In Depth
The full type species name for this dinosaur is Lepidus praecisio which means ‘fascinating fragment’. This is because while not many fossils of this dinosaur are known, we can observe that the astragalus (talos) and calcaneum are fused into one, which is a trait of neotheropod dinosaurs. At the same time however, the tibia shows a similarity to more primitive theropod dinosaur forms such as Herrerasaurus.
Living in what is now the USA during the Triassic, it is possible that Lepidus lived ina same ecosystems as dinosaurs such as Coelophysis and Tawa.
Further Reading
- The early fossil record of dinosaurs in North America: A new neotheropod from the base of the Upper Triassic Dockum Group of Texas. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60. - Sterling J. Nesbitt & Martin D. Ezcurra - 2015.
