Fun Silvisaurus Facts For Kids

The Silvisaurus condrayi dinosaur belonged to the genus Nodosaurid ankylosaur dinosaur and lived during the middle cretaceous period. The binomial name of this species translates to woodland lizard, where the Latin word silva means woodland and the Greek word sauros means lizard.

It was a plant-eating dinosaur and has a well-armored body, which is commonly known as osteoderm skin. Only one fossil specimen has been found ever for this species and the dinosaur fossils were excavated from Ottawa County, Kansas.

The fossil remains that were found, were in a terrestrial sandstone region, which made researchers assume that the dinosaur lived in a warm and temperate environment.

The Silvisaurus fossil remains were discovered in the '50s by Warren H. Condray who was from Wells, Kansas. He informed Frank Carlson, who was the senator at that time, and Condray was directed to meet David Murphy who was the chancellor of the University of Kansas.

Murphy then sent the fossil remains to the preparator Russel R. Camp, of the paleontology of vertebrates department of the Natural History Museum to investigate the matter at hand. The Silvisaurus skeleton was recovered in 1955, with the help of Condray.

In 1961, the discovered species was named by Theodore Eaton Jr. Eaton was also from the Natural History Museum, University of Kansas. The generic name by Eaton was kept probably to signify the habitat of the armored dinosaur while the specific name condrayi was kept to honor Warren H. Condray.

Scroll down to read about the Silvisaurus's life, what they fed on, their habits, and other exciting details! And for more relevant content, read our Caviramus facts and Tupuxuara facts for kids.

Silvisaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Silvisaurus'?

The name of the dinosaur can be pronounced as Sil-vi-sore-us.

What type of dinosaur was a Silvisaurus?

The Silvisaurus dinosaur was a plant-eating dinosaur and had a well-armored body, which is commonly known as osteoderm skin. The dinosaur belonged to the genus Nodosaurid ankylosaur dinosaur and lived during the middle cretaceous period.

In which geological period did the Silvisaurus roam the earth?

This dinosaur lived during the Middle Cretaceous period which was about 112-121 million years ago.

When did the Silvisaurus become extinct?

Dinosaurs, in general, went extinct almost 65 million years ago, that is, at the end of the Cretaceous period, after living on the earth for about 165 million years. But this species existed about 112-121 million years ago.

Where did a Silvisaurus live?

This medium-sized dinosaur was a herbivore and therefore resided in forest areas or areas with dense vegetation. They weren't tall and therefore chose areas that had smaller trees and bushes so that they can reach.

What was a Silvisaurus' habitat?

The Silvisaurus dinosaur was discovered in the '50s by Warren H. Condray who was from Wells, Kansas. Only one fossil specimen has been discovered ever for this species and the dinosaur fossils were excavated from Ottawa County, Kansas.

Who did a Silvisaurus live with?

Fossil evidence points out from both the bone bed and trackways that sauropods were gregarious animals who lived and moved in herds. Mostly all herbivorous dinosaurs stayed in herds to protect themselves from predators.

How long did a Silvisaurus live?

There isn't a definite time frame of the life span but it has been estimated that they lived for almost 60-75 years like other Ankylosaurids.

How did they reproduce?

Ankylosaurids, much like other reptiles, mated with each other during the breeding season and in the case of this breed, the female dinosaur laid eggs. The eggs hatch after a certain period of time and newborns came out. The adults took care of the newborns till they could move with their parents or go along with their new family.

Silvisaurus Fun Facts

What did a Silvisaurus look like?

Not much was excavated as there has been only one fossil excavation for this species. The elements found were an incomplete skeleton with a skull. This skull was 13 in (33 cm) in length and 9.8 in (25 cm) in width.

They also had a secondary palate which is a bony structure that divides the nasal cavity from the oral cavity. This palate was poorly developed in this species. It had at least 25 pairs of teeth and the upper jaw had at least 8-9 teeth.

The basal tubera which is an extension on the underside of the braincase was fat and bulging. The presence of this dentary structure helped the researcher understand that this dinosaur was a primitive nodosaur.

It had round and bumpy osteoderms all over the body and along with that, it might have also had plates or bony spines on the back of the shoulder and tail.

How many bones did a Silvisaurus have?

There hasn't been a proper excavation as of yet, due to which the total number can't be stated.

How did they communicate?

There is no specific mention on how they communicated as it is quite difficult to find, but they definitely didn't have modern means of communication. Dinosaurs also communicated by making sounds and using their body language.

They might have included hoots and hollers to communicate as well. Their head had large air passages, which might have helped in loud vocalizations in order to communicate.

How big was a Silvisaurus?

This dinosaur was about 157.5 in (4 m) in length. This makes it about two times bigger than the plain zebra which is 85-97 in (2-2.4 m) in length.

How fast could a Silvisaurus move?

Being quadrupedal, this species was quite fast. Not nearly as fast as predators but enough to move around quickly.

How much did a Silvisaurus weigh?

Silvisaurus was about 2205-6614 lb (1000-3000 kg) in weight, which makes it about five times heavier than the musk ox which weighs 441-882 lb (200-400 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name for the male or female dinosaurs, they are commonly known as Silvisaurus or woodland lizards. Search for the rest of the fossils is still going on and only after the complete discovery of the significant fossils can it be differentiated.

What would you call a baby Silvisaurus?

The newborn dinosaur was known as hatchling or nestling. This was common for most dinosaur species. There is no specific information on the names of newborns for this dinosaur as of now.

What did they eat?

The Silvisaurus diet consisted of plants and fruits found in the forest areas and woodlands. They weren't tall and therefore chose areas that had smaller plants and bushes so that they can reach. They consumed food like small plants and plant material using their snout-shaped beak like the Euoplocephalus.

How aggressive were they?

Based on research, dinosaurs are divided into two groups where sauropods are herbivores and don't attack each other or other dinosaurs while the theropods were meat-eaters and attacked each other and the other dinosaurs as well. This sauropod was quite friendly and wasn't aggressive at all.

They stayed together in harmony with other sauropod dinosaurs. Their armor kept them safe from most predators like the Metriacanthosaurus.

Did you know...

The holotype of this dinosaur was found in the exposures of the Terracotta Clay Member of the Dakota Formation. It consisted of an incomplete skeleton with a skull.

The skeleton consisted of the mandible which is the largest bone in the human skull, eight neck vertebrae, ten dorsal vertebrae, six sacral vertebrae, three tail vertebrae, a fragment of the left pubis, the lower part of the right femur, and a toe finger bone.

What fossils is the Silvisaurus known from?

Only one fossil specimen has been found and the dinosaur fossils were excavated from the exposures of the Terracotta Clay Member of the Dakota Formation, Ottawa County, Kansas. The fossil remains that were found, were in a terrestrial sandstone region, which made researchers assume that the dinosaur lived in a warm and temperate environment.

What does the name 'Silvisaurus' mean?

The binomial name Silvisaurus translates to woodland lizard, where the Latin word silva means woodland and the Greek word sauros means lizard, which was kept probably to signify the deep forest habitat of the primitive nodosaur. In 1961, this species was named by Theodore Eaton Jr.

The generic name was kept probably to signify the habitat of the armored dinosaur while the specific name condrayi was kept to honor Warren H. Condray.

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 Prosaurolophus interesting facts or Metriorhynchus facts for kids.

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

Main image by ABelov2014.

Second image by Ghedoghedo.