Suskityrannus

coyote tyrant

• Suski · Zuni · coyote
• tyrannus · Latin · tyrant

The name combines "suski", the Zuni word for coyote, with the Latin "tyrannus", meaning tyrant. The coyote reference nods to the Zuni Basin of New Mexico, where the fossils were found. "Tyrant" shows that it is an early relative of Tyrannosaurus. It was a small tyrannosauroid, much smaller than its later, giant cousins.

Named by

Nesbitt et al.

Year named

2019

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Turonian

Found in

Moreno Hill Formation, Zuni Basin, New Mexico, USA

The type species is Suskityrannus hazelae. It is a small, early tyrannosauroid, about 3 m long. It is known from the Moreno Hill Formation, and some material from Utah may also belong to it. The stage given here is for the type material.