Lesothosaurus

early dinosaur · Africa · omnivore · small

Tiny compared to T-rex. Lesothosaurus was much smaller than the giant dinosaurs you might imagine, making it easier to spot and study compared to massive species.

Named after Lesotho. Paleontologist Peter Galton named this dinosaur in 1978 after the African country Lesotho, where fossils of it were discovered alongside South Africa.

Mixed diet dinosaur. Unlike some dinosaurs that ate only plants or only meat, Lesothosaurus may have switched between eating both depending on the season and what food was available.

Super complete skeletons. Scientists have found many skull and bone fossils of Lesothosaurus, making it one of the best-understood early ornithischians, or plant-eating dinosaurs.

Early Jurassic survivor. Lesothosaurus lived during the Early Jurassic period, a time when dinosaurs were still evolving into the amazing creatures that would later rule the Earth.