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Gravisaurus

Say it: GRAV-ih-SORE-us

Name means: “heavy lizard”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Gravisaurus was a heavy, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Niger, Africa, about 112 million years ago. It had a small head, a long neck, a round body, and strong front legs with big claws. Scientists think it moved slowly and may have looked a bit like a giant ground sloth.1

Lived

113 to 100 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Food

Plants4 1

Length

7 to 9 m1

estimate

Weight

2.5 tonnes to 5.5 tonnes1

Height

2 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 4 cars

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 50 bananas end to endabout as heavy as an elephantas heavy as 1100 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Gravisaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Gravisaurus was first described in 1988 by paleontologist Souad Chabli in her PhD thesis, but the name was not officially published until 1999.2 1

Its thumb spike was huge, much bigger than in other iguanodonts.1

Gravisaurus may have been the first ornithischian dinosaur with graviportal anatomy, meaning its legs were built to support a very heavy body.1

Its stomach was only about 70 centimetres (2 feet 4 inches) off the ground when it stood on all fours.1

Gravisaurus lived in a forested river environment alongside other dinosaurs like Ouranosaurus, Nigersaurus, and the giant crocodile Sarcosuchus.1

Some scientists think Gravisaurus behaved like a hippopotamus, spending time in water and moving slowly on land.1

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

?How big was Gravisaurus?

Gravisaurus was about 7 to 9 metres (23 to 30 feet) long and 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall on all fours. It weighed between 2.5 and 5.5 tonnes (2.8 to 6.1 short tons), which is as heavy as a large hippo.3

?What did Gravisaurus eat?

Gravisaurus was a plant-eater. It lived in a forested area with soft plants like ferns and horsetails, which it likely ate.3

?Did Gravisaurus have any predators?

Yes, Gravisaurus lived alongside big meat-eaters like the spinosaurid Suchomimus and the carcharodontosaurid Eocarcharia. Its huge thumb spike was probably used for defense.3

?Could Gravisaurus swim?

Some scientists think Gravisaurus may have behaved like a hippo, spending time in water. Its heavy body and strong legs suggest it could move in rivers, but nobody knows for sure if it swam.3

?Why did Gravisaurus have a thumb spike?

Gravisaurus had a massive thumb spike that scientists think was used for defense against predators.3

?Is Gravisaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Gravisaurus is a dinosaur. It is a type of iguanodont ornithischian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period.3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Gravisaurus
Named by: Chabli 19884
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Iguanodontoidea4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia4
Age of the rocks: 113 to 100 million years (Albian)4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The first skeleton of Gravisaurus was found in 1965 by French paleontologist Philippe Taquet in the Tenere desert of Niger. It was named Gravisaurus tenerensis by Souad Chabli in 1988, but later renamed Lurdusaurus arenatus in 1999.1 2
Still debated: Scientists disagree on how heavy Gravisaurus was. One estimate says about 5.5 tonnes, while another says only 2.5 tonnes.1

Where the facts come from

Lurdusaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Etude anatomique et systematique de gravisaurus tenerensis n. G. N. Sp. Dinosaurien, ornithischien) du gisement de gadoufaoua (aptien du niger) | Theses.fr (theses.fr)
Lurdusaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Gravisaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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