Lurdusaurus (meaning "heavy lizard") is a genus of large ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Early Cretaceous period.
Etymology[]
Discovery[]
Description[]
Based on the known specimen, Lurdusaurus arenatus had an unusually heavy built compared to other iguanodonts. Their forelimbs were proportionally short and powerfully constructed as were their hands which bore an enlarged thumb claw, their hindlimbs as well were massive and proportionally short, specially the lower leg, the foot was unusually constructed in that the foot bones (metatarsals) lacked solid contact with each other suggesting the presence of a fleshy pad that supported most of the weight.[1] Their necks were relatively longer than in their relatives due to their neck vertebra being both more numerous and comparatively elongated. The type specimen would have been about 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall at the hips and it was estimated to have approached 9 meters (30 feet) in length while weighing 5.5 t (6.1 short tons) based on the circumference of its limb bones, lower weight and length estimates have been estimated, however. [2] Due to their unusual body plan, the describers Taquet and Russell suggested that they would have looked superficially like an ankylosaur.
Paleobiology[]
This dinosaur is highly suspected & regarded as a semi aquatic herbivore.
References[]
Gallery[]
