Enigmacursor
Enigmacursor was a tiny, speedy plant-eater that lived alongside giants like Diplodocus and Stegosaurus. It had long legs and big feet, perfect for dashing through the floodplains of ancient Colorado.1
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Fun facts
Enigmacursor is known from a single, unusually complete skeleton, but the skull is still missing.1
Its closest relative is Yandusaurus hongheensis, a dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China.3
The name 'Enigmacursor' means 'puzzling runner' because scientists were confused for a long time about small plant-eaters from the Morrison Formation.1
It lived between 152 and 145 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic Period.1
Enigmacursor was a neornithischian dinosaur, a group of beaked, plant-eating ornithischians.2
Most asked questions about Enigmacursor
?How big was Enigmacursor?
Enigmacursor was about 1.8 metres (6 feet) long. It was one of the smaller dinosaurs in the Morrison Formation.1
?What did Enigmacursor eat?
Enigmacursor was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It likely fed on ferns and cycads that grew on the floodplains where it lived.1
?When did Enigmacursor live?
Enigmacursor lived during the Late Jurassic Period, about 152 to 145 million years ago. It shared its home with dinosaurs like Diplodocus and Stegosaurus.1
?Where was Enigmacursor found?
Enigmacursor was found in Colorado, USA, in a famous fossil site called the Morrison Formation. It lived on ancient floodplains and riverbanks.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Many small dinosaur fossils from the Morrison Formation were thought to be different species like Nanosaurus, Laosaurus and Drinker.
Truth: Scientists now think those fossils are not distinct enough to name, and only Enigmacursor is a valid species.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Enigmacursor
- Named by
- Maidment and Barrett 20254
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Neornithischia4
- Classification
- Ornithischia4
- Age of the rocks
- 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)4
- Rock formations
- Morrison4
- Countries
- USA4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Enigmacursor was named by Susannah Maidment and Paul Barrett in 2025. The species name mollyborthwickae honors Molly Lowell Borthwick, who helped fund the purchase of the only known specimen.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are still unsure about the full appearance of Enigmacursor because the skull and some other bones have not been found.1
Where the facts come from
- Enigmacursor (nhm.ac.uk)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae , a neornithischian dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western USA (exa.ai)
- Enigmacursor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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