Fun Isaberrysaura Facts For Kids

Very recently, a new species of dinosaur was discovered in the Neuquén Province of Argentina. The partial skeleton garnered much attention in the Paleontological universe.

Its features resembled both stegosaurian and ornithischian. But finally, researchers classed it as a new genus- Isaberrysaura. Its discovery was groundbreaking as it was the first neornithischian dinosaur known from the Bajocian stage in South America.

Isaberrysaura mollensis was a herbivore. This fact was confirmed by the fossilized seeds of cycads and other plants found in its gut. This discovery guided the paleontologists to view the species as a seed disperser of plants.

The seeds being intact revealed that the dinosaur consumed the food without chewing. Leonardo Salgado named this species and provided a detailed description of the Isaberrysaura. We'll explore the taxonomic classification, diet, habitat and ecology, anatomy, geological period, reproduction style, and other features of Isaberrysaura in this article.

So, if you're ready to know more about this herbivorous ornithischian, keep reading! Also, check out fact articles on Veterupristisaurus and Szechuanosaurus!

Isaberrysaura Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Isaberrysaura'?

The name Isaberrysaura is pronounced 'I-sa-beh-re-sor-ah'. Fun fact: the name Isaberrysaura was given to honor Isabel Valdivia Berry, the person who discovered it in the Los Molles Formation of Argentina.

What type of dinosaur was an Isaberrysaura?

Isaberrysaura belongs to the genus of a stegosaurian ornithischian dinosaur. This genus has only one type of species, referred to as Isaberrysaura mollensis. A detailed analysis of the dinosaur's fossil has revealed its resemblance to both Stegosaurus and Neornithischia (an ornithischian subgroup). To date, it is not clear which family this primitive dinosaur belonged to.

In which geological period did the Isaberrysaura roam the earth?

The Isaberrysaura mollensis fossil was found in the Los Molles Formation of the Bajocian stage of the Middle Jurassic. Hence, researchers assume that these ornithischians roamed the earth from 168-170 million years ago.

When did the Isaberrysaura become extinct?

According to scientific analysis, the Isaberrysaura must have become extinct by the end of the Bajocian age (168 million years ago). However, what caused the extinction of these dinosaurs is yet to be answered.

Where did an Isaberrysaura live?

The fossil remains suggest that the Isaberrysaura mollensis was a terrestrial or ground-dwelling dinosaur.

What was an Isaberrysaura's habitat?

Only one specimen of the Isaberrysaura has been found in the Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The holotype discovery was made in the Los Molles Formation's marine-deltaic deposits.

The Neuquen Basin was associated with a temperature that ranged from temperate to warm. The presence of Podocarpaceae, Araucariaceae, Cycadales, Bennettitales, and ferns from the Middle Jurassic period suggest that the land must have had a rich diversity of flora to meet the food requirements of herbivores like Isaberrysaura.

Who did an Isaberrysaura live with?

It is not clear whether Isaberrysaura was a solitary or a gregarious dinosaur.

How long did an Isaberrysaura live?

Studies are yet to be conducted for the discovery of Isaberrysaura's average lifespan.

How did they reproduce?

According to scientific reports, this ornithischian was oviparous, meaning it reproduced by laying eggs.

Isaberrysaura Fun Facts

What did an Isaberrysaura look like?

A large-bodied neornithischian, Isaberrysaura had a long, elongated skull around 20.5 in (52 cm). The unusual-looking skull, which was shaped like a wedge. The hole behind the eye was larger than the opening.

It also had two supraorbital bones, which gave the Isaberrysaura a stern-looking face. This feature made it resemble Stegosaurus. However, further analysis of the skull components showed that the genus could have actually been a neornithischian.

Isaberrysaura had leaf-shaped teeth that were suited for cutting leaves or biting flesh. For example, their teeth in the upper jaw were pointed and bulbous.

The teeth in the maxillae were broader with a flatter tip and prominent denticles. However, while the teeth structure pointed that the Isaberrysaura might be an omnivore, paleontologists haven't found any traces of animal remains in their digestive tract.

These unique physical features which placed in an ambiguous taxonomic position. The evidence suggested that the Isayberrysaura was part of a group of basal neornithischian, while another study hinted that it was a thescelosaurid. The postcranium of the specimen pointed to it being an armored dinosaur.

How many bones did an Isaberrysaura have?

The holotype of the Isaberrysaura consisted of a complete skull, a partial postcranium that consisted of six cervical vertebrae, 15 dorsal vertebrae, nine caudal vertebrae, a sacrum with a partial ilium, an apparently complete pubis, scapula part, ribs, and other unidentifiable bone fragments.

How did they communicate?

The communication style of the Isaberrysaura is yet to be explored by researchers.

How big was an Isaberrysaura?

Isaberrysaura is estimated to be approximately 16-20 ft (4.9-6.1 m) long. Emausaurus, a genus of thyreophoran, was estimated to be around 13.1 ft (4 m). It was also longer than other basal neornithischian members like Parksosaurus.

How fast could an Isaberrysaura move?

The exact speed of these dinosaurs is yet to be discovered.

How much did an Isaberrysaura weigh?

The weight of these dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic period remains unknown.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no difference between the name of a male and female Isaberrysaura.

What would you call a baby Isaberrysaura?

The baby Isaberrysaura would be known as a juvenile.

What did they eat?

Like stegosaurs, this ornithischia genus was a herbivore. And there is direct evidence of this fact. As in the gut of the recovered skeleton, researchers found a mass of fossilized plant seeds. Two kinds of plant seeds were found fossilized in the dinosaur's gut. The larger seeds belonged to Cycadales and the smaller seeds are .

The intact cycad seeds in the gut could have only been possible if swallowed whole. This allowed researchers to discover something cool.

Isaberrysaura may have been a seed disperser responsible for the spread of cycad plants across the region. Since cycads are known to be poisonous, the gut microorganisms of these dinosaurs may have assisted in dealing with the toxins in the seeds.

Perhaps this internal mechanism allowed the I. mollensis to extract the nutritional benefits of the seeds without getting poisoned.

However, scientific studies lack clarity regarding the diet of the dinosaur when seeds were unavailable.

How aggressive were they?

It's not known if these dinosaurs were aggressive in nature.

Did you know...

Salgado named this dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic period.

Isaberrysaura is South America's first neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic period.

The species holotype is tagged as MOZ-Pv 6459.

The size of the cycads found in the gut of this Jurassic dinosaur was 1 in (2.5 cm).

What was the Isaberrysaura related to?

The discovery of Isaberrysaura genus revealed a new morphotype among basal neornithischian. The skull of the dinosaur was similar to some stegosaur species.

Other related features include large body size, an elongated but low skull, six premaxillary teeth, a high number of maxillary teeth, and so on. Another similarity between the stegosaur and Isaberrysaura is that they were both herbivorous.

How many species of Isaberrysaura were there?

According to Salgado, the Isaberrysaura genus has only one type of species - Isaberrysaura mollensis. The species was named in honor of Isabel Valdivia Berry who discovered the fossil. The name Mollensis refers to Los Molles Formation, the type locality where the partial skeleton was recovered.

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 Changyuraptor facts, or Zhenyuanlong fun facts for kids.

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

Both images by Leonardo Salgado, José I. Canudo, Alberto C. Garrido, Miguel Moreno-Azanza, Leandro C. A. Martínez, Rodolfo A. Coria & José M. Gasca