Atlascopcosaurus : Means Atlas Copco’s reptile . The name comes from Atlas Copco Corporation, the company that manufactured the equipment used to banish it in South Australia . It lived 120 million years ago, at the beginning of the Cretaceous period .
Summary
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- 1 Taxsonomy
- 2 Description
- 3 Habitad
- 4 Food
- 5 Source
Taxsonomy
In the Cretaceous period the dinosaurs carnivores were becoming faster. The herbivorous dinosaur Atlascopcosaurus had to stand on its toes and run as fast as its long hind legs would allow it to survive. Although only a piece of it found jaw of dinosaur , experts know it was a herbivore little resemblance to the Hypsilophodon .
Description
Atlascopcosaurus had a narrow, curved, sharp beak for plucking plants . While searching for food, he had to keep his eyes peeled for predators like the Megalosaurus . He needed keen hearing and sight to avoid danger. Like the agile Hypsilophodon , this dinosaur weighed very little. The strong muscles of its legs and narrow feet allowed it to run very fast. Its long tail , which was almost as long as the middle of the body, could be used to balance the front of the body while running. It measured up to 3 meters in length and weighed 125 kg.
Inhabit
At the time of the Lower Cretaceous Atlascopcosaurus the present continent of Australia was attached to Antarctica. The average temperature of the place hovered between 0 and 10 ºC, and the polar night prevailed for months. The Atlascopcosaurus was well adapted to these conditions.
Feeding
The Atlascopcosaurus was a small animal , it ate leaves that it cut with its beak and then ground with its leaf- shaped teeth .