Othnielosaurus

Othnielosaurus is a genus of small, herbivorous hypsilophodontid dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. It was named after the famous palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, because its remains were originally included in the genus Othnielia.

Description
Othnielosaurus is known from two good skeletons, including a possible specimen nicknamed "Barbara". From these skeletons it can be determined that Othnielosaurus had a small head with leaf shaped teeth, and long legs with lots of muscle. Like other ornithopods, Othnielosaurus had cartilaginous plates across the ribs, called intercostal plates.

Discovery and naming
Othnielosaurus was originally described as a species of Laosaurus, L. consors by Marsh in 1878. During an evaluation of ornithopod dinosaurs in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many species of Laosaurus were assigned to different genera, such as Nanosaurus and Othnielia, and of course Othnieliosaurus.

History
The story of Othnielosaurus starts in the late 19th century, when paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh found several fossil skeletons of ornithopod dinosaurs, calling different, various species of either Laosaurus or Nanosaurus. Most of these species were considered to be dubious over the years, until Peter Galton came in the 1970's.

He first assigned "Nanosaurus" rex to Othnielia, and made the only remaining species of Laosaurus, L. celer a nomen nudum. However, later in 2007, Galton again re-evaluated the dinosaurs, and discovered that a femur was the only valid remain from Othnielia. He created a new genus for all the other remains, which became Othnielosaurus.

Fast facts

 * Special ability: Fast running
 * Description: Very small, fast running, herbivorous dinosaur from the late Jurassic period.
 * Diet: Low-growing plants
 * Weight: 22 pounds (10 kilograms)
 * Meaning of name: "similar to Othnielia"
 * Fun fact: Marsh's rival, Edward Drinker Cope, also has a dinosaur named after him, Drinker.
 * Classification: Genasauria --> Neornithishia
 * In popular culture: The Smithsonian Museum
 * Size: 6.6 feet (2 meters)

Navigation
Species number: #003

Previous dinosaur: Othnielia                                               Next dinosaur: Drinker