Fun Lessemsaurus Facts For Kids

The Lessemsauridae was a part of the large Saouropoda clade. These Sauropodomorphs were a group of long neck herbivorous dinosaurs that originated during the middle Triassic period of the Mesozoic era.

The type species of the Lessemsaurus genus is called Lessemsaurus sauropoides. The L. sauropoides were lizard-hipped dinosaurs of the Late Triassic. They are characterized by their large sizes and very tall necks.

Sauropodomorphs were the largest creatures of the Animalia kingdom to ever walk on the earth's surface. The Lessemsaurus being a part of the sauropodomorphs were, therefore, a huge species.

The genus Lessemsaurus was present during the bordering age of the Triassic and the Early Jurassic age. The fossil of L. sauropoides was very long and was discovered in sedimentary strata and was described by Powell and Pol.

Some believe that the dinosaur was around even during the transition of the Norian age to the Jurassic era and survived the range of the Triassic- Jurassic extinction event. To know more about the Lessemsaurus, keep on reading these amazing facts.

 For similar content check out Abydosaurus and Argyrosaurus facts too.

Lessemsaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Lessemsaurus '?

The Lessemsaurus is a type of prehistoric dinosaur that live on earth during the upper Triassic of Argentina. The English pronunciation of the name Lessemsaurus sounds like Les-sem-sore-us.

What type of dinosaur was a Lessemsaurus?

The Lessemsaurus were a part of the Lessemsauridae clade. The recovered fossils of the genus Lessemsaurus were classified as a separate clade called the Lessemsauridae. Lessemsauridae was a part of the Sauropoda clade.

Out of the two groups, the sauropods belong to the group of Saurischians. Naturally, the Lessemsaurus being a part of the sauropod clade was also a type of Saurischian dinosaur.

They were present during the Late Triassic of Argentina around 210 million years ago. The species L. sauropoides was formally described in 1999 in the honor of the famous writer of science books, Don Lessem. The fossil of this sauropod dinosaur was discovered from the Los Colorados Formation of Argentina.

In which geological period did the Lessemsaurus roam the earth?

The Lessemsaurus are sauropods that existed during the Late Triassic period and became extinct by the Early Jurassic. This genus came into existence around 210 million years ago and was present till 205 million years ago.

This species was a Triassic of Argentina and roamed throughout the supercontinent of Africa and South America approximately around 210 million years ago. The remains indicate that this dinosaur was around for a while on earth during the Norian stage of the upper Triassic period.

Geologically, the Norian stage comes right after the Carnian stage of the Triassic range and is followed but the Rhaetian age range.

The features of the Lessemsaurus fossil suggest that they roamed around on earth precisely between the span of 213 million years ago to 205 million years ago. They continued from the Norian age to the Rhaetian age of the Triassic period.

When did the Lessemsaurus become extinct?

The Lessemsaurus is a genus of the Late Triassic period that was present on earth for long and was discovered from the Los Colorados Formation in Argentina in 1999. The features of their fossil show that they emerged as a species 213 million years ago and became extinct by the Early Jurassic period.

The Lessemesaurus became extinct around 205 million years ago. Before that, they formed a major part of the wildlife during the range of Norian and Rhaetian stages.

Where did a Lessemsaurus live?

Most of the remains of Lessemsaurus were collected from Argentina, so they possibly belonged to the supercontinent Gondwana comprising of South America and Africa.

What was a Lessemsaurus's habitat?

The Lessemsaurus preferred to stay in terrestrial habitats. They lived across land ranging from forest habitats to coastal lands.

Who did a Lessemsaurus live with?

The social structure of the Sauropodomorpha dinosaurs varied as the species kept on changing, all of them had distinct social structures. Many Sauropodomorpha fossils have been recovered in large bone beds which suggests that some species might have lived in herds.

These dinosaurs were strictly herbivorous in nature and in some species, juveniles and adults were observed to live in mixed herds. Those species which lived by forming herds, juveniles, and adults were found together.

Several bonebeds related to sauropods have been recovered from Argentina which suggests the herding behavior of the adults and juveniles. However, no specific information about the social structure of Lessemsaurus is known.

How long did a Lessemsaurus live?

The features of the fossils of the genus Lessemsaurus were studied and L. sauropoides was formally described in 1999. The features suggested Lessemsaurus were sauropods that came into existence more than 213 million years ago.

The Sauropodomorpha lasted up to 205 million years ago. Therefore, these dinosaurs existed for a span of eight million years and there's a possibility of them surviving the Triassic- Jurassic extinction event.

How did they reproduce?

There are no details about the reproduction and breeding process of the Lessemsaurus. Like all other species of the Dinosauria clade, these herbivores also laid eggs and juveniles were born when the eggs hatched.

Lessemsaurus Fun Facts

What did a Lessemsaurus look like?

The Lessemsaurus is an early sauropod whose fossils were described by Pol and Powell in 2007. Their dorsal and pneumatic vertebrae were short but cervical ones were robust. They were large herbivores however other sauropods that were ten times larger than them have been recorded.

How many bones did a Lessemsaurus have?

The total number of bones that a Lessemsaurus has is unknown but some vertebrae, limbs, and pelvic bones have been discovered as their fossil.

How did they communicate?

Communication took place either vocally or visually. Their visual and vocal senses were well developed.

How big was a Lessemsaurus?

The Lessemsaurus could grow up to a length of 29.5 ft (9 m). They are seven times bigger than Geranosaurus.

How fast could a Lessemsaurus move?

The Lessemsaurus is a slow-moving huge species but its speed is unknown.

How much did a Lessemsaurus weigh?

The Lessemsaurus species were large species that weighed between 3.3-4.4 t (3000-4000 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and the female species do not have any particular name. Both were called Lessemsaurus.

What would you call a baby Lessemsaurus?

A baby dinosaur is called a hatchling or nestling.

What did they eat?

The Lessemsaurus are herbivores that ate grass, leaves, shrubs, and other plant matters.

How aggressive were they?

They were plant-eaters which made them less aggressive than meat-eaters.

Did you know...

The name Lessemsaurus is a synonym for Lessem's lizard or lizard of Lessem because of the lizard-like hip structure.

Was Lessemsaurus a herbivore?

Yes, the Lessemsaurus dinosaur is herbivorous in nature that fed upon grass, shrubs, trees, and leaves.

State the fossil details of Lessemsaurus?

The Lessemsaurus fossils were located from the western part of Argentina in the Los Colorados Formation. Don Lessem was a popular writer after which the group was named Lessemsaurus.

Bonaparte described them in 1999. Very few fossils are recorded. These include a few long bones of the extreme parts of the body and remains of the vertebrae.

In the museum, while structuring the Lessemsaurus dinosaur the vertebrae and long bones of other sauropod species are sometimes used. The complete articular and the neural parts of the vertebrae when examined closely. The evolution of sauropods resulted in larger vertebrae species.

Apart from the vertebrae, Powell and Pol finally described the fossils of limbs, the pelvic region, and the shoulder. Assigning them a place in the evolution chart became difficult.

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 Trinisaura facts, or Jingshanosaurus fun facts for kids.

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

Main image by Gonce.