Debivort, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lambeosaurus (lam-BEE-oh-SORE-us) was a bipedal herbivore who lived in the Campanian stage during the Upper Cretaceous period, 76 – 75 million years ago. It was found in North America.

Lambeosaurus measured 50 feet (15 metres) in length and weighed roughly 5 – 6 tons. It may have been the longest Ornithischian. Like other hadrosaurs such as Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus, Lambeosaurus had a distinctive crest on the top of its head. It was a large square crest pointing forwards and a small spine pointing backwards.

Its nasal cavity actually ran back through this crest making it mostly hollow. It is believed that this could have enhanced the dinosaur’s sense of smell, or have created a loud bleating noise.

Image source

FURTHER READING AND STUDY 

• Lydekker, R. (1895). “On bones of a sauropodous dinosaur from Madagascar”
• Bonaparte (1986). The early radiation and phylogenetic relationships of the Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs, based on vertebral anatomy.
• Mannion (2010). A revision of the sauropod dinosaur genus “Bothriospondylus” with a redescription of the type material of the Middle Jurassic form “B. madagascariensis.

Lapparentosaurus (Lap-pa-ren-toe-sore-us), also known as Lapparent’s reptile, was a sauropod herbivore that existed in Madagascar during the Jurassic period. Its fossils have been discovered in areas like Boeny (Madagascar) and it lived during the Bathonian and Callovian periods around 168-165 million years ago.

The sauropod genus Bothriospondylus was previously attributed to the type of fossil material. However, palaeontologist Jose Bonaparte designated the Madagascan material as a new genus, Lapparentosaurus, due to the lack of recognizable traits that originated from England, a considerable way from Madagascar.

Several individuals represent Lapparentosaurus, while the exact number is difficult to know. However, the individuals that actually represent Lapparentosaurus are at various phases of development, allowing palaeontologists to gain an understanding of how the dinosaur evolved to adulthood.

A Lapparentosaurus is believed to be 49 feet (15 meters) long and 19.7 feet (6 meters) tall. Lapparentosaurus is estimated to weigh 22,680 kg.

Lapparentosaurus was a sauropod dinosaur, making it a herbivore and a what some palaeontologists believe to be a social animal and may have coexisted with other herbivorous dinosaurs.

Various age-determination studies imply that this sauropod dinosaur matured about 31-45 years. Due to the presence of massive fibrolamellar bone, this species is also considered fast-growing. It had a massive torso and broad pillar-like legs. Its tail was longer than its hind limbs, and it most likely used it to defend itself against predators. They also had long necks and short heads.

Lapparentosaurus was one of the largest land animals ever known. Lapparentosaurus’ phylogenetic relationships revealed that they were not linked brachiosaurids. According to a 2019 study, this dinosaur is closely related to the paraphyletic Cetiosauridae, which is confirmed by the spinal structure of the species. Despite the presence of vertebrae, limb components, and appropriate neural arches, no skull has been discovered.

Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Leaellynasaura (LEE-ELL-IN-a-SORE-a) was a small ornithopod dinosaur who lived in the Albian stage during the Lower Cretaceous Period, 115-110 million years ago, on the plains of Australia.

Leaellynasaura measured around 6 – 10 feet (2 – 3 metres) in length and was 2 feet (60 centimetres) tall at the hip. It weighed 10 kilograms (25 pounds). It had a relatively large brain and good eyesight.

Leaellynasaura had strong hind limbs and was a bipedal, fast runner. Its forelimbs were short and clawed and it had strong jaws.

Leptoceratops

Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FURTHER READING AND STUDY 

• Ostrom (1978). Leptoceratops gracilis from the “Lance” Formation of Wyoming
• Ott. 2007. Cranial anatomy and biogeography of the first Leptoceratops gracilis (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) specimens from the Hell Creek Formation, southeast Montana.
• McKenna and Love. (1970). Local stratigraphic and tectonic significance of Leptoceratops, a Cretaceous dinosaur in the Pinyon Conglomerate, northwestern Wyoming.

Leptoceratops (Lep-toe-ser-ah-tops) is a genus of leptoceratopsian herbivorous dinosaurs with the name “Small horned face” or “thin horned face” derived from the Greek words “lepto” meaning small or insignificant, “kerat” meaning horn, and “ops” meaning face. These characteristics make it a distant relative of the Triceratops.

Burman Brown, an American palaeontologist, was the first to discover the genus in the early 1910s, with the Canadian Museum of Nature displaying the Leptoceratops fossil remains. 

