Obelignathus
Obelignathus was a medium-sized plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now southern France. It had a very thick and strong lower jaw, which helped it chew tough plants. Its name comes from a cartoon character known for being super strong!21
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Fun facts
Obelignathus is known from only a single jaw bone, a right dentary, found in 1990.2
Its jaw is about three times longer than it is high, which is shorter and thicker than in its relatives.1
Obelignathus lived between about 83 and 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.3
This dinosaur was originally thought to be a species of Rhabdodon, but scientists later gave it its own genus in 2025.21
Obelignathus belonged to a group called rhabdodontomorphs, which were plant-eating dinosaurs that lived on islands in Europe.1
The name Obelignathus combines 'Obelix' (a strong cartoon character) and the Greek word for 'jaw'.1
Most asked questions about Obelignathus
?What did Obelignathus eat?
Obelignathus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Its strong jaw helped it chew tough plants.5
?How big was Obelignathus?
Obelignathus was a medium-sized dinosaur. Its jaw bone is about 130 to 140 mm long, so it was probably a few metres long.1
?When did Obelignathus live?
Obelignathus lived between about 83 and 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.25
?Is Obelignathus a dinosaur?
No, Obelignathus is not a dinosaur. It is a prehistoric reptile from the group called rhabdodontomorphs.2
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Obelignathus
- Named by
- Czepiński and Madzia 20255
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Rhabdodontomorpha5
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia5
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)5
- Rock formations
- Grès à Reptiles5
- Countries
- France5
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- The jaw bone was found in 1990 near Montouliers, France. It was first named Rhabdodon septimanicus by Éric Buffetaut and Jean Le Loeuff in 1991. In 2025, Czepiński and Madzia renamed it Obelignathus.21
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly where Obelignathus fits in the dinosaur family tree, because only its jaw bone has been found.1
Where the facts come from
- Exploring the diversity and disparity of rhabdodontomorph ornithopods from the Late Cretaceous European archipelago | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
- Obelignathus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Obelignathus septimanicus | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
- Obelignathus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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