Elaphrosaurus is a noasaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Tanzania and possibly the United States of America. It was named in 1920 by Werner Janensch. It was a unique theropod; as opposed to most other members of its family (which were carnivores), it ate plants.
Physiology[]
Elaphrosaurus was a theropod with a slender body, a long tail, short arms with 3 fingers on each hand, a moderately long neck, and a small, conical head with a large beak in front of its mouth. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin.
Diet[]
As an adult, Elaphrosaurus was an herbivore, using its beak to strip branches of their leaves. Juvenile Elaphrosaurus, however, likely had smaller beaks that gave way to toothy jaws, and were omnivorous, feeding on leaves, lizards, and mammals alike.
Ecology[]
Thanks to its leg proportions, Elaphrosaurus was able to run very quickly. This could be used to evade the jaws of predators, as it had no other defenses. As well as this, due a recent study done on one of its relatives, it is now believed that Elaphrosaurus was an herbivore, and fed on leaves by stripping them off of branches with its long beak. Juvenile Elaphrosaurus, however, likely had smaller beaks, as their jaws were also adorned with large, knife-like teeth; due to these strangely-equipped jaws, they were omnivores, both willing to feed on leaves and prey on small animals alike.