Omnisaura

Dinosaur genus

Cruxicheiros

Benson and Radley 2010

Cruxicheiros is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 168.2–165.3 million years old, in the United Kingdom.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high6 medium4 lowHow we rate confidence

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
168.2–165.3 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Benson and Radley 2010
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
R. B. J. Benson, J. D. Radley (2010). A new large-bodied theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Warwickshire, United Kingdom. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 55(1): 35–42. Read it
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Benson and Radley 2010).
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
Cruxicheiros newmanorum
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Lived
Bathonian, 168.2–165.3 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation168.2–165.3 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
lowlow: 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
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Chipping Norton Limestone Formation
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Parent group
Tetanurae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Species named in its records
Cruxicheiros newmanorum
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).

Diet
carnivore (inferred for its group)
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Theropoda, 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)
lowlow: 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).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

  • Order: no source we use gives it 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); age (headline) (PBDB); 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

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

?

No. Cruxicheiros had gone at least 81.7 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record, a longer gap than the 66 million years between Tyrannosaurus and today.

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 Cruxicheiros by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same rocks, same time 2

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Same parent group: Tetanurae 3

Other genera in Tetanurae with a full profile.

Found in United Kingdom 7

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.