It lived in North America’s terrestrial areas during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Its fossils have been discovered in Alberta, Canada, and Wyoming, and it lived from the Maastrichtian period until 66 million years ago.

These primitive ceratopsians existed in and around what is now North, west America, since the first specimen of the Leptoceratops skeleton was discovered in Alberta, Canada. Ceratopsian dinosaur skulls have been discovered all across Canada, in Wyoming, and other states across North America.   

The Leptoceratops was a herbivore that ate fibrous plant material and blooming plants such as ferns, cycads, and conifers as well as other plants. This long, slender, low-slung creature ate mostly at ground level, but may have stood upright to reach other vegetation.

The Leptoceratops skull, together with many additional fossil remnants unearthed in Canada and Wyoming, offered a sketch of the dinosaur’s appearance. The generic name ‘slim horned face‘ was chosen because this dinosaur is reported to have had a snout that looked like a bird’s beak. The Leptoceratops skull was quite large compared to the rest of the dinosaur.

Like other Ceratopsians, it possessed a modest neck frill but no spectacular horns or a huge frill like that seen on Triceratops. 

The Ceratopsian dinosaur is considered to have lived in a variety of environments, including grasslands, forests, deserts, beaches, woodlands, wetlands, and regions with abundant vegetation. Though the Triceratops and Leptoceratops were distant relatives, they were discovered to reside at different altitudes. The Leptoceratops is thought to have lived at greater altitudes, such as hills or mountains, compared to the Triceratops, which may have roamed the open plans and forests at the time. 

Lesothosaurus

Conty, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lesothosaurus (Le-SO-toe-sore-us) is a primitive dinosaur of the Ornithischia Order (bird-hipped dinosaurs). It lived in the Hettangian – Sinemurian stages during the Lower Jurassic period in hot and arid conditions of Lesotho and South Africa.

Lesothosaurus would have lived alongside large predators such as pterosaurs and crocodilians.

Lesothosaurus was a small, lightly built dinosaur. Its elongated body and tail only measured 3.3 feet (1 metre) in length and it weighed 3 kilograms (8 pounds).

It had a small, flat skull, set on a flexible neck, with large eye sockets and large jaw cavity. Its snout was short and pointed and may have ended in a beak.

Liaoceratops

Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

• Xu and Wang. (2000). A primitive Ornithopod from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning.
• Xu et al. (2002). A ceratopsian dinosaur from China and the early evolution of Ceratopsia
• You et al. (2007). A new specimen of Liaoceratops yanzigouensis (Dinosauria: Neoceratopsia) from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning

Liaoceratops (lyow-serra-tops) is a herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur that means “Liaoning horned face” is derived from the Greek words “keras,” which means “horn,” and “ops,” which means “face”.  

It lived during the Cretaceous epoch and roamed Asia’s terrestrial areas. Its fossils have been discovered in areas like Liaoning, China, and it lived between 125.45 million and 122.46 million years ago.

It was a little ceratopsian dinosaur, much smaller than its later relatives, yet it illustrates ceratopsians’ early evolution.

There have been two nearly complete Liaoceratops skulls discovered. A team of Chinese and American scientists identified and described the first specimens in 2002. In addition, one of the holotype specimens, a full skull fossil, was discovered in the Barremian Yixian Formation in China (a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Age). There are also partial indications of horns and a frill, characteristics that distinguished later ceratopsians. Liaoceratops provides a fascinating glimpse into the early evolution of horned dinosaurs, revealing that Triceratops and its cousins descended from small Asian ceratopsians.

Liaoceratops has a tiny skull that measures 154 millimetres in length and weighed around two kilogrammes. Liaoceratops weighed in total only 7-8 pounds, stood about a foot tall, and measured less than 3 feet long. 

Despite its diminutive size, it was a quick and agile dinosaur that had a good chance of avoiding larger carnivorous dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex. 

Liaoceratops had just jugal horns and no orbital horns, which helped researchers grasp the main divide in the evolution of the Ceratopsia suborder. .

It stood and walked entirely on its hind legs. In their nests, these dinosaurs deposited amniotic eggs. Nests were created in cups, domes, burrows, and mounds by Liaoceratops.

The male Liaoceratops is thought to have incubate the eggs while the female laid the eggs. While laying the eggs, the females developed a calcium-rich medullary bone to form eggshells, not to dissimilar to modern day crocodile eggs.

