Theropods

Australian Theropods

Theropods were bipedal (walked on two legs) and had sharp claws and teeth to catch and devour their prey.

They were carnivores (meat-eaters).

They and ate anything they could catch and may have also scavenged on dead animals. Like their bird descendants, theropods probably had good eyesight, a keen sense of smell and a large brain.

0.8 meters to
2 meters

Estimated hip height.

3.5 meters to 7 meters

Estimated lengths (approximately).

Spectacular fossils from China and other parts of the world show that many non-avian theropods were covered in feathers or a feather-like covering.

The five different types of theropods that made tracks in the Broome Sandstone were medium to large.

Megalosauropus broomensis (‘big lizard foot of Broome’)
Yangtzepus clarkei (‘Clarke’s Yangtze [River] foot’)
Broome theropod morphotype A
Broome theropod morphotype B
Broome theropod morphotype C

Morphotypes are distinct types of tracks without formal names.

Megalosauropus broomensis is the name of the most common theropod track (track not dinosaur) on the Dinosaur Coast and was formally named in 1967.

Well known theropods

Allosaurus fragilis,
Tyrannosaurus rex,
Australovenator wintonensis (in Australia).

What did theropods look like?

Palaeontologists examine clues that extinct dinosaurs have left behind, found in fossils and evidence of animal activity, such as footprints and trackways. This is what ‘Broome’ theropods may have looked like.

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