Claosaurus

† A Late Cretaceous hadrosaurid dinosaur from North America, Claosaurus ('broken lizard') is one of the oldest known members of the hadrosaur family, recovered from the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. A medium-sized herbivore, it lacked the elaborate cranial crests seen in later lambeosaurines, suggesting it represents a relatively basal hadrosaurid.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Claosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Claosaurus lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.