HardOuranosaurus
Ouranosaurus nigeriensis
oo-RAH-no-SORE-us· “monitor lizard”
🦕 Dinosaur🕰️ Cretaceous🌿 herbivore🦴 Iguanodontia
7 m
Length
2.7 m
Height
2.2 t
Weight
A sail-backed ornithopod from Early Cretaceous Africa. The tall spines along its back may have carried a display sail, helped control its temperature, or supported a fatty hump like a bison's. It cropped plants with a broad, duck-like beak.
When
Early Cretaceous, ~125–112 million years ago
Found in
Niger
Discovered
Philippe Taquet, 1966
Did you know?
- Tall back spines may have formed a sail or a fatty, bison-like hump.
- A relative of Iguanodon with a broad beak for cropping plants.
- Roamed the lush river deltas of Early Cretaceous Niger.
Artwork: Audrey.m.horn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.