Erectopus: as small dinosaur from Africa and Europe

Erectopus

Erectopus sauvagei

Pronounced: ee-Rek-toe-pus Diet:

Carnivore(meat-eater)

Name Means: "Upright Foot"

Length: 10 feet (3 m)

Height: 4 feet (1.3 m)

Weight: 440 lb.

Time: Early Cretaceous - 95 mya

Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in Africa and Europe Erectopus was a small meat-eater that lived in Europe and northern Africa. Of course, small for a dinosaur is still pretty big, it weighed as much as a large lion! It had lots of sharp teeth for tearing flesh, but not too much more is known as only a few bones have been found. First identified in 1876 as a species of Megalosaurus it was re-classified as a new genus in 1923. This dinosaur seems to exhibit some odd features not found on any other theropod, including placement of the femoral head. As of 2005 Erectopus has been classified as a small allosaur. However, most of these unusual features were suspected by modern paleontologists of being cock-ups borne of schoolboy exuberance, a common problem with dinosaurs named during the 1800s, but no-one bothered with a scientific review because its remains were thought lost lost, perhaps blown to smithereens during World War II.