Sarcosaurus (Latin: "flesh lizard") is a genus of basal neotheropod dinosaur, roughly 3.5 metres (11 ft) long.

The specimen shows some evidence of skeletal maturity, meaning it is not an early juvenile, but its exact ontogenetic stage cannot be ascertained.

[1][2] Sarcosaurus shares certain morphological conditions with other neotheropods, including Liliensternus liliensterni (collateral fossae of the metatarsal II with similar development and shape on both sides, larger ratio on the centrum) and Dilophosaurus wetherilli (lateral collateral fossa is bigger than the medial one in the metatarsal, middle caudal series proportionately lower and narrower than the middle−posterior dorsal vertebra).

[4] A second species, Sarcosaurus andrewsi, was named by Friedrich von Huene in 1932,[5] based on a 445-millimetre (17.5 in) tibia, BMNH R3542, described by Arthur Smith Woodward in 1908 and found near Wilmcote.

[9] Von Huene in 1932 referred a partial skeleton from the collection of the Warwick Museum to S. woodi but the identity was unproven; in 1995 it was given the informal name "Liassaurus"[10] but this has remained a nomen nudum.

[16] In 2018, Andrea Cau in the large analysis of Saltriovenator found Sarcosaurus to be a dilophosaurid with good amount of support in the data.

[17] In 2020, Ezcurra et al. recovered Sarcosaurus as a close relative of Averostra due to the presence of shared characters including an anteroventrally oriented ventral margin of the preacetabular process in lateral view on the ilium and a femur with a poorly posteriorly developed fourth trochanter.

[12] Tawa Chindesaurus Eodromaeus Coelophysoidea Zupaysaurus Gojirasaurus Cryolophosaurus Dilophosaurus Sarcosaurus Tachiraptor Averostra The holotype specimen was collected from strata (bucklandi zone, Sinemurian) that were deposited in epicontinental, shallow, marine settings affected by sea-level fluctuations and a warm, predominantly humid climate.

[20] Wilmcote was related to the eastern margin of the Worcester Graben during the Early Jurassic and adjacent to the East Midlands Shelf.

[21] The western margin of the emergent London Platform at 60–80 km to the south-east was probably the principal source of terrestrial biodebris.