Fabrosaurs

• Fabrosaurs were small dinosaurs that lived toward the beginning of the Jurassic Period, about 208-200 mya.

• The group was named from Fabrosaurus, a dinosaur that was itself named in 1964, from just the fossil of a piece of lower jaw bone, found in southern Africa.

• Lesothosaurus was a fabrosaur, the fossils of which were found in the Lesotho region of Africa, near the Fabrosaurus fossil It was named in 1978.

• The lightly built Lesothosaurus was only 3ft (1m) long from nose to tailend, and would have stood knee-high to an adult human.

• Lesothosaurus had long, slim back legs and long toes, indicating that it was a fast runner.

• The teeth and other fossils of Lesothosaurus show that it probably ate low-growing plants such as ferns.

• Lesothosaurus's teeth were set inward slightly from the sides of its skull, suggesting it had fleshy cheek pouches for storing or chewing food.

• Lesothosaurus may have crouched down to rest on its smaller front arms when feeding on the ground.

• Lesothosaurus probably lived in herds, grazing and browsing, and then racing away at speed from danger.

• Some experts believe that Lesothosaurus and Fabrosaurus were the same, and that the two sets of fossils were given different names.

By: Parker, Steve, Dinosaurs