Open Paleo

Liliensternus

Welles, 1984 LIL-ee-en-SHTER-nus

Named for German paleontologist Hugo Rühle von Lilienstern, who collected early specimens of this dinosaur.

227.3–205.7 million years ago Norian, Late Triassic
Late Triassic stages

Liliensternus is an extinct genus of basal neotheropod dinosaur that lived approximately 210 million years ago during the latter part of the Triassic Period in what is now Germany. Liliensternus was a bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that could grow up to 5.15 m (16.9 ft) long; however, this size estimate is based on specimens now believed to be subadults, and possible fragmentary remains indicate an adult length of 7 to 9 meters. It is the best represented Triassic theropod from Europe and one of the largest known.

Under dispute

Liliensternus liliensterni is recovered at the base of Coelophysoidea by some analyses (Ezcurra and colleagues, 2020) but outside Coelophysoidea as a basal neotheropod by others (Spiekman and colleagues, 2021; Marsh and Rowe, 2020).

Diagnosis

  1. Anterior cervical vertebrae bearing a ventral longitudinal keel that fades by the fifth cervical vertebra
  2. Sacral ribs very short and set high and forward, so the upper edges of the two ilia are very closely approximated
  3. Humerus about two-thirds the length of the scapula and half the length of the femur
  4. Femur only slightly longer than the tibia, with a peg-shaped, freely projecting greater trochanter and a long fourth trochanter set above femoral midlength
  5. Fibula convex anteriorly, curved opposite to the tibia, with a small fibulare fused to the tibiale into a common trochlea
  6. Pubis narrow, about as long as the femur, distally thickened into a club-like end

Species

Liliensternus liliensterni (Huene, 1934)

Type species

First named as Halticosaurus liliensterni

Named for Count Hugo Rühle von Lilienstern, an amateur paleontologist and medical doctor who discovered the holotype specimens in Germany and founded a paleontological museum in Lilienstern's castle.

Holotype
MB.R.2175 , Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Material
Partial and fragmentary skeletons of at least two individuals including skull elements, lower jaws, vertebrae, and appendicular skeleton
Horizon
upper Arnstadt Formation, Norian, Late Triassic , 227.3–205.7 million years ago
Locality
Grosser Gleichberg, Thuringia, Germany

Synonyms

  • Halticosaurus liliensterni reassigned

    Originally described as Halticosaurus liliensterni by Huene (1934); reassigned to the new genus Liliensternus by Welles (1984) after the type species of Halticosaurus was deemed a nomen dubium.

References

  1. Huene, F. V. (1934). Ein neuer Coelurosaurier in der thüringischen Trias [A new coelurosaur in the Thuringian Trias]. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 16(3/4): 145-170.

    First description of the holotype material, assigned to Halticosaurus liliensterni; reassigned to Liliensternus by Welles (1984).

    huene1934a
  2. Welles, S. P. (1984). Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda): osteology and comparisons. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 185: 85-180. welles1984a
  3. Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Maidment, S. C. R.; Sansom, I. J.; Meade, L. E.; Radley, J. D. (2020). A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) of central England. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191: 113-149. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa054

    Neotheropod revision recovering Liliensternus at the base of Coelophysoidea.

    ezcurra2020a
  4. Spiekman, S. N. F.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Fraser, N. C.; Maidment, S. C. R. (2021). Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales. Royal Society Open Science 8(10). The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rsos.210915

    Coelophysoid description recovering Liliensternus outside Coelophysoidea as a basal neotheropod.

    spiekman2021a
  5. Marsh, A. D.; Rowe, T. B. (2020). A comprehensive anatomical and phylogenetic evaluation of Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda) with descriptions of new specimens from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona. Journal of Paleontology 94(S78): 1-103. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.14

    Dilophosaurus phylogenetic evaluation placing Liliensternus as a basal neotheropod.

    marsh2020a
  6. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Treats Liliensternus as a basal neotheropod.

    jones2026c
  7. Sues, H. D.; Schoch, R. R. (2025). Synopsis of the Triassic reptiles from Germany. Fossil Record 28(2): 411-483. Pensoft Publishers. doi:10.3897/fr.28.164405

    Gives the type horizon as the top of the Arnstadt Formation, correlating the nodular marls of the older literature.

    sues2025a