Dinosaurs / Jurassic / Nanosaurus
Nanosaurus
Jurassic NAN-oh-SAWR-us, “dwarf lizard”
Nanosaurus is a small, agile plant-eating dinosaur known from the famous Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States. 5 and 2 metres long, it was a tiny inhabitant of an ecosystem dominated by colossal sauropods and large theropods. It possessed long hind limbs, a slender torso, and a rigid, rod-like tail that acted as a counterbalance during fast running. Its small, chiseled teeth were adapted for snipping low-growing vegetation, such as ferns and cycad fronds. First named by Othniel Charles Marsh during the historic Bone Wars, the taxon has experienced a complex taxonomic history, but modern reviews place specimens formerly attributed to Othnielia and Othnielosaurus under this single valid genus.
Recent taxonomic studies have consolidated several small Morrison ornithischians, including Othnielosaurus, under this name.
Where and when
Nanosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic, from 155 to 148 million years ago (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age). Its remains come from United States, in the Morrison Formation.
The numbers
Length 1.8 m (estimates run from 1.5 to 2 m). Mass about 14 kg. Hip height about 0.5 m. That is 1.1 human-lengths, or 0.16 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.