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Lesothosaurus

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Dinosaurs

                  iLesothosaurus

                             Conservation status

   Extinct (fossil)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Reptilia
   Superorder: Dinosauria
   Family:     Lesothosauridae
   Genus:      Lesothosaurus
               Galton, 1978

                                   Species

   L. diagnosticus Galton, 1978

   Lesothosaurus is a member of the herbivorous clade of dinosaurs, the
   Ornithischia. It was named by paleontologist Peter M. Galton in 1978,
   the name meaning " lizard from Lesotho". The genus is monotypic,
   meaning there is only one valid species, Lesothosaurus diagnosticus,
   within the genus.

   Lesothosaurus was originally considered an ornithopod. However, more
   recent work by Paul Sereno has suggested that it may actually represent
   one of the most primitive of all known ornithischian dinosaurs. The
   taxonomic history of Lesothosaurus is complex and it has long been
   confused with Fabrosaurus, another small ornithischian from the same
   locality. In 2005, Richard J. Butler published a new phylogenetic study
   of ornithischians, in which he proposed that Lesothosaurus was a basal
   member of the clade Neornithischia, which includes pachycephalosaurs,
   ceratopsians and ornithopods. It is believed to have been a precursor
   to the later hypsilophodonts and later ornithopod dinosaurs. It is
   considered less primitive than Pisanosaurus, but less advanced than
   Heterodontosaurus.

   Lesothosaurus was a small (one meter in length), bipedal plant-eater.
   Skeletal remains suggest that it was a fast runner. The small skull was
   short and flat, with large eye sockets. The hind limbs of Lesothosaurus
   were much longer than the fore limbs, which were quite short with small
   'hands'.

   Lesothosaurus lived in the hot, arid conditions of Lesotho and South
   Africa, during the Early Jurassic. Remains of Lesothosaurus have been
   collected from the Upper Elliot Formation, dating it to the
   Hettangian-Sinemurian portions of the Early Jurassic.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesothosaurus"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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