Dryosaurus
DRY-uh-SAWR-us
Dryosaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, around 140-155m years ago. It weighs around 80-90kg and can reach up to 5m in length, with strong legs for running at speed and a stiff tail for retaining balance – both key attributes for escaping predators. Its name translates to ‘tree lizard’, in reference to its preference for forest areas.
Discovery
This genus was discovered in 1876 by American paleontologist Samuel Wendell Williston in Wyoming, USA, although it wasn’t until 1894 that is was classified as a new genus of dinosaur. Many more Dryosaurus fossils were unearthed during the 20th Century, providing examples of the genus at various ages.
Palaeoecology
Dryosaurus lived in the Morrison Formation in the western United States, co-existing with various dinosaurs including Stegosaurus and the predators Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus along the vast floodplains of the region. It had an herbivorous diet, feeding on ground-level plants and shrubs.
Information
- Era
- Late Jurassic
- Family
- Dryosauridae
- Genus
- Dryosaurus
- Height
- 1.8M
- Length
- 5M
- Weight
- 80Kg
- Diet
- Ground Paleobotany
- Egg batch size
- 3 - 6
