Drag to rotate the Torvosaurus, scroll or pinch to zoom, and click a body part - the head, a limb, or the tail - to read what fossils tell us about it. The panel beside the model carries the real figures.
Torvosaurus was a Late Jurassic megalosaurid, stockier and more heavily built than the lighter allosaurid theropods it shared the Morrison Formation with - turn on the human figure to see how a person compares to its roughly 9-11 m body.
The colors and skin here are an artistic reconstruction; fossils preserve bone, not soft tissue or color. This model is not a fossil-accurate skeleton. The measurements in the panel follow published estimates, with ranges shown where sources disagree.
Torvosaurus 3D Viewer
This page renders a Torvosaurus as a 3D model you can spin in the browser - drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom, toggle a 1.8 m person beside it for scale, and click the head, a limb, or the tail to read a fact about that part.
Torvosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic, about 152-148 million years ago, and is known from the Morrison Formation in the western United States and, as the separate species T. gurneyi, from the Lourinha Formation in Portugal - named in 1979 by Peter Galton and James Jensen. It was a stockier, more heavily built animal than the lighter allosaurid theropods it shared the Morrison Formation with, and it carried some of the largest theropod teeth known, with crowns up to about 10 cm long.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Length | about 9-11 m (panel baseline 10 m) |
| Hip height | about 3.5 m |
| Weight | about 2-4.5 t (panel baseline 3 t) |
| When it lived | about 152-148 million years ago (Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) |
| Diet | Carnivore |
Everything runs on your device with WebGL - no account, nothing sent to a server. Soft-tissue color is an artistic reconstruction; this model is not a fossil-accurate skeleton. Compare with the lighter-built Allosaurus 3D Viewer, a fellow Morrison Formation theropod, or the smaller Megalosaurus 3D Viewer, the genus that gives the megalosaurid family its name.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big was Torvosaurus?
Published length estimates run about 9-11 m with a mass of roughly 2-4.5 t. This page uses 10 m and 3 t as facts-panel baselines. Turn on the human figure to compare with a 1.8 m person.
What kind of dinosaur was Torvosaurus?
It was a megalosaurid theropod - a stockier, more heavily built carnivore than the lighter allosaurid theropods (like Allosaurus) it shared the Morrison Formation with. It also carried some of the largest theropod teeth known, with crowns up to about 10 cm.
When and where did Torvosaurus live?
In the Late Jurassic, roughly 152-148 million years ago. It was named in 1979 by Peter Galton and James Jensen from the Morrison Formation in the western United States; a second species, T. gurneyi, was later named from the Lourinha Formation in Portugal - a transatlantic range unusual for a Jurassic theropod.
How is Torvosaurus different from Allosaurus?
Both lived in the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation, but Torvosaurus was the more heavily built of the two, with proportionally shorter, more muscular arms and larger teeth. Allosaurus was more lightly built and far more common in the fossil record.
Is the model scientifically accurate?
The proportions follow published figures, but the skin color and soft-tissue outline are an artistic reconstruction - fossils preserve bone, not soft tissue or color. This model is not a fossil-accurate skeleton. The length, weight, and age figures shown are real published values, with ranges cited where sources disagree.
Do I need to install anything to view it?
No. The model renders in your browser with WebGL - no app, no account, and nothing about your visit is sent to a server. The 3D engine loads once and is then cached. When available, a free-licensed glTF model may swap in after first paint.