Qantassaurus
Qantassaurus was a small, fast plant-eater that lived in Australia during the Early Cretaceous. It had a very short, deep lower jaw with only ten cheek teeth, which made it different from other small ornithopods. It probably ate ferns and horsetails that grew close to the ground.1
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Fun facts
Qantassaurus is known only from its lower jaw bones, and scientists have found three of them.1
Its lower jaw was unusually short and deep, with the top and bottom edges slanting toward the front.1
It had only ten cheek teeth on each side of its lower jaw, fewer than most other small ornithopods.1
Qantassaurus lived in a rift valley between Australia and Antarctica as the two continents were slowly pulling apart.1
The fossils were found in rocks that are about 125 to 127 million years old, from the late Barremian age.2
Its teeth are very similar to those of another Australian dinosaur, Atlascopcosaurus, but the jaws are different shapes.1
Qantassaurus was named after the airline Qantas, which helped transport the fossils.1
Most asked questions about Qantassaurus
?How big was Qantassaurus?
About 1.8 metres long and about 1 metre tall.3
?Why is it called Qantassaurus?
It was named after the Australian airline Qantas, which helped transport the fossils.13
?Could Qantassaurus run fast?
Yes, it probably was a fast runner because it had long thighs and long shins, like its relatives.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Qantassaurus
- Named by
- Rich and Vickers-Rich 19994
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Elasmaria4
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia4
- Age of the rocks
- 126 to 121 million years (Barremian)4
- Rock formations
- Wonthaggi4
- Countries
- Australia4
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Qantassaurus was named by scientists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich in 1999. The first fossil, a complete left lower jaw, was found at the Flat Rocks site near Inverloch, Victoria, Australia.41
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Qantassaurus grew, because only jaw bones have been found.1
Where the facts come from
- Dinosaur - Qantassaurus intrepidus - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
- New small-bodied ornithopods (Dinosauria, Neornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous Wonthaggi Formation (Strzelecki Group) of the Australian-Antarctic rift system, with revision of Qantassaurus intrepidus Rich and Vickers-Rich, 1999 | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core (cambridge.org)
- Qantassaurus (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
- Qantassaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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