Dinosaur genus
Telmatosaurus
Telmatosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–66 million years old, in Romania and France.
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
- Nopcsa 1903
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- B. F. Nopcsa (1903). Telmatosaurus, new name for the dinosaur Limnosaurus. Geological Magazine, decade 4 10: 94–95.
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Nopcsa 1903), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.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
- Campanian to Maastrichtian, 83.6–66 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.Omnisaura calculation83.6–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 20 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- RomaniaFrance
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.low
low: Only one PBDB record.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
- Densuș-CiulaSebeş
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Sînpetrumedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Pui Bedsmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (8 records).Râul Marelow
low: Only one PBDB record.Sanpetru Formationlow
low: Only one PBDB record.Sanpetru Formation, Densus Ciula Formation and Bozes stratadisputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.Sanpetru and Densus-Ciula Formationdisputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.Şarddisputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: 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.
- Family
- Telmatosauridae
disputed
low: Sources disagree and an editor has not ruled yet.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Telmatosauridae
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
- Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Older or other names
- Hecatasaurus (a junior synonym); Limnosaurus (a name it replaced)
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (names it treats as this genus).
- Diet
- herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ornithopoda, 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.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 3 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); 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 openFamily
- TelmatosauridaePBDB (shown above)
- HadrosauridaeNHM
The sources give different values. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.
Formations
- records nothing herePBDB
- Sanpetru 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
- Sanpetru Formation, Densus Ciula Formation and Bozes strataNHM
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
- Sanpetru and Densus-Ciula 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…?
Same time, different places. Their fossils overlap in age, 83.6 to 66 million years ago, but no rock formation holds both.
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 Telmatosaurus 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 12
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Named by Nopcsa 3
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 Romania 12
Other genera found in Romania, 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.