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Abrictosaurus

Say it: a-BRIC-to-SOR-us

Name means: “wakeful lizard”1 2

Ate: A bit of everythingBeaked plant-eatersEarly Jurassic

Abrictosaurus was a tiny, speedy dinosaur that munched on plants in the Early Jurassic. It had a beak at the front of its mouth and different kinds of teeth, kind of like we do. Scientists named it 'wakeful lizard' because they disagreed about whether it slept through dry seasons.1 2

Lived

201 to 193 million years ago4

Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

Lesotho and South Africa1 4

Food

A bit of everything1 2

Length

1.2 m1 2

Weight

12 kg to 45 kg1 2

estimates vary; one source gives 12 kg, another gives less than 45 kg

Height

0.4 m2

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 11 house cats

as long as 2.5 house cats nose to tailas long as 7 bananas end to endas heavy as 9 watermelons

How big was Abrictosaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Abrictosaurus is known from only two fossils: a partial skull and skeleton, plus a fragmentary skull.1

Unlike some relatives, its cheek teeth were widely spaced with low crowns, more like early ornithischians.1

One fossil had impressive tusks: an upper one 10.5 mm tall and a lower one 17 mm tall, serrated only on the front edge.1

It lived in a hot, half-dry environment with sand dunes and seasonal floods, alongside dinosaurs like Massospondylus and Heterodontosaurus.1

The first scientist who described it thought the tusks were just in males, so he called the female fossil 'consors', meaning partner or spouse.1 2

Abrictosaurus had small, weak forelimbs with only four finger bones in the fourth and fifth fingers, fewer than its relative Heterodontosaurus.1

AI-made picture of Abrictosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Abrictosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Abrictosaurus

?How big was Abrictosaurus?

About 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) long and weighed less than 45 kilograms (99 pounds). That is about as long as a small bicycle.1 2

?What did Abrictosaurus eat?

It was a herbivore or omnivore, meaning it mostly ate plants but may have eaten small animals too. It had a beak for cropping plants and different kinds of teeth for chewing.1 3

?Did Abrictosaurus have tusks?

Yes, one of the two known fossils had impressive tusks: an upper one 10.5 mm tall and a lower one 17 mm tall, serrated only on the front edge. The other fossil lacked tusks, which may mean it was a female or a juvenile.1 2

?When did Abrictosaurus live?

It lived during the Early Jurassic Period, about 200 to 190 million years ago. That is long before the famous T. rex.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Abrictosaurus had no tusks because it was female.

Truth: Abrictosaurus did have tusks. One fossil shows clear upper and lower tusks, but they are serrated only on the front, unlike relatives that have serrations on both sides.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Abrictosaurus
Named by: Hopson 19754
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Heterodontosauridae4
Classification: Ornithischia > Heterodontosauridae4
Age of the rocks: 201 to 193 million years (Hettangian / Sinemurian)4
Rock formations: Elliot4
Countries: Lesotho4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The first fossil was found in Lesotho and named Lycorhinus consors by Richard Thulborn in 1974. In 1975, James Hopson gave it the new genus name Abrictosaurus after studying another skull from South Africa.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether Abrictosaurus is really a different genus from Lycorhinus and Heterodontosaurus. Some think all three might just be species of Lycorhinus.1

Where the facts come from

Abrictosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
ABRICTOSAURUS : DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
Abrictosaurus — Early Jurassic heterodontosaurid from southern Africa (en.alegsaonline.com)
Abrictosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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