Torvosaurus

Torvosaurus is a genus of carnivorous megalosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived approximately 153 to 148 million years ago during the later part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Colorado and Portugal. It contains two currently recognized species, Torvosaurus tanneri and Torvosaurus gurneyi.

In 1979 the type species Torvosaurus tanneri was named: it was a large, heavily built, bipedal carnivore, that could grow to a length of about 10 m. T. tanneri was among the largest carnivores of its time, together with Epanterias and Saurophaganax. Specimens referred to Torvosaurus gurneyi were initially claimed to be up to eleven metres long, but later shown to be smaller. Based on bone morphology Torvosaurus is thought to have had short but very powerful arms.