Fun Geranosaurus Facts For Kids

Geranosaurus atavus was first described by Robert Broom in 1911. The Geranosaurus is an extinct genus of dinosaurs that is believed to live on the earth's surface since the early Jurassic period. Few historical remains of Geranosaurus atavus have been discovered from South Africa only. As a result, most of the information about these dinosaurs is derived from crushed fragments of bones in South Africa. Since not much data is available about these dinosaurs, they are considered nomen dubium. Geranosaurus meaning crane reptile is a type of ornithischian dinosaur.

The jaw structure that was derived from the remains of a single jaw bone found in Africa indicates that it is an ornithischian dinosaur. It is also believed that they were a part of the heterodontosaurid family of dinosaurs. The Heterodontosaurid family of dinosaurs was one such family that appeared during the Early Jurassic and joined the group of dinosaurs that remained from the Triassic period. Therefore, it is believed that they come from the Early Jurassic geological epoch. To know more about the Geranosaurus, keep on reading these facts.

For similar content, check out Trinisaura facts, or Jingshanosaurus fun facts for kids too.

How do you pronounce 'Geranosaurus'?

The Geranosaurus atavus is a type of dinosaur from the Early Jurassic. The pronunciation of their English name Geranosaurus is Ge-rano-saw-ras.

What type of dinosaur was a Geranosaurus?

A Geranosaurus is a type of Early Jurassic dinosaur. The jaw structure proves that they were one of the herbivorous ornithischians so they were considered to be theropods. This herbivore species had a pelvic structure similar to the birds. Their name also means bird-hipped.

In which geological period did Geranosaurus the roam the earth?

The dinosaur of Geranosaurus genus presumably belonged to the Early Jurassic period or epoch. The Early Jurassic period corresponds to the Lower Jurassic epoch series out of the three Jurassic periods. It is considered to be the earliest of the three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic period supposedly started just after the extinction of the Triassic period. The Triassic-Jurassic extinction period took place 201.3 million years ago and this marks the onset of the Early Jurassic. It ended with the beginning of the Middle Jurassic that took place around 174.1 million years ago. Few new types and families of dinosaurs roamed around the earth's surface during this time. The bone structure discovered from South Africa suggests that the Geranosaurus atavus belonged to the Heterodontosaurid family of dinosaurs.

When did the Geranosaurus become extinct?

The species of Geranosaurus dinosaurs set foo on earth during the Early Jurassic and lasted till the start of the Middle Jurassic period. The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic era that started around 174 million years ago, 29 million years after the Early Jurassic began.

Where did a Geranosaurus live?

Geranosaurus atavus is an ornithischian and the ornithischians lived across the world except for Antarctica. Few Geranosaurus bone structures were discovered in South Africa in 1871. They were described first by Robert broom. Since the bones structures are available from South Africa it is probable that they lived there in large numbers.

What was a Geranosaurus's habitat?

The dinosaurs did not have any specific habitat preferences. They lived in lowland forests but were also found in the Arid regions of Africa. They also inhabited shorelines and coastal areas.

Who did a Geranosaurus live with?

An ornithischian dinosaur is a herbivore species. Some of the species used to live and feed in herds. The ornithischian herbivore dinosaur herds were segregated by differences in age. Often juveniles were seen in groups herding together while the adults formed separate groups. In several places, remains of large bonebeds have been discovered which suggests that many individuals died simultaneously in certain places, generally a group of individuals. The bone structure gave off the age of the dinosaurs. Evidently, the herbivore species are strongly believed to be herding animals but Broom found no specific information or evidence that proves Geranosaurus was a herding genus when he described them.

How long did a Geranosaurus live?

The Geranosaurus lived in the Early Jurassic that started immediately after the extinction of the Triassic period around 201 million years ago. They lived on earth for 29 million years and became extinct as soon as the middle Jurassic period started around 174 million years ago.

How did they reproduce?

All types of dinosaurs, be it a herbivore or a carnivore, reproduced by laying eggs. Among the theropods, there were several pieces of evidence that proved that the juveniles were mature and capable of moving as soon as they were born. There is no information related to the reproduction of Geranosaurus atavus currently.

What did a Geranosaurus look like?

The term Geranosaurus means crane reptile. This is because they have a pelvic structure similar to the crane species. A jaw bone with few tooth stubs, crushed skull fragments, and some limb elements of Geranosaurus atavus was discovered. It is not possible to create a picture of the dinosaur with such less bones however, the jaw structure proves that they were one of the ornithischians.

How many bones did a Geranosaurus have?

Only one jaw bone with few limb fragments and crushed skull fragments is available for a Geranosaurus atavus. There the total number of bones for this species is unknown.

How did they communicate?

It is believed that dinosaurs communicated by some dialogues of their own. There is enough evidence that they were a vocally active species so they communicated by vocalizations. They also communicated visually.

How big was a Geranosaurus?

The average length and height of a full-grown Geranosaurus were 4 ft (1.2 m) and 2 ft (0.6 m) respectively. They are seven times smaller than Lessemsaurus.

How fast could a Geranosaurus move?

The ornithischians showed abilities to move in both bipedal and quadrupedal postures. However, there is no specifically mentioned movement speed of the Geranosaurus atavus.

How much did a Geranosaurus weigh?

The weight of a Geranosaurus atavus have not been determined since there are few remains of this early Jurassic species.

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and female dinosaurs do not have any specific name so both sexes were known as Geranosaurus.

What would you call a baby Geranosaurus?

A baby dinosaur is generally called a hatchling or nestling but since Geranosurus was a theropod, its juvenile can be called a chick.

What did they eat?

Even though an ornithischian is considered to be a herbivore, some species of the heterodontosaurid family are believed to be omnivores. Therefore it cannot be said whether Geranosaurus atavus was an omnivore or herbivore since there is no elaborate information about their food habits.

How aggressive were they?

They were less aggressive than the carnivorous dinosaurs.

Did you know...

Geranosaurus atavus are theropod dinosaurs and the modern-day birds are distant relatives of this order of dinosaurs.

What does Geranosaurus mean?

The name Geranosaurus atavus has historical meanings. Geranosaurus is derived from the Greek term geranos meaning crane. Atavus means ancestor in Latin literature.

When were Geranosaurus remains discovered?

The remains of Geranosaurus atavus were discovered from South Africa in 1871 and they were described first by Robert Broom in 1911.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Coelurus facts, or Aublysodon fun facts for kids.

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

Second image by Paleocolour.

*We've been unable to source an image of Geranosaurus and have used an image of Jingshanosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Geranosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].