Dinosaur genus
Lesothosaurus
Lesothosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 201.4–192.9 million years old, in Lesotho and South Africa.
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 10 October 2026- Named by
- Galton 1978
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- P. M. Galton (1978). Fabrosauridae, the basal family of ornithischian dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 52(1/2): 138–159. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Galton 1978).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
- Hettangian to Sinemurian, 201.4–192.9 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.Omnisaura calculation201.4–192.9 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 8 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- LesothoSouth Africa
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Elliot Formation
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Parent group
- Thyreophora
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Order
- Ornithischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
- Species named in its records
- Lesothosaurus diagnosticus
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; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.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.
- Family: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: 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: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); diet (PBDB); way of life (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. Lesothosaurus had gone at least 109.3 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record, a longer gap than the 66 million years between Tyrannosaurus and today.
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 Lesothosaurus 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 19
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Named by Galton 8
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in Lesotho 12
Other genera found in Lesotho, 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.