Trinisaura

Say it like this: “TRIH-nee-SOR-uh”

Trinisaura santamartaensis

Trinisaura ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Antarctica.

Quiz me on Trinisaura

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2013 · Coria, R. A.; Moly, J. J.; Reguero, M.; Santillana, S.; Marenssi, S.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 1.5 m · 5 ft
Weight: 21 kg · 46 lb
Found in: Antarctica · Snow Hill Island
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Elasmaria

The story in short

The genus Trinisaura dates to 2013, the year R. A. Coria and colleagues described it.

Fossils referred to Trinisaura date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Antarctica, including the Snow Hill Island Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Trinisaura at a length near 1.5 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 21 kg.

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

Close relatives

Anabisetia

Anabisetia saldiviai

Late Cretaceous (Turonian) · roughly 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago

Atlascopcosaurus

Atlascopcosaurus loadsi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian · Albian) · roughly 125.8 to 100.5 million years ago

Chakisaurus

Chakisaurus nekul

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago