Fun Einiosaurus Facts For Kids

The Einiosaurus procurvicornis was a herbivorous dinosaur whose fossilized bones were found by Sampson and his team in Montana, USA, which was the site of discovery.  This dinosaur type belongs to the Mesozoic Period, (74 million years ago) and was a Centrosaurinae ceratopsian dinosaur, belonging to the Ornithischia order (Ceratopsia suborder) with a classification of the Upper Cretaceous or Late Cretaceous era. It is also known as the 'Buffalo Lizard' because it lived in herds which were confirmed by the groups of fossilized bone found in the site. This dinosaur lived near shallow water bodies like lakes and its diet consisted of low-level plants and shrubs. This dinosaur had a forward curving nasal horn on its snout which differentiates them from other Centrosaurinae dinosaurs. This dinosaur has small rounded supraorbital horns on the brow instead of sharper ones present in other similar species. The frill on its head had two straight backward spikes and was not curved. These horned dinosaurs belonging to the Late Cretaceous period reached sexual maturity at three to four years of age and reproduced by laying eggs.

If you liked reading about the Einiosaurus, also check out interesting facts about other dinosaurs like the Puertasaurus and the Hesperosaurus.

How do you pronounce 'Einiosaurus'?

According to Sampson, the name, 'Einiosaurus procurvicornis', of this dinosaur should be pronounced as 'eye-nee-o-saurus pro-curv-ee-corn-iss'.

What type of dinosaur was an Einiosaurus?

The Einiosaurus procurvicornis dinosaur is classified as a centrosaurine ceratopsian from the Upper Cretaceous, or Late Cretaceous, period, many millions of years ago.

In which geological period did the Einiosaurus roam the Earth?

This dinosaur roamed the Earth in the Mesozoic period, 74 million years ago.

When did the Einiosaurus become extinct?

Non-avian species of dinosaurs, like the Einiosaurus dinosaur, became extinct around 66 million years ago.

Where did Einiosaurus live?

The Einiosaurus dinosaur site of discovery was the upper part of the Two Medicine Formation in Montana, USA.

What was the Einiosaurus' habitat?

Einiosaurus dinosaurs lived in inland habitats, which are non-coastal freshwater or brackish water bodies of present-day Montana. Freshwater invertebrates were found with Einiosaurus dinosaur fossils, thus proving that they lived near or around shallow water bodies.

Who did the Einiosaurus live with?

Research on fossils from the site shows that these horned dinosaurs lived as members of a herd. For this dinosaur, behavior in herds generally matched that of a bison or buffalo, hence, it is also known as the 'Buffalo Lizard'.

How long did an Einiosaurus live?

The exact life span of the Einiosaurus dinosaur is unknown. Their rate of growth peaked at three to four years of age and slowed down after that. It is assumed that they reached sexual maturity at that age too. This dinosaur attained sexual maturity before the average Einiosaurus skeleton matured. Their size varies depending on their age, but they are typically at their largest size when they are between six to eight years of age.

How did they reproduce?

Very little information is available on the subject of Einiosaurus reproduction. It is assumed that they had a particular breeding season and, like other dinosaurs and reptiles, laid eggs. Internal fertilization took place, after which the eggs were laid by the female. Juvenile horned dinosaurs hatched from these eggs.

What did the Einiosaurus look like?

When it comes to the average Einiosaurus size, this dinosaur, also called the 'Buffalo Lizard', was a medium-sized dinosaur that had a large frilled neck and a large skull, with a lot of horns. It had different types of horns and spikes on its head. It had a large nasal horn which was transversely flattened, and curved forwards in the adult type species. Imagine the nasal horn looking similar to a can opener. Einiosaurus adults had low and rounded horns above the eyes with a convex surface on the inner side. The rear edge of the skull frill had a pair of large spikes or horns, which curved backward.

