Iyuku

Say it like this: “eye-YOO-koo”

Iyuku raathi

Iyuku ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in South Africa.

Quiz me on Iyuku

When: Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) · roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago
Named in: 2023 · Forster, C. A.; de Klerk, W. J.; Poole, K. E.; Chinsamy‐Turan, A.; Roberts, E. M.; Ross, C. F.
Hip height: 1 m · 3 ft
Length: 3.6 m · 12 ft
Weight: 90 kg · 198 lb
Found in: South Africa · Kirkwood
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Dryosauridae

The story in short

Iyuku was formally named in 2023 by C. A. Forster and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian), roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago. Finds come from South Africa, including the Kirkwood Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Iyuku at a length near 3.6 m, hips about 1 m high, and a body mass around 90 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

Dysalotosaurus

Dysalotosaurus lettowvorbecki

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) · roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago