Technosaurus

Texas Tech lizard

• Tech(no) · English (abbreviation) · Texas Tech University
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name honours Texas Tech University, whose researchers and collections were behind the discovery and study of the fossils. "Techno-" is a shortened form of "Tech", so the name roughly means "Texas Tech lizard". It does not refer to technology.

Named by

Chatterjee

Year named

1984

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Norian

Found in

Post Quarry, Cooper Canyon Formation (Dockum Group), Texas, USA

Originally described as an early ornithischian dinosaur. The type material was later shown to be a chimera of bones from more than one animal, so its affinities are disputed. Some authors treat it as a silesaurid (a close dinosaur relative) and others consider the name problematic or doubtful. Its exact status and whether it is a true dinosaur are uncertain.