Talos

Talos, the bronze giant or automaton of Greek myth

• Talos · Greek · the bronze automaton who guarded Crete in Greek myth

Talos is named after the bronze automaton of Greek mythology who guarded the island of Crete. In the myth, Talos had a single vulnerable spot in his ankle. The name was chosen because the only known skeleton has an injured, deformed second toe on the foot, which probably affected how the animal used its "killing claw". The species name, T. sampsoni, honors paleontologist Scott Sampson.

Named by

Zanno et al.

Year named

2011

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Kaiparowits Formation, Utah, USA

A small feathered theropod in the family Troodontidae. The type species is Talos sampsoni.