Atlascopcosaurus
Atlascopcosaurus loadsi
Pronounced:
Atlasscop-coe-Saw-rus
Diet: Herbivore (plant eater)
Name Means: Atlas Copco
Lizard
Length: 10 feet (3 m)
Height: 3 feet (1 m)
Weight: 250 pounds (120
kilos)
Time: Early Cretaceous 118
MYA
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in Australia
Atlascopcosaurus was a small, primitive-looking
plant-eater from Australia known only from a jaw fragment
and a few teeth.
It is a good example of how scientists can learn a great deal
about a dinosaur from a very small amount of fossil material.
Atlascopcosaurus's teeth are similar enough to other members of
the Hypsilophodon family
to place it in that group, but different enough to establish a
new genus.
The distinction that leads scientists to believe that it was
a separate genus is the number of ridges on the teeth and their
placement in the jaw.
Atlascopcosaurus was named for a sponsor of the expedition
that discovered the dinosaur - the Atlas Copco Corporation.
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