Saurophaganax

dinosaurs · mystery · jurassic

A confusing discovery. Saurophaganax was named as a dinosaur from Oklahoma, but scientists later realized it might not be a single creature at all. Different bones that were grouped together probably came from separate dinosaur species.

Ancient time period. Saurophaganax lived during the Late Jurassic period, around 150 million years ago, in what is now Oklahoma. This was when some of the biggest dinosaurs ever roamed the earth.

Mixed up bones. Some of the fossils that scientists thought belonged to Saurophaganax probably came from giant sauropods with long necks, while other bones might have come from meat-eating allosaurus dinosaurs instead.

Scientific mystery. Because scientists aren't sure what Saurophaganax really was, it's considered a questionable fossil that needs more study. Finding the real story behind these bones is like solving a dinosaur puzzle.