It is believed that Liaoceratops was largely a herbivore that would have feed on ginkgo, horsetail, and coniferous plants.

Ligabuesaurus

Image Source: Natural History Museum Credit © Andrey Atuchin

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

• Flavio et al., (2022). Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Ligabuesaurus leanzai (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of the Argentina
• Paul (2016). “Sauropodomorphs”. The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton
• Bonaparte et al., (2006). Ligabuesaurus leanzai gen. et sp. nov. (Dinosauria, Sauropoda), a new titanosaur from the Lohan Cura Formation, Argentina.

Ligabuesaurus (Lee-gah-boo-sore-us) is a herbivorous titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur genus that means “Ligabue lizard.” It lived in South America during the Cretaceous epoch. Ligabuesaurus inhabited the Land in Argentina during the Early or Lower Cretaceous period. The new titanosaur’s remains were discovered in the Lohan Cura Formation.

These dinosaurs lived between 112-109 million years ago, during the Late Aptian-Albian period. Ligabuesaurus leanzai, the type species, was described in 2006 based on a fragmentary skeleton. The name leanzai honors the geologist who first discovered the skeleton in the Lohan Cura Formation.

The discovery of the partial skeleton led to key discoveries about the region’s sauropod paleontology. Like other sauropods, the huge land reptile had the typical long neck and tail. Ligabuesaurus is known only from fragmented remains, which include a maxilla (jawbone) with teeth, six cervical and dorsal vertebrae (backbone), and girdle and limb bones.

A partial maxilla with six cervical, ten teeth, six cervical and dorsal vertebrae, incomplete ribs, left and right scapulae, the complete left humours and only the right humours’ proximal and distal parts, metacarpals (four from the left side), an incomplete femur of the right hind limb, tibia, fibula, astragalus, and five metatarsals. Ligabuesaurus exhibited certain derived traits found in the Titanosauriformes, Ligabuesaurus was thought to be a basal titanosaur. Compressed cone-shaped and chisel-like teeth are found in this genus.

The new titanosaur was an oviparous species, meaning it reproduced by depositing eggs.

Ligabuesaurus could have measured 78.7 feet (24 metres) in length. Given the form of this Cretaceous dinosaur, it is likely that it weighed a lot. The average weight of Ligabuesaurus, on the other hand, has yet to be determined.

Ligabuesaurus was a Dinosauria and Sauropoda clade terrestrial or ground-dwelling genus. Conifers, which were the dominating vegetation, were most likely their main source of food. Ginkgo, seed ferns, cycads, bennettitalean, ferns, clubmosses, and horsetails were likely secondary food sources, and they also ate blooming plants.

By the end of the Early Cretaceous epoch, Ligabuesaurus may have gone extinct.

Liliensternus

No machine-readable author provided. ArthurWeasley~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

Welles (1984). Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda): osteology and comparisons

Martin & Cuny (2007). A review of the systematics of “Liliensternus” airelensis from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary outcrops of Normandy (France).

Paul (1988). Predatory Dinosaurs of the World

The genus Liliensternus (lil-ee-en-shtern-us) meaning “Lilienstern” is a group of basal neotheropod carnivorous dinosaurs. It lived in Europe during the Triassic period. Its fossils have been discovered in Bavaria (Germany), Thuringia (Germany), and Luzern (Switzerland), and it lived roughly 210 million years ago, between the Norian and Rhaetian epochs. It was the world’s biggest meat-eater at the time. Liliensternus was a bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore that could reach a length of 5.15 m (16.9 ft). It is the most well-known Triassic theropod from Europe, as well as one of the largest. The fossil remains of at least two individuals include the skull, vertebrae, lower jaws, and appendicular skeleton. It was estimated to have reached a length of 5.15 meters and a weight of 200 kilos. The femur is approximately 440 mm long, and the tibia is 409 mm long. The hip bone of the Liliensternus is very short. Only two fused sacral vertebrae are evident on the specimen, and sutures in the neuro-center are apparent on the vertebrae. This indicates that the bones belonged to a juvenile or subadult dinosaur. In this species, several automorphies have been discovered. The cervical vertebrae have one pair of pleurocoels, and the infradiapophyseal fossa is not well developed, according to the specimen. A horizontal ridge does not exist at the base of the cervical neural spines. From the frontal end of the diapophyses to the posteroventral end of the vertebral column of the cervical vertebrae, a broad circularly rounded ridge runs.

