Genus
Valid Extinct

Telmatosaurus

Nopcsa 1903
Etymology Lézard des marais

Telmatosaurus is a genus of basal hadrosauromorph dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. It was relatively small for its group, measuring approximately 5 m (16 ft) in length and 600 kg (1,300 lb) in body mass, which has been explained as an instance of insular dwarfism.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
23
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Telmatosaurus
click to enlarge
Drawing of lectoholotype skull BMNH R.3386 (desigated by Weishampel et al., 1993)[1][2] of Limnosaurus transsylvanicus NOPCSA 1900 (later renamed Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus), a basal hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Maastrichtian (latest Upper Cretaceous) Sanpetru Formation of West Central Romania. © Franz Nopcsa · Public domain · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Ornithischia Unranked clade
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Neornithischia Unranked clade
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Pyrodontia Unranked clade
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Cerapoda Unranked clade
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Ornithopoda Suborder
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Iguanodontia Infraorder
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Euiguanodontia Unranked clade
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Dryomorpha Unranked clade
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Ankylopollexia Unranked clade
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Styracosterna Unranked clade
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Hadrosauriformes Unranked clade
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Hadrosauroidea Unranked clade
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Telmatosauridae Family
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Telmatosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
5 m ⓘ
Fossil sites 23 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇷🇴 Romania
22
🇫🇷 France
1
Geological formations
Sînpetru
10
Sebeş
4
Densuș-Ciula
4
Râul Mare
2
Şard
1
Pui Beds
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
22
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus 84 Ma
Synonyms (2)
Hecatasaurus subjective synonym of Telmatosaurus
Limnosaurus replaced by Telmatosaurus
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
B. F. Nopcsa. 1903. Telmatosaurus, new name for the dinosaur Limnosaurus. Geological Magazine, decade 4 10:94-95
Bibliography (15)
G. Botfalvai, Z. Csiki-Sava, and L. Kocsis, G. Albert, J. Magyar, E. R. Bodor, D. Tabără, A. Ulyanov, L. Makádi. 2021. ‘X’ marks the spot! Sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological investigations of upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) vertebrate fossil localities from the Vălioara valley (Densuş-Ciula Formation, Hațeg basin, Romania). Cretaceous Research DOI ↗
F. M. Dalla Vecchia. 2020. The unusual tail of Tethyshadros insularis (Dinosauria, Hadrosauroidea) from the Adriatic Island of the European archipelago. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 126(3):583-628
Z. Csiki-Sava, M. Vremir, and S. Vasile, S. L. Brusatte, G. Dyke, D. Naish, M. A. Norell, R. Totoianu. 2016. The East Side Story – The Transylvanian latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate record and its implications for understanding Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary events. Cretaceous Research 57:662-698 DOI ↗
A. Solomon and V. Codrea. 2015. Some Maastrichtian vertebrates from fluvial channel fill deposits at Pui (Haţeg Basin). Oltenia studii şi comunicări Ştiinţele Naturii 31(2):26-36
F. M. Dalla Vecchia. 2014. An overview of the latest Cretaceous hadrosauroid record in Europe. Hadrosaurs
S. Brusatte, M. Vremir, and A. Watanabe, Z. Csiki-Sava, D. Naish, G. J. Dyke, G. M. Erickson, M. A. Norell. 2013. An infant ornithopod dinosaur tibia from the Late Cretaceous of Sebes, Romania. Terra Sebus. Acta Musei Sabesiensis 5:627-644
A.-V. Bojar, Z. Ciski, and D. Grigorescu. 2010. Stable isotope distribution in Maastrichtian vertebrates and paleosols from the Hateg Basin, South Carpathians. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 239:329-342 DOI ↗
V. Codrea, M. Vremir, and C. Jipa, P. Godefroit, Z. Csiki, T. Smith, C. Farcas. 2010. More than just Nopcsa's Transylvanian dinosaurs: A look outside the Hateg Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 293:391-405 DOI ↗
Z. Csiki, D. Grigorescu, and V. Codrea, F. Therrien. 2010. Taphonomic modes in the Maastrichtian continental deposits of the Haţeg Basin, Romania—palaeoecological and palaeobiological inferences. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 293(3-4):375-390 DOI ↗
M. Vremir. 2010. New faunal elements from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) continental deposits of Sebeş area (Transylvania). Terra Sebus. Acta Musei Sabesiensis 2010(2):635-684
Z. Csiki, A. Ionescu, and D. Grigorescu. 2008. The Budurone microvertebrate site from the Maastrichtian of the Hateg Basin – flora, fauna, taphonomy and paleoenvironment. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 6:49-66
M. Delfino, V. Codrea, and A. Folie, P. Dica, P. Godefroit, T. Smith. 2008. A complete skull of Allodaposuchus precedens Nopcsa, 1928 (Eusuchia) and a reassessment of the morphology of the taxon based on the Romanian remains. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28(1):111-122 DOI ↗
D. Grigorescu. 2006. Hatchlings of Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus (Ornithischia, Hadrosauridae) associated with megaloolithid eggs in the Tustea nesting site (Hateg Basin, Romania) . III International Symposium on Dinosaur Eggs, Babies, and Developmental Biology. Ameghiniana 43(4 (suppl.)):18R
A. F. d. Lapparent. 1947. Les dinosauriens du Crétacé Supérieur du Midi de la France [The dinosaurs of the Upper Cretaceous of the south of France]. Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, Nouvelle Série 56:1-54
B. F. Nopcsa. 1900. Dinosaurierreste aus Siebenbürgen (Schädel von Limnosaurus transsylvanicus nov. gen. et spec.) [Dinosaur remains from Transylvania (skull of Limnosaurus transsylvanicus nov. gen. et spec.)]. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe 68:555-591