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Gideonmantellia

Say it: GID-ee-on-man-TEL-ee-uh

Name means: “Gideon Mantell's (dinosaur)”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Gideonmantellia was a small, fast plant-eater that lived in what is now Spain during the Early Cretaceous. It had a long tail and strong legs for running away from predators.1 2

Lived

126 to 121 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Galve, Province of Teruel, Spain1 2

Length

1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft)1

estimate based on juvenile skeleton

Top speed

about 41 km/h (25 mph)

Running, estimate

What did Gideonmantellia eat?

Gideonmantellia was a plant-eater. It belonged to a group of dinosaurs called ornithopods, which all ate plants.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 11 bananas end to endcould run 100 metres in 8.8 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)

How big was Gideonmantellia compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast was it?

A person walking about 5 km/h (3 mph)

A kid on a bike about 12 km/h (7 mph)

Gideonmantellia about 41 km/h (25 mph)

A galloping horse about 65 km/h (40 mph)

A cheetah about 100 km/h (62 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Gideonmantellia is known from a partial skeleton that includes most of the backbone, hips, and legs, but no skull.1

The first bones were found in 1982 by amateur fossil hunter José María Herrero and his son Jesús.1 2

It was named in 2012 after Gideon Mantell, the scientist who first described a similar dinosaur called Hypsilophodon.1 2

The species name amosanjuanae honors paleontologist Olga María Amo Sanjuán, who studied fossils from the same area in Spain.1 2

Gideonmantellia had a special L-shaped first chevron bone under its tail, which helps scientists tell it apart from other dinosaurs.2

Its fossils were found in red clay that was deposited by a river about 125 million years ago.1 2

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

?How big was Gideonmantellia?

Gideonmantellia was a small dinosaur, but the exact size is not known because the only skeleton found is from a juvenile. Scientists estimate it was a few metres long.1 2

?What did Gideonmantellia eat?

Gideonmantellia was a plant-eater. It belonged to a group of dinosaurs called ornithopods, which all ate plants.1 2

?When did Gideonmantellia live?

Gideonmantellia lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, about 125 million years ago, in what is now Spain.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Gideonmantellia
Named by: Ruiz-Omeñaca et al. 20124
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Hypsilophodontidae4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda4
Age of the rocks: 126 to 121 million years (Barremian)4
Rock formations: Camarillas4
Countries: Spain4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The first bones were found in 1982 by amateur fossil hunter José María Herrero and his son Jesús near Galve, Spain. The dinosaur was named Gideonmantellia amosanjuanae in 2012 by a team of paleontologists led by José Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Gideonmantellia grew because the only known skeleton is from a juvenile.1

Where the facts come from

Gideonmantellia (en.wikipedia.org)
A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Barremian of Galve, Spain (sciencepress.mnhn.fr)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Gideonmantellia 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.

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