Claosaurus
Claosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 87 to 82 million years ago. It had a long tail and could walk on its hind legs. Its fossils were found in Kansas, USA, in rocks that were once the bottom of an ancient sea.12
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Fun facts
Claosaurus was first named in 1872 as Hadrosaurus agilis, but was given its own genus in 1890.1
The fossils of Claosaurus were found in a chalk bed that was once the floor of a shallow sea.2
Claosaurus is one of the earliest hadrosauroids, the group that includes duck-billed dinosaurs.1
Only a partial skull and some bones of the body have been found, so scientists are not sure how big it really was.1
One estimate says Claosaurus was about 3.7 metres (12 feet) long and weighed as much as a lion.1
Claosaurus probably died on land, then was washed into the sea and sank to the bottom.2
Most asked questions about Claosaurus
?How big was Claosaurus?
About 3.7 metres long and weighed as much as a lion. But scientists are not sure because only a partial skeleton has been found.12
?What did Claosaurus eat?
It was an herbivore, meaning it ate plants.1
?Where was Claosaurus found?
In Kansas, USA, in a chalk bed that was once the floor of an ancient sea.12
?Could Claosaurus swim?
It was a land animal, but its fossils were found in an ancient sea, so it probably died on land and was washed into the water.2
?Why is it called Claosaurus?
The name means 'broken lizard' in Greek, because the fossils were found in a broken, odd position.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Claosaurus
- Named by
- Marsh 18903
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Hadrosauroidea3
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia3
- Age of the rocks
- 90 to 72 million years (Coniacian / Campanian)3
- Rock formations
- Pierre Shale, Niobrara3
- Countries
- USA3
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- The first fossils of Claosaurus were found in 1871 near the Smoky Hill River in Kansas, USA. Othniel Charles Marsh named it in 1890 after realizing it was different from Hadrosaurus.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Claosaurus was because only a few bones have been found.1
Where the facts come from
- Claosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Claosaurus | GeoKansas (geokansas.ku.edu)
- Claosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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