| Nanosaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| A cast of a Nanosaurus agilis skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: | †Nanosauridae Marsh, 1877 |
| Genus: | †Nanosaurus Marsh, 1877 |
| Species: | †N. agilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Nanosaurus agilis Marsh, 1877 | |
Nanosaurus (meaning "small or dwarf lizard") is the name given to a genus of ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic. Described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877, it is a poorly known ornithischian of uncertain affinities. Its fossils are known from the Morrison Formation of Colorado and possibly Wyoming. It has often been illustrated in the popular literature (as a "tiny dinosaur"), leaving the impression that more is known about it than actually is. Most representations are actually of what is now called Othnielosaurus or Othnielia.
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