Dinosaurs A to Z
Dryosauridae

Dysalotosaurus

Generic ornithopod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Dysalotosaurus 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic ornithopod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Dysalotosaurus
Length
2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Period
Late Jurassic (152–151 Mya)
Place
Tanzania · Utah, USA
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Dryosauridae

Dysalotosaurus (“uncatchable lizard”) is a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian dinosaur. It was a dryosaurid iguanodontian, and its fossils have been found in late Kimmeridgian-age rocks (Late Jurassic) of the Tendaguru Formation of Lindi Region in Tanzania. The type and only species of the genus is D. lettowvorbecki. This species was named by Hans Virchow in 1919 in honor of the Imperial German Army Officer, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. For much of the 20th century the species was referred to the related and approximately contemporary genus Dryosaurus, but newer studies reject this synonymy.

What we know

  • Named by Virchow, 1919.
  • Body length estimated at about 2.5 m.
  • Fossils found in Tanzania and Utah, USA.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Dysalotosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.