Labrosaurus

greedy lizard (or "furious/voracious lizard")

• labros · Greek · greedy, voracious, furious
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Labrosaurus combines the Greek "labros", meaning greedy or voracious, with "sauros", meaning lizard. O. C. Marsh chose the name for what he saw as a fierce, predatory theropod. The type species, L. ferox ("fierce"), was based on a lower jaw with a distinctive notch at the front. Later researchers decided this notch was probably the result of injury or disease.

Named by

Marsh

Year named

1879

Period

Late Jurassic

Found in

Morrison Formation, Garden Park, Colorado, USA

Labrosaurus is now regarded as a junior synonym of Allosaurus. The type species L. ferox is generally considered to be an Allosaurus with a pathological jaw. Other species once placed in the genus, such as L. fragilis and L. stechowi, have also been reassigned or are doubtful.