The Einiosaurus fossil showed that it differs from other Centrosaurinae members because of the nasal horn having a longer base, while the supraorbital horns above the eyes also have a longer base and are more rounded in comparison. Other Ceratopsians from the Ornithischia order type species, like the Achelousaurus, have spikes on their frill which angle to the side, while in the Einiosaurus, these spikes extend straight towards the back.

The Einiosaurus centrosaurine walked on four limbs, had a large skull, short and deep snout with a beak, skull frill, short thick neck, muscled and powerful limbs, high torso, and a relatively short tail compared to its longer body.

How many bones did an Einiosaurus have?

The exact number of bones belonging to the Einiosaurus is not known. Research on the remains of the Einiosaurus from their site of discovery has not been able to pinpoint the exact number of bones they had.

How did they communicate?

Like other dinosaurs, it can be assumed that the Einiosaurus communicated using their frills, vocalization, and body. Dinosaurs could probably create both open-mouthed sounds and closed-mouthed sounds. A dinosaur with a frill like the Einiosaurus would probably use it during mating rituals, to scare rivals, or to dominate other dinosaurs in the herd.

How big was the Einiosaurus?

The Einiosaurus was a medium-sized dinosaur. It was 15 ft (4.57 m) in length and around 6.5 ft (2 m) tall. Einiosaurus skulls were 5.1 ft (1.56 m) in length. This dinosaur species is slightly smaller than an Asian elephant and twice the length of an Asiatic lion.

How fast could an Einiosaurus move?

The exact speed of an Einiosaurus is yet to be estimated. Research shows that any type of dinosaur of the Ceratopsidae family had shorter limbs and thus, could not move very fast. Its weight and large size are some factors that decrease its speed.

How much did an Einiosaurus weigh?

The weight of the Einosaurus adults type species is around 1.3-2 tons (1179.34-1814.37 kg). It weighs the same as a hippo and half the weight of an Indian Rhinoceros.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There were no sex-specific names for the male and female of this species of horned dinosaurs. According to research, there are no known notable physical differences that can be used to distinguish the dinosaur either.

What would you call a baby Einiosaurus?

The baby Einiosaurus has no particular type name. The life stages or growth stages of the Einiosaurus dinosaur have three main stages: juvenile, subadult, and adult.

What did they eat?

The diet of this dinosaur mainly consisted of plants and leaves. Like other related Ceratopsian dinosaurs of the Centrosaurinae subfamily, they were herbivores. They lived near shallow water bodies surrounded by a lot of vegetation. Since it was not very tall, they usually grazed on plants at the height of shrubs or bushes.

How aggressive were they?

This dinosaur species was not very aggressive. Since they were herbivores, they did not prey on other dinosaurs either. In rare cases of rivalry, they would lock horns with the enemy as a sign of aggression. They were more defensive than offensive.

Did you know...

Dinosaurs are distant relatives of modern-day birds. The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex is somewhere related to a pigeon.

Sampson was originally not excavating to find remains of horned dinosaurs. It was later realized after he found the fossilized bones that a new dinosaur species was discovered.

The northern white rhinoceros is the only modern animal of today that has a horn, like the Einiosaurus dinosaur.

Why are they called Einiosaurus?

The name 'Einiosaurus procurvicornis' means 'buffalo lizard with forwarding curving horn'. 'Eini' means 'buffalo' in the Blackfeet tribe language of Montana, USA. The species type name was derived from Latin 'procurvus' which meant 'bent forwards' and 'cornu' meaning 'horn'. It was named by Sampson in 1994; the name fits the dinosaur because the fossilized remains were found in groups, leading researchers to believe that it lived in herds like the Bison, also known as the American buffalo.

How many specimens of Einiosaurus were discovered?

Remains of around 15 specimens of Einiosaurus were excavated. The remains consisted of three adult skulls and around 200 other bones.

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 Telmatosaurus facts and Sauropelta facts pages.

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

Second image by Nobu Tamura.