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Heterodontosaurus
Heterodontosaurus was a small herbivore (plant-eater), only 3 feet (90 centimeters)
long. It lived in the early Jurassic period,
in
South Africa, roughly 205 million years ago.
Its name (which means "varied toothed lizard") stems from its three kinds of
teeth. Its teeth are unusual because reptiles and dinosaurs usually only
have a single kind of teeth. At the frront of Heterodontosaurus' jaw
were small teeth using for chopping leaves and other plant fibers, these
were followed by large tusks which may jhave been used for sexual displays,
and at the back of the jaw were tall square teeth which were adapted for
chewing.
An additional adaption for chewing was cheeks:
Heterodontosaurus was also one of the first kinds of dinosaurs to have developed
cheeks to keep the food in its mouth.
Heterodontosaurus' hands were also interesting. Each hand contained five
fingers, two of which were opposable "thumbs" allowing the
creature to grasp its food.
Heterodontosaurus Timeline:
Heterodontosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived about 205 million years ago
Related Information & Resources
See Also
Heterodontosaurus Facts
Here is a summary of some of the key facts about Heterodontosaurus:
- Heterodontosaurus was a genus of dinosaur.
- "Heterodontosaurus" means "varied toothed lizard".
- Heterodontosaurus was a member of the Ornithischia ("bird-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Heterodontosaurus was not closely related to birds, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
- Heterodontosaurus lived about 205 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period.
- Heterodontosaurus lived in South Africa.
- Heterodontosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater).
- Heterodontosaurus was about 3 feet (90 centimeters) long.
Heterodontosaurus Books
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
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Books LLC
Paperback (48 pages)
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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Heterodontosauridae, Abrictosaurus, Fruitadens, Tianyulong, Heterodontosaurus, Echinodon, Lycorhinus, Lanasaurus, Geranosaurus. Excerpt: Abrictosaurus Fossil range: Early Jurassic , 199 196 Ma Pre O S D C P T J K Pg N Abrictosaurus (pronounced / br kt s r s/ ; "wakeful lizard") is a genus of heterodontosaurid dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period of what is now southern Africa . It was a small bipedal herbivore or omnivore , approximately 1.2 meters (4 feet ) long, and weighing less than 45 kilograms (100 pounds ). This dinosaur is known from the fossil remains of only two individuals, found in the Upper Elliot Formation of Qacha's Nek District in Lesotho and Cape Province in South Africa, respectively. The Upper Elliot is thought to date from the Hettangian and Sinemurian stages of the Early Jurassic Period, approximately 200 to 190 million years ago . This formation is thought to preserve sand dunes as well as seasonal floodplains , in a semiarid environment with sporadic rainfall. Other dinosaurs found in this formation include the theropod Megapnosaurus , the sauropodomorph Massospondylus , as well as other heterodontosaurids like Heterodontosaurus and Lycorhinus . Remains of terrestrial crocodylomorphs , cynodonts and early mammals are also abundant. Description Heterodontosaurids like Abrictosaurus were small, early ornithischians , named for their markedly heterodont dentition. They are best-known for the large, canine -like tusks (often called caniniforms ) in both upper and lower jaws. There were no teeth in the front of the jaws, where a hard beak was used to crop vegetation. There were three premaxillary teeth, with the first two small and conical and the third enlarged to form the upper caniniform, counterpart to the even larger lower caniniform, which was the fir... |
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