Telmatosaurus

Say it like this: “TEL-ma-to-SAWR-us”

Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus

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

Quiz me on Telmatosaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Named in: 1903 · Nopcsa, B. F.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 5 m · 16 ft
Weight: 600 kg · 1,323 lb
Found in: Romania · Sânpetru
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Hadrosauromorpha

The story in short

In 1903, B. F. Nopcsa published the name Telmatosaurus. The name means “marsh lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Romania, including the Sânpetru Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Telmatosaurus at a length near 5 m and a body mass around 600 kg.

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

Close relatives

Bactrosaurus

Bactrosaurus johnsoni

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

Claosaurus

Claosaurus agilis

Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian) · roughly 89.8 to 83.6 million years ago

Eolambia

Eolambia caroljonesa

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago