Incisivosaurus Fact File

Incisivosaurus Fact File

Name Of Dinosaur: Incisivosaurus gauthieri
Pronounciation Of Name: In-siz-ee-voh-sore-us gaw-thee-air-ee
Meaning Of Name: Gauthier’s Incisor Lizard
Diet: Pine cones, tree bark, and other hard plant matter
Length: 3 feet
Height: 1 foot
Weight: 9 pounds
Time It Lived: Cretaceous Period, 120 million years ago
Fossils Found In: Lianong Province, China
Information: Incisivosaurus is, without a doubt, one of the strangest dinosaurs ever discovered. A relative of the more famous Oviraptor (Oh-vih-rap-tore), this turkey-sized dinosaur is the oldest known member of its group, the so called “egg thief” dinosaurs, or Oviraptorids (Oh-vih-rap-tore-ids). Contrary to its family name, Incisivosaurus probably did not eat eggs, due to its unusual mouth design. Unlike other Oviraptorids, which have a beak in place of the toothy jaws found in most meat-eating dinosaurs, Incisivosaurus had none. But that wasn’t Incisivosaurus’ most unusual feature. While most other Oviraptorids had no teeth, besides the two bony prongs located on the roof of their mouths, Incisivosaurus had a mouth full of plant-grinding molars, premolars, incisors, and canines. And at the very front of the mouth was a pair of enormous gnawing incisors, similar to the “buckteeth” found in mice and beavers. These bizarre teeth have given rise to countless absurd descriptions of Incisivosaurus, from “the bucktoothed oviraptorid” to “the rabbitosaurus”. My personal favorite description is “a cross between Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner”. However you describe it, Incisivosaurus was obviously no carnivore. Like rabbits and rodents, it was a gnawer, probably feeding on conifer seeds and other hard plants and plant parts. Polished pebbles found in the stomach area of the Incisivosaurus remains show that it swallowed stones to grind the food up further, much as many birds do today.

For Further Information, E-Mail Bryan Or Visit…
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0917_020918_dinosaur.html
http://www.prehistoricplanet.com/features/news/2002/0921.htm
http://www.boston.com/news/daily/18/rabbitosaur.htm
http://www.nature.com/nsu/020916/020916-13.html
http://www.sciencenews.org/20020921/fob1.asp

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