Fun Quaesitosaurus Facts For Kids

The Quaesitosaurus was a herbivore, a sauropod, and a nemegtosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Mesozoic era's Late Cretaceous period, from the Santonian to the Maastrichtian stages. This herbivore lived on the Earth between 85-70 million years ago.

Fossils, which contained only a partial skull, were found in Mongolia, Asia. Specifically, they were found in the southeastern region of the Gobi desert in the Shar Tsav region, in the Ömnögovi province.

As indicated by the skull, the Quaesitosaurus had a long skull, a long neck, a small brain, a small head, peg-like teeth, and good hearing abilities. The Quaesitosaurus inhabited semi-arid areas and went into wetlands to eat things like ginkgos, conifers, ferns, cycads, horsetails, and Bennettitales.

The Quaesitosaurus was a herbivore, and a slow, quadrupedal mover that lived in herds and migrated when food sources got depleted. The species may have lived up to 100 years like other herbivorous sauropods.

They reproduced by laying eggs but not in nests. This species has been given the name Quaesitosaurus due to its peculiar features.

The name translates to 'extraordinary lizard'. Quaesitosaurus pronunciation is given as 'Kway-sit-oh-sore-us'.

For more relatable content, check out these Rapetosaurus facts and Vulcanodon facts for kids.

Quaesitosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Quaesitosaurus'?

The Quaesitosaurus pronunciation is 'Kway-sit-oh-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Quaesitosaurus?

The plant-eating Quaesitosaurus (Quaesitosaurus orientalis) was a nemegtosaurid and a sauropod.

In which geological period did the Quaesitosaurus roam the earth?

The plant-eating Quaesitosaurus (Quaesitosaurus orientalis) was alive during the Late Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, from the Santonian age to the Maastrichtian age. The Campanian age is also included in this time range which existed between 85 to 70 million years ago.

When did the Quaesitosaurus become extinct?

The plant-eating Quaesitosaurus (Quaesitosaurus orientalis) became extinct 85-70 million years ago at the end of the Late Cretaceous period.

Where did the Quaesitosaurus live?

Fossils of the herbivore Quaesitosaurus (Quaesitosaurus orientalis), which included just a partial skull, were discovered in Asia. In the Asian range, fossils that had formed around 80 million years ago were found in the Shar Tsav region of Mongolia in the Barun Goyot Formation.

The Barun Goyot Formation is in the southeastern part of the Gobi desert in the Ömnögovi province.

What was the habitat of the Quaesitosaurus?

The 'extraordinary lizard' Quaesitosaurus (Quaesitosaurus orientalis) is believed to have inhabited semi-arid, wetlands, and terrestrial habitats.

Who did a Quaesitosaurus live with?

The plant-eater Quaesitosaurus is thought to have lived and traveled in herds. There is not much information or content to back this up, but herds of this 'extraordinary lizard' may also have migrated when local food sources got depleted.

How long did a Quaesitosaurus live?

Since it is a herbivorous sauropod, the Quaesitosaurus is thought to have lived up to 100 years. The information on the lifespan of a Quaesitosaurus is not well-known.

How did they reproduce?

The information on mating practices of the plant-eater Quaesitosaurus can be inferred from information and content on sauropods.

Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs reproduced by mating and laying eggs, not unlike other sauropods. Eggs of the Quaesitosaurus were not laid in a nest but were laid while the dinosaur was walking, in a linear pattern. These Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs are believed to have not shown much care to their eggs.

Quaesitosaurus Fun Facts

What did the Quaesitosaurus look like?

The holotype of the plant-eater Quaesitosaurus, designated PIN 3906/2, is only a partial skull but it can relay much information.

The Quaesitosaurus had a large gut for digesting the great number of plant materials it consumed daily. It also had a small brain and head.

Its neck was long for purposes of grazing. It also had a long tail that perfectly counterbalanced the neck.

The Quaesitosaurus had four columnar legs, big ear openings, and a wide snout. The small head had long and peg-like or horse-like teeth in them.

Like many other sauropods, the Quaesitosaurus held its neck almost parallel to the ground. The neck was used to peek into forests to obtain foliage for feeding which was not available to other big and lumbering sauropods that were unable to go into the forests due to their large size.

The long neck of the plant-eater Quaesitosaurus may also have served the purpose of eating soft pteridophytes like clubmosses, ferns, and horsetails.

Such plants were found in wetlands near which the Quaesitosaurus stood and browsed for food. The skull was long and the tail was whip-like.

The skull of the 'extraordinary lizard' Quaesitosaurus is very similar to that of the Diplodocus and its relatives so there is speculation that they had similar bodies as well. The Nemegtosaurus is also thought to be closely related to the Quaesitosaurus.

How many bones did a Quaesitosaurus have?

It is unclear exactly how many bones a Quaesitosaurus had.

How did they communicate?

It is unclear how exactly these Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs communicated. But like other dinosaurs, they may have used visual and vocal cues like grunts, bellows, hoots, territorial aggression, mating displays, and defensive postures. Also, as evidenced by the length of its skull, it had really good hearing abilities.

How big was a Quaesitosaurus?

The Quaesitosaurus length was around 75 ft (22.9 m) and the Quaesitosaurus height was around 25 ft (7.6 m). The Quaesitosaurus size was at least four times bigger in length than the Magyarosaurus.

How fast could a Quaesitosaurus move?

Exact speeds of a Quaesitosaurus are unclear but as evidenced by fossilized tracks, the length of its legs, and the estimated weight, it is thought to be a slow, quadrupedal mover.

How much did a Quaesitosaurus weigh?

The Quaesitosaurus weight is thought to have been around 7 tons (6,350 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

Females and males of the Quaesitosaurus genus and species of dinosaurs did not have specific names. But as with other dinosaurs, the suffixes 'saurus' and 'saura' can be applied to male and female dinosaurs respectively.

What would you call a baby Quaesitosaurus?

A baby Quaesitosaurus was called a hatchling or a nestling.

What did they eat?

Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs were herbivorous and they ate things like plants, twigs, bark, leaves, conifers, ginkgos, seed ferns, clubmosses, Bennettitales, cycads, ferns, aquatic plants, and horsetails.

How aggressive were they?

Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs may have been aggressive or territorial but they are thought to have lived in herds. Being a herbivore species, they were definitely not as aggressive as carnivorous dinosaurs.

Did you know...

The name was given to the Quaesitosaurus dinosaur by Kurzanov and Bannikov. Kurzanov and Bannikov are both paleontologists known specifically for their research and content on the Quaesitosaurus dinosaur species.

A. F. Bannikov happens to be an ichthyologist as well and hails from Russia. S. M. Kurzanov also hails from Russia. The research for the Quaesitosaurus dinosaur was done by S. M. Kurzanov and A. F. Bannikov at the Paleontological Institute of the Academy of Sciences in USSR-era Russia in 1994.

The classification of the Quaesitosaurus is quite varied. Many aspects of the classification are not set in concrete. The Quaesitosaurus classification itself provides five different Clades that the dinosaur belongs to. They are Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Macronaria, Titanosauria, and Lithostrotia.

The peg-like teeth of the Quaesitosaurus were pretty strong since it ate a tremendous amount of plant material to sustain its big body. Leaves must have been swallowed whole and they had stomach stones or gastroliths that helped in digestion. The blunt and strong teeth came in handy for stripping the foliage from the trees.

What does 'Quaesitosaurus' mean?

The Quaesitosaurus name quite simply means 'extraordinary lizard' or 'abnormal lizard'. The name is a clear reference to its striking features like the length of its neck and skull and the whip-like tail which was also of considerable length. The Quaesitosaurus dinosaur also had horse-like teeth. All of these are extraordinary features of an extraordinary lizard.

How many Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs were there?

It cannot be said with any certainty how many Quaesitosaurus dinosaurs existed and only a partial skull has been found in Asia, in Mongolia in the southeastern Gobi desert in the Ömnögovi province.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other dinosaurs from our Thotobolosaurus surprising facts and Analong fun facts for kids pages.

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

Second image by FunkMonk (Michael B. H.)