Genus
Valid Extinct

Daemonosaurus

Sues et al. 2011
Etymology esprit du mal

Daemonosaurus is an extinct genus of possible theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic of New Mexico. The only known fossil is a skull and neck fragments from deposits of the latest Triassic Chinle Formation at Ghost Ranch. Daemonosaurus was an unusual dinosaur with a short skull and large, fang-like teeth. It lived alongside early neotheropods such as Coelophysis, which would have been among the most common dinosaurs by the end of the Triassic. However, Daemonosaurus retains several plesiomorphic ("primitive") traits of the snout, and it likely lies outside the clade Neotheropoda. It may be considered a late-surviving basal theropod or non-theropod basal saurischian, possibly allied to other early predatory dinosaurs such as herrerasaurids or Tawa.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Terrestrial
Daemonosaurus
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Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Saurischia Unranked clade
Daemonosaurus Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
1
Geological formations
Chinle
1
Temporal distribution
Rhaetian (205.7–201.4 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Daemonosaurus chauliodus 206 Ma
News 1
Daemonosaurus: Beast of the Week
Daemonosaurus: Beast of the Week
Mexico United States Late Triassic Triassic Daemonosaurus +2
 This week we will be checking out a unique looking early dinosaur with a very cool name.  Meet Daemonosaurus chaoliodus!Daemonosaurus was a small meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, United States, during the late Triassic period, roughly between 205 and 200 million years ago.  From nose to tail it is estimated to have measured roughly 5 to 7 feet (1.5-2.2m).  These are estimates based on the fact that only the skull and neck were found.  The genus name translates to "Demo
05/04/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
H.-D. Sues, S. J. Nesbitt, and D. S. Berman, A. C. Henrici. 2011. A late-surviving basal theropod dinosaur from the latest Triassic of North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:3459-3464 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
H.-D. Sues, S. J. Nesbitt, and D. S. Berman, A. C. Henrici. 2011. A late-surviving basal theropod dinosaur from the latest Triassic of North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:3459-3464 DOI ↗