FACT SHEET: lesothosaurus
NAME: LESOTHOSAURUS (les-SOH-TOE-sau-rus), meaning: "Lizard from Lesotho"
SIZE: 3 feet long (the size of a dog)
TYPE OF DIET: Herbivore (plant fibers)
WHEN: Late Triassic period (208 - 200 million years ago)
WHERE: Lesotho, Southern Africa
Lesothosaurus lived about 208-200 million years ago. It came a little later in the Triassic
period and lived until the middle of the Jurassic period. It was a small, light dinosaur. It was
bipedal, meaning that it walked on its two hind legs. Lesothosaurus was a fast, agile runner. It was
probably also able to walk on all four legs if it was looking for food on the ground. It was about
three feet long, about the size of a dog. It had four toes on its feet and five fingers on its hands.
Its arms were short and it had a long, pointed tail.
Lesothosaurus was an herbivore, or a plant-eating dinosaur. It had sharp, pointed teeth at
the front of its mouth and teeth with arrow-like spikes in the back. It probably ate tough plant fibers.
Lesothosaurus had a long, curving neck and a small head. It had a short, flat snout and large
eyes, so we believe it was able to see very well. Some paleontologists believe that its large eyes
let this dinosaur see very well at night.
Lesothosaurus lived in hot, dry areas. Its bones were found in what is now Southern Africa.
It was named after the place it was first discovered: Lesotho. Two Lesothosaurus fossils were
found curled up together in a cave. A lot of extra, ground-down teeth were found near the two
skeletons. Paleontologists believe that these two might have
died while hibernating, or sleeping, during the hottest months
of the year. They probably lost their teeth while they were
asleep.
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