Genus
Valid Extinct

Rajasaurus

Wilson et al. 2003
Etymology De ''Raja'', prince ou princier en Sanskrit et du Grec ''sauros'', lézard.

Rajasaurus is a genus of carnivorous abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of India, containing one species: Rajasaurus narmadensis. The bones were excavated from the Lameta Formation in the Gujarat state of Western India, probably inhabiting what is now the Narmada River Valley. It was formally described by palaeontologist Jeffrey A. Wilson and colleagues in 2003 based on a partial skeleton comprising the braincase, spine, hip bone, legs, and tail–a first for an Indian theropod. The dinosaur likely measured 6.6 metres (22 ft), and had a single horn on the forehead which was probably used for display and head-butting. Like other abelisaurids, Rajasaurus was probably an ambush predator.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Rajasaurus
click to enlarge
The theropod skull displays the distinctive features of this apex predator, including a long, robust snout, conical teeth, and strong jaw muscles adapted for gripping and tearing prey. © Anushka10patel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Theropoda Unranked clade
Neotheropoda Unranked clade
Averostra Unranked clade
Ceratosauria Suborder
Abelisauridae Family
Carnotaurinae Subfamily
Majungasaurini Tribe
Rajasaurus Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇮🇳 India
1
Geological formations
Lameta
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Rajasaurus narmadensis 72 Ma
Images 3
Bibliography
Original description
J. A. Wilson, P. C. Sereno, and S. Srivastava, D. K. Bhatt, A. Khosla, A. Sahni. 2003. A new abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lameta Formation (Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of India. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 31(1):1-42
Bibliography (1)
J. A. Wilson, P. C. Sereno, and S. Srivastava, D. K. Bhatt, A. Khosla, A. Sahni. 2003. A new abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lameta Formation (Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of India. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 31(1):1-42