Saurophaganax

lord of lizard-eaters

• sauros · Greek · lizard
• phagos · Greek · eater
• anax · Greek · lord or master

The name combines Greek words for "lizard", "eater" and "lord", giving "lord of the lizard-eaters". It was chosen for a very large predatory theropod that was the top carnivore of its environment and preyed on other dinosaurs (the "lizards"). The name was published by Chure in 1995 for fossils from the Morrison Formation of Oklahoma.

Named by

Chure

Year named

1995

Period

Late Jurassic

Stages

Kimmeridgian – Tithonian

Found in

Morrison Formation, Oklahoma (Cimarron County), USA

A large allosaurid theropod originally described as Saurophaganax maximus. Some researchers have argued it may be a large species of Allosaurus (A. maximus), but it is commonly treated as a distinct genus. Stage range is approximate.