Camptosaurus Facts
- Name: Camptosaurus(camp-toe-saw-rus) means ‘bent lizard’ because of its curved thigh bones
- Size: 7m long and up to 6m tall
- Food: plants
- Lived: 155 — 140 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Periods in western Europe and North America
Camptosaurus was as tall as a camel and weighed as much as a pony. A peaceful, plant-eating dinosaur, Camptosaurus usually walked on its two back
legs. However, it also had small hooves on its fingers and probably walked on all fours some of the time, especially when feeding on low-growing plants and on the lower leaves of trees.
Cheeks To Chew
Camptosaurus had a long, broad head with rows of ridged teeth. The tips of its jaws were covered by a horny beak, which it probably used to chop off the tough fern and palm leaves. Scientists think that Camptosaurus had a tongue, which it wrapped around the leaves, and used to drag them into its mouth.
It also had stretehy cheeks, which could expand to take large amounts of food as it chewed.
Curved Thighs
The curved thigh bones of this dinosaur enabled it to run quite fast on its powerful hind legs. As it ran, Comptosaurus balanced its bulky body with its heavy tail. This peaceful dinosaur had no weapons, such as horns or sharp claws, and the only way it could escape large meat-eating dinosaurs was to run away.