Iyuku

Say it: eye-YOO-koo

Name means: “Xhosa for 'hatchling'”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Iyuku was a small, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now South Africa. What makes it really special is that almost all the fossils found are from babies and very young dinosaurs! Scientists think a whole group of Iyuku hatchlings died together during a dry season.2 1

Lived

137 to 133 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Kirkwood Lookout, near the Sundays River in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa1

Food

Plants4

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Iyuku is one of only two ornithopod dinosaurs known from the Cretaceous of southern Africa.2 1

All the juvenile Iyuku bones were found in a single, small bonebed, suggesting a group of hatchlings died together.2 1

The name Iyuku comes from the Xhosa language and means 'hatchling', because almost all the fossils are from very young animals.1

Iyuku lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 137 to 132 million years ago.4

The bonebed where Iyuku was found also contained rare theropod teeth, crocodile teeth, turtle shell fragments, and fish bones.1

Scientists think the Iyuku hatchlings died because the climate was becoming drier and more seasonal, which may have caused a drought.2 1

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

?How big was Iyuku?

Iyuku was a small dinosaur. A subadult's shin bone was about 35 to 42 centimetres long, so the whole animal was probably the size of a large dog.3

?What did Iyuku eat?

Iyuku was a plant-eating dinosaur. It ate plants like ferns and leaves.3

?Why is Iyuku called a hatchling?

Its name comes from the Xhosa word for 'hatchling' because almost all the fossils found are from babies and very young dinosaurs.3

?When did Iyuku live?

Iyuku lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 137 to 132 million years ago.3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Iyuku
Named by: Forster et al. 20224
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Euiguanodontia4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia4
Age of the rocks: 137 to 133 million years (Valanginian)4
Rock formations: Kirkwood4
Countries: South Africa4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Iyuku was named in 2022 by Catherine Forster and her team based on fossils collected from 1995 to 1999 in the Kirkwood Formation, South Africa. The species name honors Dr. Michael Raath for his work on southern African fossils.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Iyuku grew, because almost all the fossils are from babies and juveniles, not adults.1

Where the facts come from

Iyuku raathi , a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, South Africa (anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Iyuku raathi, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, South Africa (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Iyuku (en.wikipedia.org)
Iyuku 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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