Genus
Valid Extinct

Lesothosaurus

Galton 1978
Etymology lizard from Lesotho

Lesothosaurus is a monospecific genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic in what is now South Africa and Lesotho. It was named by paleontologist Peter Galton in 1978, the name meaning "lizard from Lesotho". The genus has only one valid species, Lesothosaurus diagnosticus. Lesothosaurus is one of the most completely-known early ornithischians, based on numerous skull and postcranial fossils from the Upper Elliot Formation. It had a simpler tooth and jaw anatomy than later ornithischians, and may have been omnivorous in some parts of the year.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
9
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling Terrestrial
Lesothosaurus
click to enlarge
Skull of Lesothosaurus - ornithischian dinosaur © Ghedo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Ornithischia Unranked clade
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Parapredentata Unranked clade
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Saphornithischia Unranked clade
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Prionodontia Unranked clade
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Genasauria Unranked clade
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Thyreophora Unranked clade
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Lesothosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
1 m ⓘ
2,5 m ⓘ
Lesothosaurus diagnosticus
Mass
40 kg ⓘ
Lesothosaurus diagnosticus
Fossil sites 9 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇱🇸 Lesotho
6
🇿🇦 South Africa
3
Geological formations
Elliot
9
Temporal distribution
Sinemurian (199.5–192.9 Ma)
9
Species (2)
Lesothosaurus diagnosticus 201 Ma
Stormbergia dangershoeki subjective synonym of Lesothosaurus diagnosticus 201 Ma
Bibliography
Original description
P. M. Galton. 1978. Fabrosauridae, the basal family of ornithischian dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 52(1/2):138-159 DOI ↗
Bibliography (6)
B. M. Weiss, J. Botha, and J. N. Choiniere. 2022. Limb bone histology of theropod dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 42(2):e2145901:1-9 DOI ↗
R. J. Butler. 2005. The 'fabrosaurid' ornithischian dinosaurs of the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of South Africa and Lesotho. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145(2):175-218 DOI ↗
F. Knoll. 2002. New skull of Lesothosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of southern Africa. Géobios 35(5):595-603 DOI ↗
F. Knoll. 2002. Nearly complete skull of Lesothosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic: Hettangian) of Lesotho. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(2):238-243 DOI ↗
F. Knoll and B. Battail. 2001. New ornithischian remains from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Lesotho and stratigraphical dsitribution of southern African fabrosaurids. Géobios 34(4):415-421 DOI ↗
P. M. Galton. 1978. Fabrosauridae, the basal family of ornithischian dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 52(1/2):138-159 DOI ↗