Telmatosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Telmatosaurus |
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| Holotype skull | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Suborder: | †Ornithopoda |
| Clade: | †Hadrosauromorpha |
| Genus: | †Telmatosaurus Nopcsa, 1903 |
| Type species | |
| Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus Nopcsa, 1903
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Telmatosaurus was a type of dinosaur that lived a very long time ago. Its name means "marsh lizard," which gives us a clue about where it might have lived. This dinosaur was a kind of hadrosaurid, also known as a "duck-billed dinosaur." It lived during the Late Cretaceous period. This was about 70 to 66 million years ago. Telmatosaurus was found in what is now the country of Romania.
Contents
Meet Telmatosaurus!
What Was Telmatosaurus?
Telmatosaurus was a medium-sized dinosaur. It grew to be about five meters (16 feet) long. That's roughly the length of a small school bus! As a hadrosaurid, it had a special snout that looked a bit like a duck's bill. This bill was perfect for munching on plants. Scientists believe it was a plant-eater, or herbivore.
Where Did It Live?
This dinosaur lived in Europe during the Late Cretaceous period. Back then, Europe looked very different. It was a group of islands, not one big landmass. Telmatosaurus lived on an island called Hațeg Island. This island was home to many unique dinosaurs. They were often smaller than their relatives on bigger continents. This is a process called insular dwarfism.
What Did It Eat?
Like all hadrosaurids, Telmatosaurus was a herbivore. It used its wide, flat "duck bill" to snip off leaves and twigs. Inside its mouth, it had hundreds of small teeth. These teeth were arranged in rows, forming a grinding surface. This allowed it to chew tough plant material very well. It probably ate ferns, conifers, and flowering plants.
Cool Discoveries
Scientists have found some interesting fossils of Telmatosaurus. One discovery was a skull from a young Telmatosaurus. This skull showed signs of a large tumor on its lower jaw. This is one of the earliest known examples of a tumor in a dinosaur. It shows that even dinosaurs could get sick! Studying these fossils helps us learn about dinosaur health.
Images for kids
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Restoration showing juvenile with jaw deformity
See also
In Spanish: Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus para niños
