Dinosaur genus
Calamosaurus
Calamosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 125.8–119.6 million years old, in the United Kingdom.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Lydekker 1891
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- R. Lydekker (1891). On certain ornithosaurian and dinosaurian remains. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 47: 41–44. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Lydekker 1891).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Type species
- Calamosaurus foxi
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Lived
- Barremian to Aptian, 125.8–119.6 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.Omnisaura calculation125.8–119.6 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordslow
low: Omnisaura's calculation from only 1 dated record(s).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- United Kingdom
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Wessex Formation
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Parent group
- Tyrannosauroidea
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Order
- Saurischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
- Diet
- carnivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Coelurosauria, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling, solitary (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Theropoda; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Family: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
1 openFormations
- records nothing herePBDB
- Wessex FormationNHM
One source names a formation the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.
Did it meet…?
No. Calamosaurus had gone at least 36 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Calamosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same parent group: Tyrannosauroidea 7
Other genera in Tyrannosauroidea with a full profile.
Named by Lydekker 2
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in United Kingdom 14
Other genera found in United Kingdom, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.