 It was a bipedal dinosaur, which meant it walked on its hind legs. It was able to run quicker thanks to its lengthy thigh bone. The femur was fully formed. It was a ground-dwelling creature that did not appear to reside in groups. The Liliensternus was a carnivorous dinosaur that ate flesh. It has razor-sharp claws. Each hand contained three fully grown digits and two fused digits. The claws were curled to aid with food grasping. It had keen teeth and a strong jawbone, allowing it to tear the victim apart while feeding. Liliensternus is thought to be connected to the Jurassic carnivore Dilophosaurus based on skull features. The nose has characteristic fin-like crests, which may be seen on the skull. These could have been used to identify the species or to lure a mate. Liliensternus possesses five fingers, but its fourth and fifth digits are smaller than the rest, suggesting a transitional stage between Triassic five-fingered theropods and Jurassic three-fingered theropods. Liliensternus is thought to have been an active bipedal carnivore capable of preying on larger herbivores like those seen in its paleoenvironment. Liliensternus lived in ancient floodplains teeming with reptiles, therapsids, and Plateosaurus, according to the material discovered in Switzerland and Germany, as well as the tooth from Germany. Liliensternus used its cutting tooth arrays to disable prosauropods and its speed to grab fast ornithischians, according to scientists.

Lophorhothon

Image source: Natural History Museum Credit: © Anness Publishing / NHMPL

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

• Zangerl (1948). The vertebrate fauna of the Selma Formation of Alabama.
• Terry and James (2021). A redescription of Lophorhothon atopus (Ornithopoda: Dinosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Alabama based on new material.

Lophorhothon (lof-oh-roh-thon) was a genus of herbivorous hadrosauroid dinosaurs with a “crested nose”. It lived in North America during the Cretaceous epoch. Its fossils have been discovered in places like Alabama, and it lived between 83.5 million and 70.6 million years ago.

Because practically all other hadrosaurs known at the time came from the western side of North America, paleontologists devised the name Lophorhothon atopus in 1960 by combining the Greek for “crest-nose” and “out of place.” The dinosaur Lophorhothon atopus was discovered in Alabama’s Upper Cretaceous strata sixty years ago. It was then the southeastern United States’ oldest and most complete dinosaur. Only one juvenile specimen, a disarticulated skull and skeleton, has been found in the Late Cretaceous Mooreville Formation, a coastal chalk deposit in Dallas County, west-central Alabama.

Lophorhothon was the  first dinosaur genus discovered in the United States, in Alabama. Researchers exploring the Alabama chalks in the 1940s discovered the fossilized skeleton. The holotype specimen was most likely washed out to sea by a river, where it sank and was later buried in Alabama’s silty carbonate deposits.

The specimen was identified as a juvenile by scientists, who estimated its length to be around 15 feet, much below the usual adult size of hadrosaurs. Only a few bits of the head have been discovered, and less than half of the skeleton has been discovered.

The back portion of the nasal crest was intact, as were enough bones from the top of the skull to identify a fontanel, which is a gap in the skull roof bones. Because this gap closes as an animal reaches adulthood, the presence of the fontanel distinguishes the specimen as a juvenile. Apart from small changes in the nasal crest, the crown angle of the teeth, and the fontanel, the bones are similar to those of most hadrosaurines.

This dinosaur grew to be between 24 and 35 feet long. They were mostly bipedal, but their front limbs were strong enough to allow them to walk, stand, and feed on four legs. Flattened, duck-like mouths derived from large, toothless upper and lower front jawbones are a feature of skulls.

Lophorhothon had extensive rows of grinding teeth in their back teeth, which they utilized to digest plants. Hadrosaur skulls are also known for having a variety of strange crests created by their nasal and upper jawbones. A high, narrow nasal ridge shaped Lophorhothon’s nose into a “Roman-nose” shape. 

Lophostropheus

Image source: Natural History Museum Image Credit: © Andrey Atuchin

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

• Martin & Cuny (2007). The Coelophysoid Lophostropheus airelensis, gen. nov.: A Review of the Systematics of “Liliensternus” airelensis from the Triassic-Jurassic Outcrops of Normandy (France)
• Paul (1988). Predatory Dinosaurs of the World
• Cuny & Galton (1993). Revision of the Airel theropod dinosaur from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (Normandy, France)

Lophostropheus (lof-oh-stro-fee-us) is an extinct genus of coelophysoid theropod carnivorous dinosaurs that means “crested vertebra.” Lophostropheus is a composite term derived from a combination of Ancient Greek terms i.e. ‘Lophè’ means ‘crest’ in Greek, and ‘stropheus’ means ‘related to the vertebrae,’ thus meaning crest vertebrae. This name refers to the theropods’ prominent dorsal and even ventral laminae, which may be seen in the cranial cervical vertebrae.

It existed around 200 million years ago in what is now Normandy, France, during the transition between the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods and inhabited terrestrial areas. One of the few dinosaurs that may have survived the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event is Lophostropheus.

It was mistakenly categorized as Halticosaurus and Liliensternus for many years before being recognized as a distinct genus and reassigned to Lophostropheus in 2007. The skeletal remains were not retrieved in their entirety. However, in Normandy, France, remains of the Lophostropheus head, vertebrae from various regions, and even fragments of the dinosaur’s pelvic system were discovered.

Lophostropheus was a ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore that could grow up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long and was small to medium-sized. These Triassic-Jurassic dinosaurs weighed around 220 lb. according to rough estimates (100 kg). The size estimates for this specimen were determined entirely on the basis of a fragmentary skeleton that was first reported as a Halticosaurus species in 1996.

Theropods with a small to medium-sized morphology and a moderate build are classified as tiny to medium-sized theropods. In many aspects, Lophostropheus dinosaurs differ from their fellow theropods. Many characteristics resemble those of evolved theropods. A ball socket connection to the front of their neck vertebrae, a vertical ridge on the dinosaurs’ ilium, and even a socket connection towards the front of their tail vertebrae are some of these traits. These distinguishing characteristics have been labelled as ‘convergences’ or ‘differences.’ The Triassic-Jurassic boundary’s Lophostropheus airelensis displays prominent crests on the tops and bottoms of its neck vertebrae, earning it the genus name. This species has an extra pair of chambers in its neck vertebrae, unlike Liliensternus members (where it was previously placed).

The lateral fossa of the Lophostropheus’s final dorsal vertebral centrum is broad and oval. The cranial articular surface of this theropod’s cranial-caudal vertebrae has an incipient concavity, similar to the Ceratosauria and Tetanurae. The anterior articular surface of the anterior postaxial cervical vertebrae is also slightly convex.

The skeleton’s last dorsal vertebra possesses a dorsoventrally expanded hyposphene. In terms of the continuous length of the skeleton’s caudal vertebrae along the tail length, scientists found a similarity between this dinosaur and the Dilophosaurus.

As a bipedal carnivore, this creature would have eaten other dinosaurs and animals of the time. This dinosaur is one of the few from the Theropoda family to have survived and thrived through the Triassic-Jurassic extinction when half of the world’s other species perished.

Lufengosaurus

Debivort, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lufengosaurus (Lau-fung-owe-sore-uss) was a prosauropod dinosaur which lived from the Late Triassic to the Middle Jurassic period 208 – 200 million years ago in Asian woodlands in what is now southwestern China. Lufengosaurus was a close relative of Plateosaurus. It was about the same size, but it lived earlier.

Lufengosaurus measured 20 feet (6 metres) in length and weighed 500 kilograms. Like all prosauropods, Lufengosaurus had much longer hindlimbs than forelimbs and was probably bipedal some of the time.

Their hind legs were very powerful and they were able to stand straight allowing the dinosaur to reach higher vegetation.

Lurdusaurus

User:Ghedo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

• Taquet and Russell (1999). A massively-constructed iguanodont from Gadoufaoua, Lower Cretaceous of Niger.
• Norman (2004). “Basal Iguanodontia”. The Dinosauria (2nd ed.).
• Paul (2008). A revised taxonomy of the iguanodont dinosaur genera and species

Lurdusaurus (loor-duh-sore-us) is a genus of large ornithopod herbivorous dinosaurs that lived between 121 and 112 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. It inhabited Africa’s terrestrial lands, with fossils discovered in places like Niger.

The Latin words ‘lurdus,’ which means heavy, and ‘saurus,’ which means lizard, are combined to give this massive animal its name. As a result, the term literally means ‘heavy lizard.’

A fragmentary skull, bones from the limbs and vertebrae, and a thumb spike are among the specimens of this species. The genus is distinguished by its tall neck, cushioned feet, thumb spikes, short legs, and powerful forelimbs. These herbivores are thought to have lived in a similar way to modern-day hippopotamuses.

Lurdusaurus was a burly, barrel-chested iguanodont that lived near rivers in an ancient tropical forest and may have been semi-aquatic. Lurdusaurus’ heavy and rotund nature reminded scientists of several extinct animals when it was first discovered.

