Dinosaurs · Large theropod

Abelisaurus

Say it ah-BEEL-ee-sore-us. The name means ‘Abels lizard’.

Abelisaurus beside a person 1.75 m tall. Ticks mark every metre.Body shape drawn for this site, showing the general build of large theropods

Length: 9 m
Diet: Meat-eater
When: Late Cretaceous74 to 70 million years ago
Fossils found in: Argentina
Named by: Bonaparte and Novas (1985)
Family tree: Dinosauria › Saurischia › Theropoda › Ceratosauria › Abelisauridae › Abelisaurinae

Where Abelisaurus sits in the age of dinosaurs.Periods from the ICS chart; dinosaur dates from the Natural History Museum

Large theropods. Big two-legged meat-eaters, such as Tyrannosaurus. See all 63

Lived at the same time

Dreadnoughtus · same country
Noasaurus · same country
Puertasaurus · same country
Aucasaurus · same country
Gasparinisaura · same country
Neuquensaurus · same country
Secernosaurus · same country
Kritosaurus · same country

Other large theropods

Dromiceiomimus Late Cretaceous
Ornithomimus Late Cretaceous
Tarbosaurus Late Cretaceous
Albertosaurus Late Cretaceous
Daspletosaurus Late Cretaceous
Rajasaurus Late Cretaceous
Alioramus Late Cretaceous
Indosuchus Late Cretaceous

Source: Abelisaurus in the Natural History Museum Dino Directory, read 12 November 2026. Sizes are the museum's estimates for a typical adult. "Lived at the same time" lists dinosaurs whose dates overlap, which does not always mean they met.