Lesothosaurus

What it was like

Lesothosaurus was a small, lightly built plant eater about 1 meter (3 feet) long. It ran on long hind legs, had short arms, and snipped plants with leaf-shaped teeth and a small beak.

It is one of the earliest members of the line that later led to the armored dinosaurs, though its own body had no armor at all. It may have eaten some insects or small animals too.

Its world

It lived about 201 to 193 million years ago, in the Early Jurassic, in what are now Lesotho and South Africa. Its fossils come from the Elliot Formation, where the long-necked Massospondylus, the small Heterodontosaurus and the hunter Dracovenator also lived.

Its speed was probably its best defense against predators such as Megapnosaurus.

How it was found

Galton named Lesothosaurus in 1978. Eight finds are known, including skulls, which makes it one of the best known early ornithischians.