Anasazisaurus

Say it like this: “AH-nuh-SAH-zee-SOR-uhs”

Anasazisaurus horneri

Anasazisaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Anasazisaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 1993 · Hunt, A. P.; Lucas, S. G.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 7.5 m · 25 ft
Weight: 2.5 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Kirtland
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Saurolophinae

The story in short

In 1993, A. P. Hunt and S. G. Lucas published the name Anasazisaurus. The name means “anasazi lizard.”

Fossils referred to Anasazisaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Kirtland Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Anasazisaurus at a length near 7.5 m and a body mass around 2.5 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Saurolophinae, among the ornithopod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Acristavus

Acristavus gagslarsoni

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Ahshislesaurus

Ahshislesaurus wimani

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Augustynolophus

Augustynolophus morrisi

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