Dinosaur genus
Fruitadens
Fruitadens is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 149.2–143.1 million years old, in the United States.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Butler et al. 2010
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- R. J. Butler, P. M. Galton, L. B. Porro, L. M. Chiappe, D. M. Henderson, G. M. Erickson (2010). A new Upper Jurassic heterodontosaurid from North America: lower limits of ornithischian dinosaur body size inferred from North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277: 375–381. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Butler et al. 2010).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Lived
- Tithonian, 149.2–143.1 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation149.2–143.1 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 3 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Morrison Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Family
- Heterodontosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Heterodontosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Named after
- Fruita
medium
medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Wikidata. How it was chosen: Wikidata leads.
- Species named in its records
- Fruitadens haagarorum
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Diet
- herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ornithischia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ornithischia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 1 fossil record left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); named after (Wikidata); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Fruitadens had gone at least 59.5 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Fruitadens by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 28
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same family: Heterodontosauridae 5
Other genera in Heterodontosauridae with a full profile.
Found in United States 28
Other genera found in United States, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.