Dysalotosaurus

Say it like this: “dis-a-LOHT-o-SOR-us”

Dysalotosaurus lettowvorbecki

Dysalotosaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Tanzania.

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When: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) · roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago
Named in: 1919 · Virchow, H.
Hip height: 0.9 m · 3 ft
Length: 2.5 m · 8 ft
Weight: 80 kg · 176 lb
Found in: Tanzania · Tendaguru
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Dryosauridae

The story in short

In 1919, H. Virchow published the name Dysalotosaurus.

Fossils referred to Dysalotosaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian), roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago. Finds come from Tanzania, including the Tendaguru Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Dysalotosaurus at a length near 2.5 m, hips about 0.9 m high, and a body mass around 80 kg.

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

Close relatives

Callovosaurus

Callovosaurus leedsi

Middle Jurassic (Callovian) · roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago

Dryosaurus

Dryosaurus altus

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago

Elrhazosaurus

Elrhazosaurus nigeriensis

Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago