Othnielia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Othnielia |
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| Othnielia, North American Museum of Ancient Life. | |
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Othnielia
Galton, 1977
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Othnielia was a small, plant-eating dinosaur that lived a long time ago. It belonged to a group called ornithopods. This dinosaur was about 4 feet (1.1 meters) long, which is roughly the height of a small car. It weighed around 50 pounds (22.5 kg), similar to a medium-sized dog.
Othnielia walked on two legs, making it a bipedal dinosaur. It had thin legs and a stiff tail. This tail helped it balance and move quickly. Its hands had five fingers, and its feet had four toes, all with claws. Othnielia also had big eyes and short arms. It looked a bit like another dinosaur called Hypsilophodon.
What Othnielia Looked Like
Othnielia had a special mouth designed for eating plants. It had a hard, horny beak at the front. Inside its small skull, it had cheek teeth that could sharpen themselves. Scientists think it might have even had cheek pouches, like a hamster. These pouches would have been useful for storing food while it ate.
Where and When Othnielia Lived
Fossils of Othnielia have been found in the United States. These fossils were discovered in Colorado and Utah. The rocks where they were found tell us that Othnielia lived during the Late Jurassic period. This was a very long time ago, about 150 million years! Scientists have found parts of two skeletons and many teeth from this dinosaur.
Images for kids
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Holotype dentary and ilium
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Type specimen of Nanosaurus agilis Marsh 1877 (YPM VP 1913) as illustrated in 1908 (left) and cast of the bone impressions after the fragmentary bone was removed (right)
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Othniel Charles Marsh's 1896 skeletal restoration of "Laosaurus" consors (now Nanosaurus).
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Cast mounted as if a herd running, Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
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Life restoration
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Casts mounted as if fighting, Wyoming Dinosaur Center
See also
In Spanish: Othnielia rex para niños
