Fun Lagerpeton Facts For Kids

The Lagerpeton chanarensis belonged to the genus of Lagerpetid Avemetatarsalian dinosaurs and this is the only species in this genus. The name of this dinosaur comes from the Greek words 'lagos' meaning hare and 'herpeton' meaning reptile. It was excavated from the Chanares formation of Argentina, South America by excavator A.S Romer in the year 1971.

Fossils that were found were incomplete and the only described fossils are the pelvic girdle, hindlimbs, the posterior presacral, the sacral, and anterior caudal vertebrae. Skull and shoulder fossil remains were also described later.

Fossils were collected from the La Rioja Province of Argentina and the first fossils were found in 1964-1965, after an expedition program by the Museum of Comparative Zoology and Muso de la Plata. Some fossils were found in 1966 as well, by the Miguel Lillo Institute paleontologists of the University of the Tucuman. The Lagerpeton chanarensis was named by Alfred Romer based on the complete right hindlimb discovered during the 1964-1965 expedition.

Scroll down to read about the Lagerpeton's life, what they fed on, their habits, and other exciting details! If you want to discover more like the Lagerpeton, take a look at Coelosaurus and Leptorhynchos facts.

How do you pronounce 'Lagerpeton'?

The term Lagerpeton is pronounced as 'lag-er-pe-ton'.

What type of dinosaur was a Lagerpeton?

Lagerpetons were carnivorous basal Dinosauromorphs and dinosaurian precursors that lived during the Ladinian Triassic period which was the middle Triassic period. It belonged to the genus of basal Lagerpetid Avemetatarsalian dinosaurs and this is the only species in this genus. The Avemetatarsalian is a clade of Archosaurs which means they are more closely related to birds than crocodiles, even though they had a mixture of features.

In which geological period did the Lagerpeton roam the Earth?

Lagerpeton dinosaurs lived during the Ladinian Triassic period which is the upper middle Triassic period.

When did the Lagerpeton become extinct?

Dinosaurs, in general, went extinct almost 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous time period, after living on the Earth for about 165 million years. This species lived during the Ladinian Triassic period which is the upper middle Triassic period and became extinct way before the end of the dinosaur era.

Where did a Lagerpeton live?

Fossil remains of these basal Dinosauromorphs were found in the Chanares formation of Argentina, which had dense vegetation, during the upper middle Triassic period. The Lagerpeton, being carnivorous, tended to live near dense vegetation so that they could prey easily.

What was a Lagerpeton's habitat?

Lagerpeton dinosaurs lived in the present-day area of Argentina and fossil remains were found in the Chanares formation of Argentina, South America. The land distribution during the era of dinosaurs was quite different from present-day distribution and therefore it can't be said if the Lagerpeton moved to different areas or was just spread out over a larger area.

Who did a Lagerpeton live with?

This dinosaur lived with its related breed or medium sized dinosaurs that were carnivores as well. They lived in groups or herds in order to prey easily and also to protect themselves from bigger predators.

How long did a Lagerpeton live?

There isn't a definite time frame of this species' life span, but it is speculated that like other dinosaurian precursors they survived for about 10-20 years.

How did they reproduce?

Archosaurs, much like other reptiles, mated with each other during the breeding season and in the case of this breed, the female dinosaur laid eggs. Eggs hatched after a certain period of time and newborn dinosaurs came out. Adult dinosaurs took care of newborns until they could move with their parents or go along with their new family.

What did a Lagerpeton look like?

Fossil remains found for the Lagerpeton enabled researchers to find the length of the dinosaur as it was the only complete specimen. The dinosaur had a slender body with limb bones which were much similar to derived Dinosauromorphs and basal Saurischians. The Lagerpeton skull, like that of other Pterosaurs, was small and slender.

The Lagerpeton had 20 autapomorphic characters which included posterior dorsal neural spines, the head of the femora which was shaped like a hook, and the length of the fourth finger and the metatarsal four being bigger than the digit three and metatarsal three. This dinosaur lacked many features that other dinosaurs had, such as the greater trochanter. The lack of this places the Lagerpeton in the Dinosaurmorpha group or even outside it.

How many bones did a Lagerpeton have?

There is no accurate number of bones that have been reported by researchers as the Lagerpeton skeleton found in the Chanares formation is still incomplete.

How did they communicate?

There is no specific mention of how they communicated, but they definitely didn't have modern means of communication. Like any other animal, dinosaurs communicated by making sounds and using their body language. They might have used hoots and hollers to communicate. Being ravenous yet small predators they did have a shrieking call which they used to communicate or scare their prey.

How big was a Lagerpeton?

The Lagerpeton was 27.55 in (70 cm) in length and this makes it about twice the size of the white gyrfalcon which is 18-25 in (48-65 cm) in length.

How fast could a Lagerpeton move?

The Lagerpeton species was quite small in size in comparison to other carnivorous dinosaur species. It was smaller in size and therefore relied upon its senses as well as its quick reflexes, speed and agility to be safe from bigger predators like Rauisuchians.

How much did a Lagerpeton weigh?

This dinosaur species weighed about 8.81 lb (4 kg) and this makes it about eight times lighter than the developed Anteater which weighs 3.3-90 lb (1.5-41 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name for male or female dinosaurs of this species. They are commonly known as the Lagerpeton and the Lagerpeton chanarensis.

What would you call a baby Lagerpeton?

A newborn dinosaur was known as a hatchling or a nestling. This was common for most dinosaur species.

What did they eat?

Their diet consisted of mainly smaller herbivorous dinosaurs and insects. They were quite ravenous and would prey on same sized or smaller dinosaurs along with insects that were found during the upper middle Triassic period.

How aggressive were they?

Theropod species who were carnivores with a diet that consisted of meat tended to be more aggressive. They weren't as large as other carnivorous dinosaurs but were smart and could run well and attack well.

Did you know...

Studies have shown that the extended analog of this dinosaur species is small bipedal animals called saltators. Saltators are animals who have evolved from aquatic to terrestrial animals and have some common features with the Lagerpeton.

How was the Lagerpeton discovered?

How it was discovered isn't known for sure, but fossils were found from the La Rioja province of Argentina and the first fossils were found in 1964-1965, after an expedition program by the Museum of Comparative Zoology and Muso de la Plata. Some fossils were found in 1966 as well, by the Miguel Lillo Institute paleontologists of the University of the Tucuman.

What were the Lagerpeton's ancestors?

Studies stated that the Lagerpeton was an evolved species of Pterosaurs. They are known to be the closest relatives to Pterosaurs and bridge the gap between Pterosaurs and other reptiles.

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 Shamosaurus fun facts, or Tawa facts for kids pages.

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