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Zephyrosaurus

Say it: ZEF-ear-ro-SORE-us

Name means: “west wind lizard”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Zephyrosaurus was a tiny, speedy plant-eater that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous. It had a steep face and knobby cheeks, and may have dug burrows to hide from predators like Deinonychus.2 1

Lived

121 to 100 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Montana, USA, and possibly Maryland and Virginia from tracks4 2

Food

Plants4 2

Length

1.8 m1

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 house cats nose to tailas long as 10 bananas end to end

How big was Zephyrosaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Zephyrosaurus had a raised knob on its upper jaw and a larger knob on its cheekbone.2

Some skull bones may have allowed movement within the skull, called cranial kinesis.2

It was a small, swift, bipedal herbivore, about 1.8 metres (6 feet) long.1 2

Like its relatives Orodromeus and Oryctodromeus, Zephyrosaurus may have burrowed.2

Fossil tracks from Maryland and Virginia, named Hypsiloichnus marylandicus, are thought to have been made by an animal like Zephyrosaurus.2

The first fossils were found by Charles R. Schaff in the Cloverly Formation of Montana.2

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

?How big was Zephyrosaurus?

About 1.8 metres (6 feet) long. That is roughly the length of a small adult human.1

?What did Zephyrosaurus eat?

It was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It had beak teeth to help chew tough plant material.1 3

?Did Zephyrosaurus have feathers?

The sources do not mention feathers. Since it is an ornithischian dinosaur, it likely did not have feathers like some theropods did.3

?Could Zephyrosaurus burrow?

Maybe. Like its relatives Orodromeus and Oryctodromeus, Zephyrosaurus may have dug burrows to hide from predators.3

?When did Zephyrosaurus live?

It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 120 to 110 million years ago.1

?Where was Zephyrosaurus found?

Its fossils were discovered in the Cloverly Formation of Carbon County, Montana, USA. Tracks from Maryland and Virginia may also belong to a similar animal.3 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Zephyrosaurus
Named by: Sues 19804
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Thescelosauridae4
Classification: Ornithischia4
Age of the rocks: 121 to 100 million years (Aptian / Albian)4
Rock formations: Cloverly4
Countries: USA4
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Hans-Dieter Sues named Zephyrosaurus in 1980 based on a partial skull and bones found by Charles R. Schaff in Montana, USA.2 1
Still debated: Scientists still debate exactly how Zephyrosaurus is related to other small ornithischians, because the original fossils are so fragmentary.2

Where the facts come from

Zephyrosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Zephyrosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Zephyrosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Zephyrosaurus 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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