Fun Burianosaurus Facts For Kids

An extinct genus of the ornithopod dinosaur, the Burianosaurus dinosaur, belonged to the Upper or Late Cretaceous period that spanned from 100.5-66 million years ago. The specimen of the dinosaur was found in 2003 near the city of Kutna Hora, presently in the Czech Republic. The meaning of the term Burianosaurus is the lizard of Burian.

Burianosaurus augustai the type species was named in 2017 and the dinosaur was named Burianosaurus to honor one of the greatest Czech paleoartists, Zdenek Burian, who played a significant role in the development of paleontologist reconstruction. While the species name honors, Josef Augusta, a Czech paleontologist.

A femur or thighbone was the holotype specimen discovered in 2003 from the Peruc-Korycany Formation and was described to be one of the Early Cretaceous members of the Iguanodontidae. Generally, it is believed that the dinosaur belonged to the ornithopod clade and was known to be a bipedal running grazer.

These herbivore dinosaurs developed a chewing apparatus that became an advanced feature ever developed by a non-avian dinosaur, such features can be observed in modern mammals such as cows.

Let's read more fun facts about the Burianosaurus, and if you find this article interesting, don't forget to check out exciting facts about different dinosaurs like Othnielosaurus and Altirhinus.

Burianosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Burianosaurus'?

The pronunciation of the dinosaur's name seems to be a bit difficult and we are here to make it a little easier for you. We are going to tell you a simple trick that can be applied to the pronunciation of all the names.

You just have to break the whole term into several syllables like 'bu-re-an-o-sor-us' to make it quite easy. The meaning of the term Burianosaurus is the lizard of Burian.

What type of dinosaur was a Burianosaurus?

The dinosaur belonged to the class of Reptilia, the clade of Ornithopoda, and the genus of Burianosaurus. Burianosaurus augustai is the type species, the genus name was named in honor of Czech paleoartists, Zdenek Burian while the species name honors, Josef Augusta, a Czech paleontologist.

In which geological period did Burianosaurus roam the Earth?

The Burianosaurus dinosaur belonged to the Late Cretaceous period which spanned from 100.5-66 million years ago. The ornithopod dinosaur was found in 2003 near the city of Kutna Hora, presently in the Czech Republic.

When did the Burianosaurus become extinct?

Research reveals that these dinosaurs must have become extinct around 95 million years ago while the reasons for extinction are not known. Generally, dinosaurs became Extinct due to several natural calamities such as drought, volcanic eruption, asteroid impact, climate change, and many more.

It is also said that many dinosaurs died due to rivalry, they used to fight with their potential competitors.

Where did Burianosaurus live?

The femur, the solitary fossil was discovered from the Peruc-Korycany Formation, Czech Republic. Also, the Miskovice village, where the femur of the dinosaur was found falls in the central Bohemian region. It is said that these dinosaurs must have roamed throughout the European continent.

What was the Burianosaurus' habitat?

Research reveals that the ornithopod dinosaur inhabited plains, hills, and mountains.

Who did Burianosaurus live with?

Very little information regarding social behavior is known as of now, but like other herbivore dinosaurs, they must have grazed in herds. Generally, adult dinosaurs used to live with their young ones until they reach adulthood. Also, they must have formed pairs during the breeding season.

How long did a Burianosaurus live?

The life span of these dinosaurs is not known as of now but like other small species, they must have lived quite less. Also, the life span of dinosaurs was highly influenced by competition among them.

How did they reproduce?

The Burianosaurus must have reproduced like other species of the Ornithopoda clade. Like modern-day reptiles and birds, dinosaurs also used to reproduce by laying eggs. They also performed several courtship displays to attract potential partners and males must have fought over females.

Information such as litter size and the incubation period is not known but adults must have cared for their young babies until they reached adulthood. 

Burianosaurus Fun Facts

What did Burianosaurus look like?

Like other ornithopods, the dinosaur possessed similar features. The dinosaur was best known for its three-toed feet and a horny beak.

Early ornithopod species were quite small but very fast. Like theropods, they had a stiff tail which must have provided balance as they ran on their hind legs. Lately, the ornithopod dinosaur adapted to graze on all four feet.

How many bones did a Burianosaurus have?

The exact number of bones is not known at the moment as a femur or thighbone, the solitary fossil was discovered near the city of Kutna Hora. Paleontologists firstly described the dinosaur to be a member of the Iguanodontidae family but lately described to be a part of the ornithopod clade.

How did they communicate?

Just like modern-day animals, these dinosaurs used similar methods to communicate with each other. Visual, tactile, and auditory cues were used to communicate with each other. Some scientists believed that dinosaurs used to roar, but it is not true. They must have used several courtship displays during the breeding season.

How big was the Burianosaurus?

No information regarding the size of the dinosaur has been gathered as of now but the femur was roughly around 18.11 in (46 cm) long. The dinosaur must have been quite smaller than Omeisaurus and Erketu.

How fast could a Burianosaurus move?

Irrespective of their small, studies reveal that these dinosaurs were quite fast - they had a stiff tail which used to provide balance when they ran on their hind legs.

How much did a Burianosaurus weigh?

No information on their weight is available as of now.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to male and female dinosaurs, people generally call these dinosaurs Burianosaurus augustai.

What would you call a baby Burianosaurus?

Like modern reptiles, the babies of these dinosaurs are known as hatchlings.

What did they eat?

Like other ornithopods, the creature was an herbivore that mainly fed on plants and leaves. As the dinosaur was not that big in size, it must have eaten plants low to the ground.

How aggressive were they?

No information regarding the aggressive or violent nature of the dinosaur is available as of now. They generally roamed in herds and they may have attacked intruders while avoiding predation.

Did you know...

The term Ornithopoda is a combination of two Greek words, ornithos, and pous which means bird and feet respectively. The meaning of the term is the feet of birds.

Earlier, the species of Ornithopoda clade were generally about 3 ft (1 m) long while a few species such as Shantungosaurus were quite big. The dinosaur was as heavy as several sauropods at up to 25 short tons (23 tons) and was around 50 ft (15 m) long.

Why are they called Burianosaurus?

The dinosaur was named Burianosaurus to honor one of the greatest Czech paleoartists, Zdenek Burian, who played a significant role in the development of paleontologist reconstruction. The species name honors Josef Augusta, a Czech paleontologist.

Who discovered Burianosaurus?

The dinosaur was discovered by Josef Augusta.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Valdosaurus facts and Hypsilophodont facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Burianosaurus coloring pages.

Second image by Davide Meloni.

*We've been unable to source an image of Burianosaurus and have used an image of an ornithopod instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Burianosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.