Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
538 / Mesozoic
Lurdusaurus
Lurdusaurus arenatus
Short legs, a broad trunk and giant thumb spike made an unusually low heavy iguanodontian.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 115–105 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- River wetland · Niger
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Lurdusaurus?
Lurdusaurus (Lurdusaurus arenatus) was an extinct organism known from About 115–105 million years ago, with a range in River wetland · Niger.
Life and ecology
It browsed wetland vegetation and may have entered shallow water, though semiaquatic behavior is debated.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Lurdusaurus disappear?
Changes in Saharan waterways and herbivore faunas are possible context; the fossil record does not establish why the species disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Lurdusaurus?
A partial skeleton preserves robust limbs and hands; ecology remains contested.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS