Camptosaurus

Say it: KAMP-tə-SOR-əs

Name means: “flexible lizard”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Camptosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period. It had a beak like a bird and strong back legs, but it could also walk on all fours when eating low plants.1 2

Lived

158 to 143 million years ago3

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

western United States (Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming), Germany, and Spain3 1

Food

Plants1

Length

5 to 6.79 m1

some adults up to 6.79 m

Weight

500 kg to 1 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Camptosaurus means 'flexible lizard' because its back bones were thought to be bendy.1

It had four toes on each foot, which is unusual for ornithopods.1

A tiny 9-inch fossil embryo found in Utah may belong to Camptosaurus.1

Its thumb was a small spur, not a big spike like its relative Iguanodon.2

Scientists think Camptosaurus could run at about 25 km per hour (15 mph).1

The first fossils were found in Wyoming in 1879 by William Harlow Reed.1

AI-made picture of Camptosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Camptosaurus 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.

Myth buster

Myth: Camptosaurus always walked on two legs.

Truth: It could walk on two legs or on all fours, especially when feeding.2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Camptosaurus
Named by: Marsh 18853
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Ankylopollexia3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia3
Age of the rocks: 158 to 143 million years ()3
Rock formations: Morrison, Süntel, Villar del Arzobispo3
Countries: USA, Germany, Spain3
Fossil records: 42 in the Paleobiology Database3
Also known as: Brachyrophus, Camptonotus, Symphyrophus, Uteodon (older names now counted as the same animal)3
Discovery: Othniel Charles Marsh named Camptosaurus in 1885, after first calling it Camptonotus in 1879. The fossils came from Wyoming, USA.1
Still debated: Scientists debate which fossils truly belong to Camptosaurus and which belong to similar dinosaurs like Uteodon.1

Where the facts come from

Camptosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Camptosaurus | Jurassic Period, Quadrupedal, Herbivore | Britannica (britannica.com)
Camptosaurus 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.