Agilisaurus
AJ-il-ih-SORE-us
"agile lizard"
- Lived
- 171 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- about 1.5 m (5 ft)
- Group
- Early ornithischians
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Peng 1990
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical early ornithischian shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
A landscape of rivers and lakes in what is now China. Its neighbors in the Shaximiao Formation included Shunosaurus and Huayangosaurus.
Field notes
About Agilisaurus
What it was like
Agilisaurus was a small, two-legged plant eater about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. It had long legs, a long tail for balance and leaf-shaped teeth. It was probably quick on its feet, which was its best defense.
Its world
It lived in the Jurassic in what is now China. Its bones come from the Shaximiao Formation, where it shared the land with the long-necked Shunosaurus and the early stegosaur Huayangosaurus.
How it was found
Peng named Agilisaurus in 1990 from one nearly complete skeleton.
Field gallery
More views of Agilisaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Agilisaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Agilisaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A skull and almost complete skeleton reveal most of its body shape.
- Its shinbone was longer than its thighbone.
- Small, leaf-shaped teeth lined its jaws.
Borrowed from relatives
- Almost the whole skeleton is known from its own bones; little of its body shape needs to be borrowed from relatives.
- Comparisons with small plant eaters such as Hexinlusaurus help place it among early ornithischians.
Still unknown
- Its skin covering and color.
- Exactly which plants it ate.
- Whether it lived in groups.
Discovery timeline
- 1990Named it
- 2005RedescriptionBarrett, Butler & Knoll
- 2008Family treeButler, Upchurch & Norman
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Agilisaurus
Redescription
Confirmed Agilisaurus as a distinct early ornithischian and moved its former second species into the new genus Hexinlusaurus.
Small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25: 823-834
Read the paper : Small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan, China (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Compared early ornithischians, including Agilisaurus, to test how the major plant-eating dinosaur groups were related.
The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6: 1-40
Read the paper : The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Neornithischia
Sources: Wikidata