Omnisaura

Dinosaur genus

Ornithopsis

Seeley 1870

Ornithopsis is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 132.6–119.6 million years old, in the United Kingdom.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?1 high8 medium6 lowHow we rate confidence

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
132.6–119.6 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 132.6–119.6 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 145.1–119.6 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Seeley 1870
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
H. G. Seeley (1870). On Ornithopsis, a gigantic animal of the pterodactyle kind from the Wealden. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 4 5: 279–283. Read it
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Seeley 1870).
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 to Aptian, 145.1–119.6 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives a range this precise; NHM's records give only a broader interval, which contains it.
Omnisaura calculation132.6–119.6 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 4 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Fossils found in
United Kingdom
highhigh: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Wessex Formation
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Kimmeridge Clay Formation
disputedlow: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Oxford Clay Formation
disputedlow: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Portland Stone
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Weald Clay Formation
disputedlow: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Whitchurch Sand Formation
disputedlow: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Parent group
Titanosauriformes
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Order
Saurischia
mediummedium: 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
Ornithopsis hulkei
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).

Diet
herbivore (inferred for its group)
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Sauropoda, 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)
lowlow: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Sauropoda; 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).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

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).
  • Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only to a broader group, not to this genus.
  • Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); age (headline) (PBDB); 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

4 open

Formations

  • records nothing herePBDB
  • Kimmeridge Clay FormationNHM

One source names a formation the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Formations

  • records nothing herePBDB
  • Oxford Clay FormationNHM

One source names a formation the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Formations

  • records nothing herePBDB
  • Weald Clay FormationNHM

One source names a formation the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Formations

  • records nothing herePBDB
  • Whitchurch Sand FormationNHM

One source names a formation the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Did it meet…?

?

No. Ornithopsis had gone at least 36 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 Ornithopsis by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

OrnithopsisSame rocks, same timeSame parent groupSame naming authorAlso found in United KingdomIguanodonPolacanthusValdosaurusMantellisaurusand 7 moreDuriatitanPelorosaurusTitanosaurimanusAnoplosaurusAristosuchusCumnoriaMochlodonCetiosaurusHypsilophodonBaryonyxHylaeosaurusand 11 more

Same rocks, same time 11

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

IguanodonPolacanthusValdosaurusMantellisaurusCetiosaurusBaryonyxBrighstoneusCeratosuchopsComptonatusHypsilophodonMegalosaurus

Same parent group: Titanosauriformes 3

Other genera in Titanosauriformes with a full profile.

DuriatitanPelorosaurusTitanosaurimanus

Named by Seeley 4

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

AnoplosaurusAristosuchusCumnoriaMochlodon

Found in United Kingdom 15

Other genera found in United Kingdom, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

IguanodonPolacanthusMantellisaurusCetiosaurusValdosaurusHypsilophodonBaryonyxHylaeosaurusMegalosaurusAristosuchusBrighstoneusCalamosaurusCeratosuchopsComptonatusPelorosaurus

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.