Foskeia
Foskeia was a small, two-legged plant-eater that lived in what is now Spain. It had a beak and a very special skull, and it was one of the earliest members of its dinosaur group.1
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Fun facts
Foskeia had a beak made of fused premaxillae bones, which is very unusual for an ornithopod dinosaur.1
Its front teeth stuck out forward (procumbent) and the crowns extended beyond the edge of the beak.1
The first tooth in its lower jaw was shaped like a thin thread (filiform), which is a unique feature.1
Foskeia had a very high jaw joint, which helped it bite with extra force.1
Scientists used CT scans to see inside the skull fossils and build a 3D model of the head.1
Foskeia lived about 125 to 119 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.2
This dinosaur is the earliest known member of a group called Rhabdodontia, which lived only in Europe.1
Most asked questions about Foskeia
?How big was Foskeia?
Foskeia was very small, about 0.5 metres (1.6 feet) long, making it one of the smallest ornithopods known.31
?What did Foskeia eat?
Foskeia was a plant-eater (herbivore). Its name means 'light forager', referring to its small size and presumed herbivorous habits.3
?Could Foskeia walk on two legs?
Yes, adults were bipedal. Juveniles started out walking on all fours, but switched to two legs early in life.3
?Why did Foskeia have a beak?
Foskeia had a beak made of fused premaxillae bones, which is unusual for an ornithopod. It likely used it to bite off plant material.3
?When did Foskeia live?
Foskeia lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 125 to 119 million years ago, in what is now Spain.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Foskeia
- Named by
- Dieudonné et al. 20264
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Rhabdodontia4
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia4
- Age of the rocks
- 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)4
- Rock formations
- Castrillo de la Reina4
- Countries
- Spain4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Foskeia was named in 2026 by a team of scientists led by Dieudonné, based on fossils found at the Vegagete site in Burgos, Spain. The remains were first thought to belong to a different dinosaur, but new skull bones showed it was a new species.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Foskeia grew, because only a few bones have been found so far.1
Where the facts come from
- Foskeia pelendonum, a new rhabdodontomorph from the Lower Cretaceous of Salas de los Infantes (Burgos Province, Spain), and a new phylogeny of ornithischian dinosaurs (riull.ull.es)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Foskeia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Foskeia in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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