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Atlascopcosaurus

Say it: at-LAS-koh-poh-SORE-us

Name means: “Atlas Copco lizard, named after the Atlas Copco Corporation that supplied tools for the dinosaur dig”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Atlascopcosaurus was a small, fast-running plant-eater that lived in ancient Australia. It had a beak and cheek teeth for chewing tough plants, and it was about the size of a turkey or an ostrich.2

Lived

126 to 110 million years ago6

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Victoria, southeastern Australia (Point Lewis and Dinosaur Cove in the Otway region, and Flat Rocks in the Inverloch region)1

Food

Plants6

Length

2 to 3 m3 4

Weight

40 kg to 125 kg3 5

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 4 big dogs

as long as 3 dogs nose to tailas long as 17 bananas end to endas heavy as 25 watermelons

How big was Atlascopcosaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Atlascopcosaurus lived in the Early Cretaceous, about 125 to 110 million years ago, when Australia was still connected to Antarctica.6

The name Atlascopcosaurus honors the Atlas Copco Corporation, which provided the pneumatic tools used to dig at Dinosaur Cove.1

Only a partial left upper jaw (maxilla) with teeth was found for the main specimen, so scientists know little about its full body.1

Some scientists think Atlascopcosaurus might actually be the same as another dinosaur called Leaellynasaura, but others disagree.2

It was a small ornithopod, about the size of a turkey or an ostrich, and could probably run fast on two legs.2

AI-made picture of Atlascopcosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Atlascopcosaurus 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 Atlascopcosaurus

?How big was Atlascopcosaurus?

It was about 2 to 3 metres long and weighed roughly 125 kg.3

?What did Atlascopcosaurus eat?

It was a herbivore, eating plants with its beak and cheek teeth.4

?When did Atlascopcosaurus live?

It lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 121 to 97 million years ago.4

?Is Atlascopcosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a small ornithopod dinosaur.3 4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Atlascopcosaurus
Named by: Rich and Vickers-Rich 19896
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Elasmaria6
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia6
Age of the rocks: 126 to 110 million years (Barremian / Albian)6
Rock formations: Eumeralla, "Wonthaggi"6
Countries: Australia6
Fossil records: 7 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery: Atlascopcosaurus was named in 1989 by Patricia Rich and Tom Vickers-Rich. The first fossil, a left upper jaw piece, was found at Point Lewis in Victoria, Australia.6 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Atlascopcosaurus is a valid dinosaur or if its fossils actually belong to Leaellynasaura.2

Where the facts come from

Untitled Document (paleofile.com)
Anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the Early Cretaceous ornithopod dinosaurs of the Australian-Antarctic rift system (exa.ai)
Atlascopcosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Atlascopcosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Atlascopcosaurus loadsi | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
Atlascopcosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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