Australian Theropods
Theropods were bipedal (walked on two legs) and had sharp claws and teeth to catch and devour their prey.
They were carnivores (meat-eaters).
They and ate anything they could catch and may have also scavenged on dead animals. Like their bird descendants, theropods probably had good eyesight, a keen sense of smell and a large brain.
0.8 meters to
2 meters
Estimated hip height.
3.5 meters to 7 meters
Estimated lengths (approximately).
Spectacular fossils from China and other parts of the world show that many non-avian theropods were covered in feathers or a feather-like covering.
The five different types of theropods that made tracks in the Broome Sandstone were medium to large.
Morphotypes are distinct types of tracks without formal names.
Megalosauropus broomensis is the name of the most common theropod track (track not dinosaur) on the Dinosaur Coast and was formally named in 1967.
Well known theropods
What did theropods look like?
Palaeontologists examine clues that extinct dinosaurs have left behind, found in fossils and evidence of animal activity, such as footprints and trackways. This is what ‘Broome’ theropods may have looked like.
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Megalosauropus broomensis (‘big lizard foot of Broome’)
Yangtzepus clarkei (‘Clarke’s Yangtze [River] foot’)
Broome theropod morphotype B
Discover more
Broome Dinosaurs
Ornithopods
Sauropods
