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Kwanasaurus

Say it: KWAH-nuh-SORE-us

Name means: “eagle lizard, from the Ute word 'kwana' meaning eagle”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Triassic

Kwanasaurus was a plant-eating reptile that lived in Colorado during the Late Triassic. It had a deep, strong skull and leaf-shaped teeth perfect for chomping tough plants. It was one of the closest cousins of dinosaurs, but not a true dinosaur itself.1 2

Lived

227 to 201 million years ago3

Late Triassic

Fossils found in

Eagle Basin, Colorado, USA (Chinle Formation)1 3

Food

Plants1 3

Length

1.5 to 2.5 m1

estimated based on related silesaurids

Weight

10 kg to 30 kg1

Height

0.5 to 0.8 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 1.5 bicycles in a rowas long as 14 bananas end to endas heavy as 8 house catsas heavy as 6 watermelons

How big was Kwanasaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Kwanasaurus had a very deep and strong upper jaw (maxilla), much thicker than any other silesaurid.1

Its teeth were leaf-shaped with thick ridges on the tongue side, similar to some early armored dinosaurs.1

Kwanasaurus had 12 teeth in its upper jaw and 14 in its lower jaw, and the middle teeth were the biggest.1

It lived about 215 to 207 million years ago, during the Norian stage of the Late Triassic.1

Kwanasaurus was the northernmost silesaurid ever found in North America.1

Its skull bones had ridges and bumps, suggesting it ate tougher plants than its relatives.1

Kwanasaurus was named in 2019 by scientists Jeffrey Martz and Bryan Small, honoring paleontologist Bill Parker.1 2

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

?Was Kwanasaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Kwanasaurus was a dinosaur. It was a beaked plant eating ornithischian dinosaur.1

?What did Kwanasaurus eat?

Kwanasaurus was a plant-eater. Its short, leaf-shaped teeth with coarse denticles were perfect for chomping tough plants.1

?How big was Kwanasaurus?

Scientists have not found enough bones to know its exact size, but it was a small reptile, probably less than 2 metres long.1

?When did Kwanasaurus live?

Kwanasaurus lived about 215 to 207 million years ago, during the Norian stage of the Late Triassic.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Kwanasaurus is often called a dinosaur.

Truth: Kwanasaurus was a silesaurid, a close cousin of dinosaurs but not a true dinosaur. It belongs to the group Dinosauriformes, just outside Dinosauria.1 3

For dino experts

Scientific name: Kwanasaurus
Named by: Martz and Small 20193
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Silesauridae3
Classification: Ornithischia3
Age of the rocks: 227 to 201 million years (Norian / Rhaetian)3
Rock formations: Chinle3
Countries: USA3
Fossil records: 6 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Kwanasaurus was discovered in the Eagle Basin of Colorado and named in 2019 by Jeffrey Martz and Bryan Small. The name comes from the Ute word for eagle, and the species name honors paleontologist Bill Parker.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether some leg and shoulder bones found nearby belong to Kwanasaurus, because they lack clear silesaurid features.1

Where the facts come from

Kwanasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Dromomeron romeri (Lagerpetidae) and a new taxon ... (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Kwanasaurus 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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