Dino card No. 1326 of 2,027

Ornithopsis

Say it: or-ni-THOP-sis

Name means: “bird-likeness”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Ornithopsis was a huge, long-necked plant-eater that stomped through England and Germany during the Early Cretaceous. Its name means 'bird-likeness' because its back bones were hollow and filled with air sacs, just like birds have today.1

Lived

145 to 120 million years ago4

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

England (Isle of Wight and other Wealden deposits) and possibly Germany (Balve, North Rhine-Westphalia)1 4

Food

Plants4

Length

16 to 18 m1

estimated by comparing with Giraffatitan

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 4 cars parked in a rowas long as 100 bananas end to end

How big was Ornithopsis compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Ornithopsis was one of the first dinosaurs whose bones were recognized as having air sacs, like modern birds and pterosaurs.1

The only known species is Ornithopsis hulkei, named after the scientist John Whitaker Hulke.1

Its back bones were very light because they were filled with big cavities called camellae.1

Scientists think Ornithopsis was about 16 to 18 metres long, as long as two school buses.1

A possible German fossil of Ornithopsis came from a slightly smaller individual.1

Ornithopsis belongs to a group of sauropods called Titanosauriformes, which includes some of the biggest land animals ever.1

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

?What does the name Ornithopsis mean?

Ornithopsis means 'bird-likeness' in Greek, named for its bird-like hollow bones. The name comes from 'ornis' (bird) and 'opsis' (likeness).1 2

?How big was Ornithopsis?

Ornithopsis was about 16 to 18 metres long. A possible German fossil came from a slightly smaller individual.1 3

?What did Ornithopsis eat?

Ornithopsis was a herbivore, eating tough vegetation with its chisel-like teeth. It was a long-necked browser.3

?When did Ornithopsis live?

Ornithopsis lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 130 to 125 million years ago, in the Barremian stage. It lived in England and possibly Germany.1 2

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Myth buster

Myth: Ornithopsis was a flying animal like a pterosaur.

Truth: Ornithopsis was a sauropod dinosaur that walked on land. Its name 'bird-likeness' refers to its air-filled bones, not to flying.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Ornithopsis
Named by: Seeley 18704
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Titanosauriformes4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Macronaria4
Age of the rocks: 145 to 120 million years (Tithonian / Aptian)4
Rock formations: Wessex, Portland Stone4
Countries: United Kingdom, Germany4
Fossil records: 6 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Harry Govier Seeley named Ornithopsis in 1870 based on two vertebrae from the Isle of Wight, England. He thought it was a creature between pterosaurs and birds, but later scientists showed it was a sauropod dinosaur.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if the German fossil really belongs to Ornithopsis because it is poorly preserved.1

Where the facts come from

Ornithopsis (en.wikipedia.org)
ORNITHOPSIS - DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
Ornithopsis, an Isle of Wight Brachiosaur - DinoWight (dinowight.org.uk)
Ornithopsis 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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