Amtosaurus

Say it like this: “AHM-to-SAWR-us”

Amtosaurus magnus

Amtosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Mongolia.

Quiz me on Amtosaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago
Named in: 1978 · Kurzanov, S. M.; Tumanova, T. A.
Hip height: Not established
Length: Not established
Weight: Not established
Found in: Mongolia · Bayanshiree
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: bird-hipped dinosaur · Ornithischian
Family branch: Ornithischia

The story in short

In 1978, S. M. Kurzanov and T. A. Tumanova published the name Amtosaurus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Amtosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian), roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago. Finds come from Mongolia, including the Bayanshiree Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

The fossils of Amtosaurus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.

On the family tree it sits in Ornithischia, among the bird-hipped dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Alocodon

Alocodon kuehnei

Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Callovian · Oxfordian) · roughly 165.3 to 154.8 million years ago

Archaeocursor

Archaeocursor asiaticus

Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago

Brachypodosaurus

Brachypodosaurus gravis

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago