Fabrosaurus australis - Jurassic Dinosaurs
Homepage > Jurassic Dinosaurs - Fabrosaurus australis
(fab-ruh-sor-uhss)
"Fabre's lizard"
Describer Ginsburg, 1964
Also Known As --
Type of Species australis
Order Ornithischia
SubOrder --
InfraOrder --
Micro-Order --
Family Fabrosauridae
Size 3 feet (0.9 meters) long
Period Early Jurassic, 195 million years ago
Fossilsite South Africa
Diet Herbivore
Fabrosaurus australis lived during the Early Jurassic Period about 195 million years ago, in what is now South Africa. Fabrosaurus was identified from a segment of the lower right jaw and three teeth. This dinosaur was an early and primitive ornithischian. Later ornithischians included such diverse forms as the ankylosaurus, ceratopsians, and hadrosaurs. In Fabrosaurus we can get a glimpse of the sort of animal from which much larger herbivorous dinosaurs evolved.
Fabrosaurus possessed hindlimbs that were longer than its forelimbs. It was well adapted for standing and running on its hindlimbs. Its teeth were small, about a tenth of an inch in length, with narrow crowns and long vertical roots. Fabrosaurus appears to have been closely related to Lesothosaurus. In fact some researchers believe the two were members of the same genus.
