Thescelosaurus
Thescelosaurus
neglectus
Pronounced:
Thess-ah-low-Saw-rus
Diet:
Herbivore
(Plant-Eater)
Name
Means:
"Marvelous
Lizard"
Length:
10 feet
(3 m)
Height:
4 feet
(1.3 m)
Weight:
650
pounds
(300
kilos)
Time:
Late
Cretaceous
- 68 MYA
Fossil
remains
for
this
Dinosaur
have
been
found
in
Western
North
America
A small,
agile plant
eater,
Thescelosaurus
was among
the last of
the
dinosaurs
and was
probably
wiped out in
the final
extinction
65 million
years ago.
It was also
one of those
"basement
discoveries,"
dug up in
1891 and
stored away
for more
than 20
years before
it was
re-discovered
in its
packing
crate.
In 1993 a
very fine
specimen was
discovered
in South
Dakota by
amateur
paleontologist
Mike Hammer.
This
skeleton had
a complete
skull that
showed a
very
efficient
set of at
least three
different
types of
teeth, and
contained
evidence
that this
dinosaur had
cheeks that
would have
improved its
food
processing
efficiency.
Bipedal,
with a
relatively
long tail,
its front
legs were
sturdy, but
not
particularly
long. It had
fairly long
front claws,
which may
have been
useful for
digging. Its
hind legs
were not
built for
the speed
evidenced by
other
members of
the
Hypsilophodon
family.
One of the
most unusual
aspects of
the 1993
specimen is
that it
seems to
have a
fossilized
heart. This
was widely
publicized,
and
following
studies
conducted by
Dr. Dale
Russell, it
was
concluded
that the
heart's
structure
suggests an
intermediate
form
somewhere
between
crocodiles
and birds.
Many
scientists
feel that
this is
evidence
that some
dinosaurs
had high
metabolic
rates,
suggesting
that they
were
warm-blooded.
One of the
most
spectacular
fossil finds
of all time,
the specimen
is on
display at
the North
Carolina
Museum of
Natural
Sciences. |
