Diluvicursor

Say it: di-LOO-vee-KUR-sor

Name means: “flood runner”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Diluvicursor was a small, fast-running dinosaur that lived in what is now Australia. It had a strong tail and sturdy legs, and it ate plants like flowers and seeds.1

Lived

113 to 110 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Victoria, southeastern Australia, at the Eric the Red West site near Cape Otway1

Food

Plants1

Length

1.2 to 2.3 m1

juvenile holotype about 1.2 m; adult estimated at least 2.3 m from a larger vertebra

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 5 house cats nose to tailas long as 13 bananas end to end

How big was Diluvicursor compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Diluvicursor's name means 'flood runner' because its body was found in a deep, fast-moving river deposit.1

The only known skeleton is a juvenile that was about 1.2 metres long, about the size of a wild turkey.1

An adult Diluvicursor probably grew to at least 2.3 metres long, similar in size to a rhea.1

Its tail was short but very strong, with wide bones that suggest powerful muscles for running.2

Diluvicursor lived about 113 to 112 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.1

The fossil was found in a log-filled scour in an ancient river, possibly caught on a tree stump.1

Scientists think Diluvicursor was closely related to other small ornithopods from South America and Antarctica.2

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

?How big was Diluvicursor?

A young Diluvicursor was about 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) long, about the size of a wild turkey. An adult probably grew to at least 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) long, similar in size to a rhea.1 2

?What did Diluvicursor eat?

Diluvicursor was a plant-eater. Its diet probably included flowers, seeds, fruit, pine nuts, mosses, and lichens.1

?Could Diluvicursor run fast?

Yes, scientists think Diluvicursor was a good runner. Its short, strong tail had powerful muscles that helped it run quickly.1 3

?When did Diluvicursor live?

Diluvicursor lived about 113 to 112 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Diluvicursor
Named by: Herne et al. 20184
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Elasmaria4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia4
Age of the rocks: 113 to 110 million years (Albian)4
Rock formations: Eumeralla4
Countries: Australia4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The fossils were discovered in 2005 at a beach near Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. Scientists named it Diluvicursor pickeringi in 2018, honoring David A. Pickering.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Diluvicursor is the same as other small ornithopods from the same area, like Atlascopcosaurus or Leaellynasaura, because their fossils don't overlap.1

Where the facts come from

Diluvicursor (en.wikipedia.org)
A new small-bodied ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from a deep, high-energy Early Cretaceous river of the Australian, Antarctic rift system (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Turkey-sized dinosaur discovered in ancient log-jam - News - The University of Queensland (news.uq.edu.au)
Diluvicursor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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