Fun Paleosaurus Facts For Kids

Paleosaurus (Palaeosaurus cylindrodon) is a dinosaur of the Late Triassic period and became extinct about 200 million years ago. Due to a lack of specimen evidence, scientists are unable to determine their clade.

However, several studies grouped them under the Archosauria clade, which is still under a lot of debate and is yet to be confirmed. In fact, only two teeth were excavated from Bristol, England.

From this scanty evidence, certain assumptions are put forth by the researchers, which include the weight, diet, and even the possible morphology of this species. Some researchers claim that these creatures were giant beasts with sharp-pointed teeth that were used for tearing the flesh of their prey.

The exact location from where these teeth were found was the Magnesian Conglomerate or the Avon Fissure Fill located in Clifton. Hopefully, more fossil evidence can be collected so that this dinosaur species can be fully described.

Keep reading to unearth more intriguing facts about the Paleosaurus giants!

Paleosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Paleosaurus'?

Paleosaurus is pronounced as 'pa-leo-saw-rus'.

What type of dinosaur was a Paleosaurus?

The Palaeosaurus or Paleosaurus is classified under the Archosauria clade. However, this is not an accurate classification owing to the scanty fossil evidence of this species. The identification of its clade is still under debate.

In which geological period did the Paleosaurus roam the Earth?

Palaeosaurus roamed the Earth during the Upper of Late Triassic period, which ended about 200 million years ago. It actually marked the end of the Permian period and was followed by the Jurassic period.

The Triassic period is considered to be the shortest epoch of the Mesozoic era. It was the time when all the savage dinosaurs and pterosaurs ruled the world.

When did the Paleosaurus become extinct?

These dinosaur species became extinct about 200 million years ago due to natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, meteor impacts, and forest fires. A lack of adaptive radiation, scarcity of food, and other dinosaurs of the later period also led to the extinction of these species.

Where did a Paleosaurus live?

The dinosaurian fossils were excavated from Bristol, a city in England. This is where the teeth remain of the species were unearthed from. The exact location from where the paleontologists of the 19th century retrieved the fossil was the Magnesian Conglomerate or the Avon Fissure Fill located in Clifton.

What was a Paleosaurus's habitat?

Although we are not quite sure of the habitat, these dinosaur species may have hunted down their prey in grasslands, tundra, plains, as well as in wetlands.

Who did a Paleosaurus live with?

While not much information is really available about the genus Palaeosaurus, just like other reptiles, some of them may have lived alone or in small groups. Certain dinosaurs belonging to other clades like Sauropoda or Theropoda preferred to live alone when adult and in small groups in their juvenile stage.

How long did a Paleosaurus live?

Due to a lack of specimen evidence, the exact life expectancy of these creatures of the Paleosaurus genus is not known. However, various pieces of research reveal to us that dinosaurs, in general, lived for about 60-70 years.

How did they reproduce?

 As with other reptiles, reproduction in these dinosaur species was of sexual type. They laid rounded eggs in pits.

Although there is no information on whether the juveniles received parental care or not, we can assume that these dinosaurs were quite territorial in nature and protected their eggs from raptors and other predators. The juveniles, after hatching out, were capable of living alone and also underwent a rapid rate of growth.

Paleosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Paleosaurus look like?

Since there is no evidence of a complete fossil specimen, we are unable to describe the Paleosaurus species. Only two teeth were excavated from Bristol, England.

However, several pieces of research have put forth the illustrations of these creatures as large and bulky with scales covering their body. They may have been quadrupeds, and their entire body weight was balanced by the pillar-like legs. The sharp-pointed teeth, along with powerful jaws, helped them to capture their prey easily.

How many bones did a Paleosaurus have?

As the entire specimen holotype of these dinosaurs of the Paleosaurus genus is not retrieved, scientists are still not able to estimate the total number of bones these animals had. In fact, the genus classification of these species is still under debate by British scientists.

How did they communicate?

We can assume that the Palaeosaurus communicated visually as well as vocally, just like other dinosaur species of that era.

How big was a Paleosaurus?

Due to a lack of fossil evidence, we are unable to identify the exact body length of these dinosaurs. However, several illustrations and depictions, including the famous movies Jurassic Park III' and 'The Giant Behemoth', portrayed these dinosaurs as huge and horrifying animals with vicious teeth.

How fast could a Paleosaurus move?

There is no such evidence to estimate the speed of these creatures. We may assume from their weight that they had a giant body, which was possibly balanced by pillar-like limbs. These helped them in brisk movements. Therefore, we can conclude that they were not great runners.

How much did a Paleosaurus weigh?

Certain research pieces have put forth an approximate weight of these dinosaurs, which is about 1100-9990 lb (500-4535 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

We don't really use any specific names for the male and female dinosaur species. It is better to call them a 'male dinosaur' and 'female dinosaur'.

What would you call a baby Paleosaurus?

A nestling, or perhaps, a hatchling, would be the perfect name for the baby Palaeosaurus due to the fact that dinosaurs and all other reptiles of that era were egg-laying animals.

What did they eat?

Although there is not much information available about the clade and genus of this species, we do know that they were carnivores in nature. This assumption is based on the teeth fossil that was excavated from England.

They had sharp-pointed teeth with powerful jaw muscles that made them tear and shred their prey into pieces. Their diet possibly included smaller dinosaurs, birds, and other creatures of the Triassic epoch.

How aggressive were they?

From the sharp-pointed teeth, we can definitely assume that these creatures were savage predators and were extremely aggressive in nature.

Did You Know...

In the year 1878, a paleontologist from America named Edward Drinker Cope assigned a new species, Palaeosaurus fraserianus, to the Archosauria group. But later on, this was proved to be wrong and was placed under the sauropodomorph clade.

Henry Riley and Samuel Stutchbury were the first to discover the teeth remain of this dinosaur from the quarry of Durdham Down at Clifton in the year 1834.

German paleontologist Oskar Kuhn was the first person to recognize the genus Palaeosaurus, which was established by Riley and Stutchbury in the year 1959. He then created a new genus named Palaeosauriscus and grouped the Palaeosaurus cylindrodon into this genus.

Was Paleosaurus green?

As there is no complete fossil specimen available, we cannot really determine their skin color. Most of the illustrations of this species that are shown in the movies and books are portrayed as green or brown. However, we cannot come to any conclusions from these mere assumptions, as none of us existed in the Triassic period.

Did Paleosaurus have scales?

Just as most other reptilians of that epoch, the Palaeosaurus also had scales on their body, which may have provided protection to their upper dermal layer or helped them in thermal regulation.

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

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