Omnisaura

Dinosaur genus

Eucnemesaurus

Van Hoepen 1920

Eucnemesaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 227.3–201.4 million years old, in South Africa.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?2 high7 medium0 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
227.3–201.4 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
Van Hoepen 1920
highhigh: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources

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

Described in
E. C. N. Van Hoepen (1920). Contributions to the knowledge of the reptiles of the Karroo Formation. 6. Further dinosaurian material in the Transvaal Museum. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 7(2): 93–141.
highhigh: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Van Hoepen 1920), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
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
Eucnemesaurus fortis
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Lived
Norian to Rhaetian, 227.3–201.4 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation227.3–201.4 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 4 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

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

Fossils found in
South Africa
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Sources

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

Rock formations
Elliot Formation
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Sources

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

Family
Riojasauridae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

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

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

Species named in its records
Eucnemesaurus entaxonis, Eucnemesaurus fortis
Sources

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

Older or other names
Aliwalia (a junior synonym)
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (names it treats as this genus).

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.
  • Diet: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Way of life: 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: 4 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (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. Eucnemesaurus had gone at least 117.8 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 Eucnemesaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

EucnemesaurusSame rocks, same timeSame familyAlso found in South AfricaGrallatorMelanorosaurusBlikanasaurusPlateosauravusand 6 moreRiojasaurusMassospondylusand 3 more

Same rocks, same time 10

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

GrallatorMelanorosaurusBlikanasaurusPlateosauravusPseudotetrasauropusAnatrisauropusBosiutrisauropusMafatrisauropusPseudotrisauropusTrisauropodiscus

Same family: Riojasauridae 1

Other genera in Riojasauridae with a full profile.

Riojasaurus

Found in South Africa 4

Other genera found in South Africa, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

MelanorosaurusBlikanasaurusPlateosauravusMassospondylus

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.