Lesothosaurus

Description

Lesothosaurus (le « lézard du Lesotho ») est un genre éteint de petit dinosaure ornithischien bipède, long de près de 2 mètres découvert en Afrique australe, au Lesotho, dans des couches géologiques attribuées au Jurassique inférieur (Hettangien - Sinémurien), soit il y a environ entre 201,4 et 192,9 millions d'années. Selon Paleobiology Database en 2025, ce genre est resté monotypique et la seule espèce est Lesothosaurus diagnosticus.

Information(s)

Source: The Paleobiology Database

Attibution: Galton 1978¹²⁶⁶⁰
Statut: Valide
Nom commun:
Longueur (en m): ?
Largeur (en m): ?
Hauteur (en m): ?
Poids (en m): de ? à ?
Environnement de découverte: terrestrial
Mode de vie: terrestrial
Mode de locomotion: actively mobile
Vision: ?
Alimentation: herbivore
Mode de reprodution: oviparous, dispersal=direct/internal,mobile
Classification: Ornithischia >> Dinosauria
Période: Hettangian - Sinemurian (de -201.40 Ma à -192.90 Ma)

Espèce(s):
- Lesothosaurus diagnosticus (Valide)¹²⁶⁶⁰
- Stormbergia dangershoeki (Synonyme subjectif de Lesothosaurus diagnosticus)¹⁴⁸³⁷

Specimen(s):

Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BMNH RU B.23 - skull
Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BMNH RU B.17 - scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, fibula, scapula, humerus, radius
Stormbergia dangershoeki subjective synonym of Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: holotype SAM-PK-K1105 - coracoid (left) , coracoid (right) , radius, ulna, femur, tibia (left) , tibia (right)
Stormbergia dangershoeki subjective synonym of Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: paratype BMNH R11000 - scapula, coracoid, tibia
Stormbergia dangershoeki subjective synonym of Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BP/1/4885 - femur, tibia
Détail des Spécimens

Référence	Type	Partie	Côté	Dimension (en cm)	Lieu de découverte	Commentaires
BMNH RU B.23		skull		width: 48, length: 94	Collection: Ft. Hartley, Likhoele (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Quthing,
BMNH RU B.17		scapula		length: 75	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		humerus		length: 68	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		radius		length: 43	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		ulna		length: 40	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		femur		length: 104	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		tibia		length: 129	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		fibula		length: 123	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size; large speciement
BMNH RU B.17		scapula		length: 66	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size
BMNH RU B.17		humerus		length: 58	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size
BMNH RU B.17		radius		length: 37	Collection: north flank, Likhoele Mountain (UCL)- Lieu: LS, Mafeteng,	BMNH RU B.17 is a block containing two speciments of different size
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	coracoid	left	width: 45, length: 41	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	coracoid	right	width: 43, length: 40	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	radius		length: 65	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	ulna		length: 69	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	femur		length: 202	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	tibia	left	width: 68, length: 238	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
SAM-PK-K1105	holotype	tibia	right	width: 64, length: 236	Collection: farm Dangershoek- Lieu: ZA, Eastern Cape, Herschel	width = measured in the proximal end
BMNH R11000	paratype	scapula		width: 20, length: 173	Collection: Pokane (UCL/BMNH)- Lieu: LS, Quthing,	width = maximum anteroposterior width in midshaft
BMNH R11000	paratype	coracoid		width: 73, length: 53	Collection: Pokane (UCL/BMNH)- Lieu: LS, Quthing,	width = measured in the proximal end
BMNH R11000	paratype	tibia		width: 64	Collection: Pokane (UCL/BMNH)- Lieu: LS, Quthing,	width = measured in the distal end
BP/1/4885		femur		length: 147	Collection: south of road, farm Mequatling (278) ("middle Elliot")- Lieu: ZA, Free State, Clocolon
BP/1/4885		tibia		width: 38	Collection: south of road, farm Mequatling (278) ("middle Elliot")- Lieu: ZA, Free State, Clocolon	width = measured in the proximal end

Autre(s) Taxon(s) trouvés dans la litterature:
- Lesothosaurus diagnosticus
- Lesothosaurus
Découverte(s): 8 occcurrences
Ouvrir - Fermer
- Lesotho
  - Mafeteng
    - ?
      - Formation Elliot
        Lesothosaurus: ? ¹⁴⁸⁶⁷
        Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BMNH RU B.17: scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, fibula, scapula, humerus, radius ¹²⁶⁶⁰
  - Quthing
    - ?
      - Formation Elliot
        Lesothosaurus: ? ¹⁰⁵⁹⁸
        Lesothosaurus: ? ¹⁴⁸³⁹
        Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BMNH RU B.23: skull ¹²⁶⁶⁰
        Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BMNH R11000: scapula, coracoid, tibia ¹⁴⁸³⁷
- Afrique du Sud
  - Eastern Cape
    - Herschel
      - Formation Elliot
        Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: SAM-PK-K1105: coracoid (left) , coracoid (right) , radius, ulna, femur, tibia (left) , tibia (right) ¹⁴⁸³⁷
  - Free State
    - Clocolon
      - Formation Elliot
        Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: BP/1/4885: femur, tibia ¹⁴⁸³⁷
Historique des modifications:

Pas de modification récente.

Publication(s)

La base comprend 5 publication(s).

Source: The Paleobiology Database

↑^{1 2 3 4}P. M. Galton. 1978. Fabrosauridae, the basal family of ornithischian dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 52(1/2):138-159 (https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03006735)
↑^{1 2 3 4}R. J. Butler. 2005. The 'fabrosaurid' ornithischian dinosaurs of the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of South Africa and Lesotho. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145(2):175-218 (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00182.x)
↑¹F. Knoll and B. Battail. 2001. New ornithischian remains from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Lesotho and stratigraphical dsitribution of southern African fabrosaurids. Géobios 34(4):415-421 (https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-6995(01)80005-x)
↑¹F. Knoll. 2002. New skull of Lesothosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of southern Africa. Géobios 35(5):595-603 (https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-6995(02)00072-4)
↑¹F. Knoll. 2002. Nearly complete skull of Lesothosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic: Hettangian) of Lesotho. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(2):238-243 (https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0238:ncsold]2.0.co;2)

Galerie d'images

Source: Wikimédia

Lesothosaurus diagnosticus reconstruction, showing it with...