Iliosuchus (Crocodile Hipped)

Basic facts

  • 6.6 feet (2m) length

  • Middle Jurassic

  • England

  • Carnivore

Iliosuchus, which translates to "crocodile hipped," is a theropod dinosaur genus identified from rocks dating to the Bathonian age (approximately 168.3 – 166.1 million years ago) in England. It likely reached a length of around 2 meters (6.6 feet). A significant degree of uncertainty shrouds Iliosuchus because the genus is solely represented by the description of three ilia, which are not sufficiently distinctive to definitively determine the specific type of theropod dinosaur it was. However, during the Middle Jurassic in England, megalosaurs were the predominant theropod dinosaurs.

Notably, some resemblance to certain tyrannosaurs has been observed, and it's not entirely implausible to consider a connection. This connection is supported by the knowledge that tyrannosauroid genera like Juratyrant were present in England later in the Jurassic, implying that they would have required earlier Jurassic ancestors, potentially overlapping with the time of Iliosuchus.