| Ouranosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
| |
| A restoration of Ouranosaurus nigeriensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Suborder: | †Ornithopoda |
| Genus: | †Ouranosaurus Taquet, 1976 |
| Species: | †O. nigeriensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ouranosaurus nigeriensis Taquet, 1976 | |
Ouranosaurus (meaning "brave lizard"), was an extinct genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous (Late Aptian Stage) about 110 million years ago in what is now modern day Niger And Cameroon. Ouranosaurus measured about 7 meters (23-27 feet) long and weighed about 2-4 tons. Two complete fossils were found in the Echkar (or El Rhaz) Formation, Gadoufaoua deposits, Agadez, Niger in 1966 along with a third indeterminate specimen. The animal was named by a French paleontologist in 1976 called Philippe Taquet.
Ouranosaurus was named "brave" due to the fact that the nomadic people of the Sahara call a native species of monitor lizard, "ourane" which means brave. The resemblance was carried on.
Discovery and naming[]
Five French palaeontological expeditions were done in the Gadoufaoua region of the Sahara Desert in Niger between 1965 and 1972 and led by French palaeontologist Philippe Taquet. The deposits of the region come from GAD 5, a layer in the upper Elrhaz Formation of the Tégama Group, which was deposited during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. The skeletons found in 1967 were brought to the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris, where they were prepared.
Description[]
Ouranosaurus Skeleton
Ouranosaurus was a fairly large iguanodontian, Taquet estimated it to be 7 meters (23 feet) and weigh 4 tons. The American paleontologist Gregory S. Paul in 2010 suggested a lighter weight of 2.2 tons and estimated a longer length of 8 meters (23 feet). Bertozzo et al. in 2017, suggested that the Holotype and Paratype belonged to subadult specimens, although they would have been close to adult size. MSNVE 3714 is 6.5 m (21 ft) long as mounted, although a few caudals are missing, and is roughly 90% the length of the holotype, which would be 7.22 m (23.7 ft) long. The variation between the sizes fits within the range of variation between adult individuals of Iguanodon, so there is a chance that the larger holotype and smaller paratype were same ontogenetic stage.
Classification[]
Paleobiology[]
Paleoecology[]
In the Media[]
- Ouranosaurus was featured in the documentary Super Croc, and was shown to have been killed and eaten by one of the predators featured, Sarcosuchus.
- It was also featured in the documentary Planet Dinosaur, where a herd of them was attacked by a Carcharodontosaurus and one of them was killed and eaten by the predator soon afterward. However, in a later episode, the same herd was seen again, browsing, while a herd of Paralititan went past.
- It also appears in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis as a dinosaur the player is able to place in their park.
- Ouranosaurus is shown in Dinosaur King.
- Ouranosaurus also appears in Jurassic Park Builder as a gold herbivore. It, however, vaguely resembles the real creature. It lacks its thumb claw, the sail is too small, and its hadrosaur-like beak is missing.
- Ouranosaurus appeared in the video game Jurassic World: Alive, as an Epic creature, and spawns often in Bank areas, the game requires you to dart 150 Ouranosaurus DNA to unlock it.
- Ouranosaurus appeared in the video game Jurassic World: Evolution’s Claire’s Sanctuary DLC, as one of the new dinosaurs.
- Ouranosaurus appeared in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, where it was depicted to be highly territorial, very aggressive, and rather dim-witted.
- Ouranosaurus was added to Prehistoric Kingdom in update 9.
Gallery[]