Lurdusaurus had a large gut, similar to enormous ground sloths. The armored dinosaurs known as ankylosaurs have a similarly large belly and flat back. Although it couldn’t run away from predators because of its size and massive armored forelimbs, it was no pushover. It, like Iguanodon, had a massive spiky thumb that provided some protection from crocodilians in the water. The skeleton image suggests that these animals would float in the water thanks to their heavy bones.

Lurdusaurus arenatus is thought to have been endemic to the land because its fossil remains have only been discovered in the Elrhaz formation of Niger. A Lurdusaurus would weigh around 6.06 tonnes on average (5500 kg). Based on the skeleton, this dinosaur’s typical length would be roughly 30 feet (9 metres), and its average height would be 6.56 feet (2 m). The discovery of the Lurdusaurus helped palaeontologists to realise that ornithopods may grow to enormous sizes.

A large neck, cushioned feet, and muscular forelimbs distinguish this species. Their feet are thought to have been padded since they were carrying such a large amount of weight. Their forelimbs were proportionally short and powerfully constructed, as were their hands, which bore an enlarged thumb claw; their hindlimbs were massive and proportionally short, particularly the lower leg; and their foot was unusually constructed in that the foot bones (metatarsals) lacked solid contact with each other, implying the presence of a fleshy pad that supported the majority of the weight.

Because their neck vertebra were both more numerous and comparably extended, their necks were longer than those of their relatives.

Based on the circumference of its limb bones, the type specimen would have stood around 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall at the hips and weighed 5.5 t (6.1 short tonnes); nevertheless, lesser weight and length estimations have been made.

Lycorhinus

Image Source: Natural History Museum

FURTHER READING AND STUDY

Gow. (1975). A new heterodontosaurid from the Redbeds of South Africa showing clear evidence of tooth replacement.

Broom. (1912). On a new type of cynodont from the Stormberg.

Gow. (1990). A tooth-bearing maxilla referable to Lycorhinus angustidens Haughton, 1924 (Dinosauria, Ornithischia).

Lycorhinus (Ly-koe-rhy-nuss) is a heterodontosaurid ornithischian herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic (Hettangian to Sinemurian ages) strata of the Elliot Formation in the Cape Province of South Africa. It lived during the Jurassic period and roamed Africa’s terrestrial areas. Its bones have been discovered in countries like Lesotho and the Free State (South Africa), and it lived between 201.3 million and 190.8 million years ago. The genus name comes from the Latin lana, which means “wool,” and the Greek saurus, which means “lizard.” Lycorhinus was first assumed to be a cynodont, but it wasn’t until Alfred Walter Crompton investigated the holotype in 1962 that he realized it was a dinosaur. Five different specimens were found by paleontologists and the fossil material comprises fragmentary skulls, dentaries, and maxillae. Dr. M. Ricono discovered the holotype, SAM 3606, which is a mandible. Lycorhinus has been split into three different species.

It was a tiny herbivorous dinosaur with a length of around 1.2 meters. The “bird hip” and the predatory beak-like shape were the most distinguishing traits of these dinosaurs. It was a long-tailed bipedal dinosaur. It possessed canine-like fangs enlargements and biting cheek teeth. The teeth demonstrate a typical replacement pattern in which every third tooth is replaced throughout each replacement cycle. Lycorhinus’ cheek teeth are clearly specialized for grinding tough plant material, yet their diet was likely omnivorous. Predatory behavior is suggested by the pointed premaxillary teeth and sharp, curved claws on the forelimbs. The crowns of these derived cheek teeth overlapped, forming a continuous surface on which food could be eaten. The tooth rows were inset from the side of the mouth, leaving a space outside the teeth that could have been bordered by a muscular cheek and used for chewing. They had a spheroidal joint between the dentaries and the predentary that allowed the lower jaws to move outwards when the mouth closed, grinding the cheek teeth against one other. Because of the sluggish pace of replacement, this grinding caused significant tooth wear, obliterating most of the denticles in older teeth, despite the higher crown height giving each tooth a lengthy life. Lycorhinus’ long, powerful forelimbs, like those of modern anteaters, are thought to have been excellent for breaking through insect nests. These forelimbs could potentially have served as digging tools for roots and tubers. It was a tiny herbivorous dinosaur with canine-like fangs and biting teeth on its cheeks. Lycorhinus reproduced only by depositing eggs. Lycorhinus angustidens probably became extinct 195 million years ago.