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bird-hipped dinosaur
Heterodontosaurus
Say it like this: “HET-e-ro-DON-to-SAWR-us”
Heterodontosaurus tucki
Heterodontosaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in South Africa.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1962 · Crompton, A. W.; Charig, A. J.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 1.2–1.8 m · 4–6 ft
- Weight
- 2–10 kg · 4–22 lb
- Found in
- South Africa · Clarens
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- bird-hipped dinosaur · Ornithischian
- Family branch
- Heterodontosaurinae
The story in short
In 1962, A. W. Crompton and A. J. Charig published the name Heterodontosaurus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Heterodontosaurus date to the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian), roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago. Finds come from South Africa, including the Clarens Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Heterodontosaurus at a length near 1.2–1.8 m and a body mass around 2–10 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Heterodontosaurinae, among the bird-hipped dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Abrictosaurus
Abrictosaurus consors
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Lycorhinus
Lycorhinus angustidens
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Manidens
Manidens condorensis
Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago