Genus
Valid Extinct

Heterodontosaurus

Crompton and Charig 1962

Heterodontosaurus is a genus of heterodontosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic, 200–190 million years ago. Its only known member species, Heterodontosaurus tucki, was named in 1962 based on a skull discovered in South Africa. The genus name means "different toothed lizard", in reference to its unusual, heterodont dentition; the specific name honours G. C. Tuck, who supported the discoverers. Further specimens have since been found, including an almost complete skeleton in 1966.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
7
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling Terrestrial
Heterodontosaurus
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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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Heterodontosauridae Family
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Heterodontosaurinae Subfamily
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Heterodontosaurus Genus
Fossil sites 7 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇿🇦 South Africa
6
🇲🇽 Mexico
1
Geological formations
Elliot
3
Clarens
2
La Boca
1
Temporal distribution
Pliensbachian (192.9–184.2 Ma)
2
Sinemurian (199.5–192.9 Ma)
5
Species (1)
Heterodontosaurus tucki 201 Ma
Bibliography
Original description
A. W. Crompton and A. J. Charig. 1962. A new ornithischian from the Upper Triassic of South Africa. Nature 196:1074-1077 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 ↗
D. B. Norman, A. W. Crompton, and R. J. Butler, L. B. Porro, A. J. Charig. 2011. The Lower Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur Heterodontosaurus tucki Crompton & Charig, 1962: cranial anatomy, functional morphology, taxonomy, and relationships. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163:182-276 DOI ↗
L. B. Porro, R. J. Butler, and P. M. Barrett, S. Moore-Fay, R. L. Abel. 2011. New heterodontosaurid specimens from the Lower Jurassic of southern Africa and the early ornithischian dinosaur radiation. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101:351-366 DOI ↗
J. M. Clark, M. Montellano, and J. A. Hopson, R. Hernandez, D. E. Fastovsky. 1994. An Early or Middle Jurassic tetrapod assemblage from the La Boca Formation, northeastern Mexico. In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods
J. W. Kitching and M. A. Raath. 1984. Fossils from the Elliot and Clarens Formations (Karoo Sequence) of the northeastern Cape, Orange Free State and Lesotho, and a suggested biozonation based on tetrapods. Palaeontologia Africana 25:111-125
A. W. Crompton and A. J. Charig. 1962. A new ornithischian from the Upper Triassic of South Africa. Nature 196:1074-1077 DOI ↗