Isasicursor

Say it: ee-SAH-see-KUR-sor

Name means: “Isasi's runner”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Cretaceous

Isasicursor was a fast, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina. It had a beak and ran on two legs, like a big bird. It shared its home with giant sauropods and was hunted by fierce meat-eaters.1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Santa Cruz Province, Argentina1 2

Food

Plants1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Isasicursor is the youngest known ornithopod from the Southern Hemisphere, meaning it lived very late in the Age of Dinosaurs.1

Its fossils were found together with bones of young and old individuals, which scientists think means Isasicursor may have lived in herds.1

The first bone of Isasicursor was discovered by technician Marcelo Pablo Isasi, who the dinosaur is named after.1

Isasicursor had a special pin-and-hole connection between its first and second sacral vertebrae, which is unique among dinosaurs.1

It lived alongside the giant titanosaur Nullotitan, and the two probably ate different plants so they did not compete.1

Isasicursor was probably hunted by the huge megaraptorid Maip and the crocodile-like Kostensuchus.1

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

?How big was Isasicursor?

Scientists are not sure of its exact size because only partial bones have been found, but it was a medium-sized ornithopod, probably around 3 to 4 metres long.1

?What did Isasicursor eat?

Isasicursor was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It had a beak for cropping vegetation.1 3

?When did Isasicursor live?

Isasicursor lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 72 to 66 million years ago, in the Maastrichtian age.1

?Is Isasicursor a dinosaur?

Yes, Isasicursor is a dinosaur. It is an elasmarian ornithopod, a type of plant-eating dinosaur.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Isasicursor
Named by: Novas et al. 20193
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Elasmaria3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Chorrillo3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Isasicursor was named in 2019 by Fernando Novas and colleagues. The first fossils were found in the Chorrillo Formation of Argentina, and the species is called Isasicursor santacrucensis.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly where Isasicursor fits in the dinosaur family tree. It is placed in the group Elasmaria, but no detailed analysis has been done yet.1

Where the facts come from

Isasicursor (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Isasicursor 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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