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Ouranosaurus
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Ouranosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived in the early
Cretaceous period,
about 115 to 100 million years ago. Its
fossils have been found in
Niger in Africa, and its name, which means
"brave monitor lizard" was chosen by the French paleontologist,
Philippe-Taquet in
1976.
Ouranosaurus was 23 feet (7 meters) long,
and probably weighed around 4 tons.
Ouranosaurus has long thick spines on its back and tail,
and for many years scientists believed that these supported
a large fin (sometimes also called "sail") that was covered with
skin, similar to the fin found on
Spinosaurus.
It was thought that this fin
was probably used for temperature
regulation: the animal could face it towards or away from the sun, depending
on whether it needed to heat up or cool down.
Close examination of Ouranosaurus however suggests that whatever was on
its back may have been quite different from the fin on
Spinosaurus.
In fact, many scientists now believe that the spines on Ouranosaurus back
are more likely to have supported a hump (similar to a modern bison's
hump) than a sail. If this was the case, the hump may perhaps have been
used to store food and water (like a camel's hump).
Ouranosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived from 115 to 100 million years ago
Related Information & Resources
See Also
Ouranosaurus Facts
Here is a summary of some of the key facts about Ouranosaurus:
- Ouranosaurus was a genus of dinosaur.
- "Ouranosaurus" means "brave lizard".
- Ouranosaurus was a member of the Ornithischia ("bird-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Ouranosaurus was not closely related to birds, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
- Ouranosaurus lived between about 115 million years ago and 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.
- Ouranosaurus lived in Africa.
- Ouranosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater).
- Ouranosaurus was about 23 feet (7 meters) long.
- Ouranosaurus weighed about 4 tons.
Ouranosaurus Books
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
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Books LLC
Paperback (134 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: Iguanodon, Camptosaurus, Altirhinus, Talenkauen, Callovosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Dryosaurus, Muttaburrasaurus, Elrhazosaurus, Tenontosaurus, Kangnasaurus, Anabisetia, Mantellisaurus, Gadolosaurus, Planicoxa, Owenodon, Iguanodont, Theiophytalia, Lurdusaurus, Valdosaurus, Rhabdodon, Macrogryphosaurus, Dakotadon, Protohadros, Draconyx, Zalmoxes, Dryosauridae, Dollodon, Probactrosaurus, Jinzhousaurus, Rhabdodontidae, Fukuisaurus, Eolambia, Jintasaurus, Penelopognathus, Shuangmiaosaurus, Lanzhousaurus, Mochlodon, Bihariosaurus, Nanyangosaurus. Excerpt: Altirhinus (pronounced /æltrans/ ; "high snout") is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of Mongolia . It was herbivorous and bipedal when walking or running, but probably became quadrupedal when feeding from the ground. The entire body probably extended 26 feet (8 m) from snout to tail tip. The skull alone is about 30 inches (760 mm) long, with a wide mouth and a distinctive tall arch on top of its snout, from which this dinosaur derives its name.The name was created in 1998 from a Latin word, altus ("high") and a Greek word, rhinos ("nose" or "snout"). There is one known species (A. kurzanovi ), which honors Sergei Kurzanov , the influential Russian paleontologist who originally found the specimens in 1981.History of Discovery All known specimens of Altirhinus were recovered in 1981 during collaborative expeditions organized by Soviet and Mongolian scientists, from the Khukhtek Formation in the Dornogovi Province of Mongolia . The Khukhtek was formed in the Aptian to Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous Period, which lasted from between 125 and 100 million years ago. Psittacosaurus and the primitive ankylosaurid Shamosaurus have also been found in these rocks.Several fossil specimens of differe... |
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By Frances Freedman
Gareth Stevens Publishing
Library Binding (24 pages; 1)
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