slender bone from the middle of the foot.
Borrowed from relatives
- Masiakasaurus helps restore the missing neck, trunk, limbs and tapering tail.
- The missing parts of the head are usually restored from Masiakasaurus with a low, elongated outline.
Still unknown
- Which finger carried the large curved claw.
- The shape of the front of its jaws.
- Whether it caught fish as well as other small prey.
Often drawn wrong
- Older pictures place the big claw on the foot like a raptor's killing claw; it belongs on the hand.
- The forward-pointing front teeth of Masiakasaurus should not be copied onto Noasaurus.
Discovery timeline
- 1980Named itBonaparte & Powell
- 2011Close relativeCarrano, Loewen & Sertich
- 2024Full descriptionHendrickx et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Noasaurus
Named it
Named a small predator from scattered skull, backbone and limb bones, initially interpreting its large claw as a foot claw.
A continental assemblage of tetrapods from the Upper Cretaceous beds of El Brete, northwestern Argentina (Sauropoda-Coelurosauria-Carnosauria-Aves). Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, Nouvelle Série 139: 19-28
No link available
Close relative
Described new Masiakasaurus bones that help reconstruct the head and body of its much less complete relative Noasaurus.
New materials of Masiakasaurus knopfleri Sampson, Carrano, and Forster, 2001, and implications for the morphology of the Noasauridae (Theropoda:Ceratosauria). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology: 1-53
Read the paper : New materials of Masiakasaurus knopfleri Sampson, Carrano, and Forster, 2001, and implications for the morphology of the Noasauridae (Theropoda:Ceratosauria) (opens in a new tab)Full description
Redescribed the original bones, confirmed the unusual hand claw and suggested a diet of small prey, possibly including fish.
Osteology, relationship, and feeding ecology of the theropod dinosaur Noasaurus leali , from the Late Cretaceous of North-Western Argentina. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 202
Read the paper : Osteology, relationship, and feeding ecology of the theropod dinosaur Noasaurus leali , from the Late Cretaceous of North-Western Argentina (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Noasauridae
Sources: Wikidata