Omnisaura

Footprint type

Therangospodus

Lockley et al. 2000

Therangospodus is a footprint type: the name is for the fossil footprints themselves. The animal that made them is not known for certain. Its footprints are found in rocks 168.6–132.6 million years old in 7 countries, most often the United States and Algeria.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high13 medium8 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
168.6–132.6 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 168.6–132.6 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 168.6–119.6 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

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
Lockley et al. 2000
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Described in
M. G. Lockley, C. A. Meyer, J. J. Moratalla (2000). Therangospodus: trackway evidence for the widespread distribution of a Late Jurassic theropod with well-padded feet. GAIA 15: 339–353.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Lockley et al. 2000).
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.

Dated to
Bajocian to Aptian, 168.6–119.6 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation168.6–132.6 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 20 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

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

Found in
Algeria
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
China
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Spain
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
United States
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (11 records).
Portugal
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Turkmenistan
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
United Kingdom
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

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

Rock formations
Entrada Sandstone
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (7 records).
Summerville
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Tiloula
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Tuchengzi
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Kurek
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Lourinhã
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Morrison Formation
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Summerville/Bluff Sandstone
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Valtos Sandstone
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

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

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

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

Species named in its records
Therangospodus pandemicus
Sources

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

Known from
Footprints and traces
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Made by
Not known for certain. Footprints rarely show which animal made them.
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

  • The animal that made them: not known for certain, as for most footprint types.
  • Type species: no source we use gives it 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.
  • Held back: 8 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
  • Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (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. Therangospodus had gone at least 49 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 Therangospodus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

TherangospodusFound in the same rocksSame parent groupSame naming authorAlso found in United StatesGrallatorMegalosauripusTorvosaurusEubrontesand 22 moreAgeroolithusAnteavisBoutakioutichniumByakudansauropusand 29 moreCarmelopodusCeratopsipesDinehichnusEosauropusand 7 moreAllosaurusCamarasaurusDiplodocusApatosaurusand 30 more

Found in the same rocks 26

Genera and other fossil types from the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

GrallatorMegalosauripusTorvosaurusEubrontesAllosaurusCeratosaurusDacentrurusDeltapodusLourinhasaurusBrontopodusCamarasaurusCarmelopodusLourinhanosaurusAmphicoeliasApatosaurusBrachiosaurusand 10 more

Named by Lockley 11

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

CarmelopodusCeratopsipesDinehichnusEosauropusHadrosauropodusNeoanomoepusOstendichnusParabrontopodusSiamopodusStegopodusTyrannosauripus

Found in United States 34

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

AllosaurusCamarasaurusDiplodocusApatosaurusStegosaurusCamptosaurusBrontosaurusDryosaurusNanosaurusBarosaurusCeratosaurusHesperosaurusBrachiosaurusTorvosaurusCoelurusMegalosauripusand 18 more

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