Nanosaurus

Nanosaurus is a genus of ornithopd dinosaur from the late Jurassic period in North America. It is often included in dinosaur books as an example of a "tiny dinosaur".

History
When first discovered by famous paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, he named three different species of Nanosaurus, listed below:


 * N. agilis, the only accepted species of Nanosaurus today,
 * "N. rex", now known as Othnielia, and
 * "N. victor", now believed to be a crocodylian.

Marsh called both of the species "cat-sized or fox-sized" animals. Additionally, he also created a new family of dinosaurs, Nanosauridae, in which he only placed Nanosarus.

Species
N. agilis, the type species, is the only species accepted today. It was found by school attendant in the 1870's by a set of teeth and some postcranial (behind the skull) remains.

"N. rex" was another named species. For almost 100 years, it was a well-accepted species, until Peter Galton re-examined the remains in the 1970's, renaming them as Othnielia in 1977.

"N. victor" has probably the weirdest history out of the three species. Originally named as a dinosaur (obviously), but was later reclassified as a bipedal crocodylian, called Hallopus.

Known fossil remains
A remarkable fossil of Nanosaurus was found in the Lucas quarries in Colorado. It consists of a jaw bone, pelvis (bottom bone) and a few limb bones. It is thougt to be one of the few good fossils of Nanosaurus to date. More recently, it has been suggested that Othnielia and Othnielosaurus were representatives of Nanosaurus.

Fast facts

 * Special ability: Fast running
 * Description: An ornithopod dinosaur from the late Jurassic.
 * Diet: Low growing plants
 * Weight: uncertain
 * Meaning of name: "tiny reptile"
 * Fun fact: It is difficult to assign specific features to Nanosaurus due to a lack of fossil remains.
 * Classification: Nanosauridae
 * In popular culture: Various books
 * Size: 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters)

Navigation
Species number: #005



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