Named By: | Steve Hutt et al. in 2001 |
Time Period: | Early Cretaceous, 130 Ma |
Location: | United Kingdom, Isle of Wight - Wessex Formation |
Size: | Up to 4 meters long for holotype specimen, may have grown bigger |
Diet: | unavailable |
Fossil(s): | Skull and Partial skeleton of a juvenile |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Dinosauria | Saurischia | Theropoda | Coelurosauria | Tyrannosauroidea | |
Eotyrannus (meaning "dawn tyrant") is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation beds, included in Wealden Group, located in the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The remains (MIWG1997.550), consisting of assorted skull, axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton elements, from a juvenile or subadult, found in a plant debris clay bed, were described by Hutt et al. in early 2001. The etymology of the generic name refers to the animals classification as an early tyrannosaur or "tyrant lizard", while the specific name honors the discoverer of the fossil.