Gasparinisaura
"Gasparini's lizard"
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- about 0.8 m (3 ft)
- Group
- Ornithopods
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Coria and Salgado 1996
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical ornithopod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
It probably lived on river plains in what is now Argentina, where sand and mud accumulated in the Anacleto Formation. Aucasaurus, Aerosteon and Neuquensaurus are also recorded from these rocks.
Field notes
About Gasparinisaura
What it was like
Gasparinisaura was a small, two-legged plant eater, known mostly from young animals only about 0.8 meters (3 feet) long. It had a short head, a beak and long legs for running.
Small stones found in the belly area of some skeletons suggest it swallowed pebbles to help grind its food.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Anacleto Formation, where it shared the land with the abelisaur Aucasaurus, the megaraptor Aerosteon and titanosaurs such as Neuquensaurus.
How it was found
Coria and Salgado named Gasparinisaura in 1996, for a paleontologist from Argentina. Several animals were found together, which suggests they may have lived in groups.
Field gallery
More views of Gasparinisaura
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 Gasparinisaura.
The evidence
The science behind Gasparinisaura
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Several skeletons preserve much of the skull and body of this small plant eater.
- Clusters of swallowed stones lie in the belly region of articulated skeletons.
- Bone tissue shows rapid growth interrupted by slower spells and pauses.
Borrowed from relatives
- Much of its body is known from its own skeletons; comparisons with other small ornithopods help fill missing parts.
Still unknown
- Its skin covering and color.
- Whether it regularly lived in groups.
- Exactly which plants it ate.
Discovery timeline
- 1996Named itCoria & Salgado
- 2008How it fedCerda
- 2012Growing upCerda & Chinsamy
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Gasparinisaura
Named it
Described Gasparinisaura and used its skull, teeth and skeleton to compare it with other plant-eating dinosaurs.
A basal iguanodontian (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16: 445-457
Read the paper : A basal iguanodontian (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous of South America (opens in a new tab)How it fed
Identified clusters of belly stones as deliberately swallowed gastroliths, which may have helped process plant food.
Gastroliths in An Ornithopod Dinosaur. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53: 351-355
Read the paper : Gastroliths in An Ornithopod Dinosaur (opens in a new tab)Growing up
Found fast growth in small animals, followed by slower growth and repeated pauses later in life.
Biological implications of the bone microstructure of the Late Cretaceous Ornithopod DinosaurGasparinisaura cincosaltensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32: 355-368
Read the paper : Biological implications of the bone microstructure of the Late Cretaceous Ornithopod DinosaurGasparinisaura cincosaltensis (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Elasmaria
Sources: Wikidata