Name:
Emausaurus
(Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universit�t lizard).
Phonetic: Em-oe-sor-us.
Named By: H. Haubold - 1990.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia, Thyreophora.
Species: E. ernsti (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Roughly estimated at about 2.5 meters long
for the holotype, though this is of a juvenile. Adult size possible
as much as 4 meters long.
Known locations: Germany.
Time period: Toarcian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Mostly from a skull and some
osteoderms.
Emausaurus
is a primitive genus of thyreophoran dinosaur that lived in Europe
during the early Jurassic. Emausaurus was first
described by a
description of the skull, though osteoderms (bony plates that were
in the skin) are also known. Emausaurus seems to
have been a small
to mid-sized dinosaur that would have relied upon the bony plates in
the skin to form a last line of defence against the teeth and claws of
predatory dinosaurs.
Emausaurus
was named after the Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, and
combined with the Ancient Greek ‘sauros’ which means ‘lizard’.
Further reading
- Ein neuer Dinosaurier (Ornithischia, Thyreophora) aus dem
unteren Jura des n�rdlichen Mitteleuropa. - Revue de Pal�obiologie
9(1):149-177. - H. Haubold - 1990.