Classification: Dinosauria - Ornithischia - Heterodontosauridae
Time Period: Late Jurassic
Location: North America
Diet: Omnivore
The heterodontosaur Fruitadens is the smallest known heterodontosaur. It’s known from partial skulls and skeletons from at least four individuals of differing biological ages; the presence of these skeletons in the same locale indicate that this heterodontosaur may have travelled in family packs. Young adults grew to around 26 to 30 inches in length and weighed between a pound and a half. Fruitadens had relatively short arms and long feet and shins. The lower jaws had an enlarged canine-like tooth which corresponded to a gap in the upper jaw. Fruitadens also had a small peg-like tooth in front of its canine-like tooth. It had replacement teeth present in the jaws, a unique find among other heterodontosaurs. Its hind limb bones were hollow like those of small theropod dinosaurs.
Paleontologists believe Fruitadens was an omnivore, and it lived in an environment rich with food for the plucking. It likely prowled the many riverbeds and streams of the savannah-like Morrison Formation, feeding on plant material in addition to snails, clams, crayfish, and insects. Being on the smaller size, it would’ve been wary of running across crocodylomorphs. While large theropod dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, and Torvosaurus lived in the same environment, Fruitadens would’ve likely evaded these predators by running into heavy thickets or hiding in the gallery forests spreading out from rivers and lakes.
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