Elrhazosaurus

Elrhaz lizard

• Elrhaz · Place name (Elrhaz Formation, Niger) · the Elrhaz Formation / region in Niger
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines "Elrhaz", the Elrhaz Formation in Niger where the fossils were found, with the Greek word for lizard. It was created when the species originally described as Valdosaurus nigeriensis was moved into its own genus.

Named by

Galton

Year named

2009

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Elrhaz Formation, Gadoufaoua, Niger

A small herbivorous ornithopod (an early iguanodont relative). The type species, Elrhazosaurus nigeriensis, was first described by Galton and Taquet in 1982 as Valdosaurus nigeriensis. Galton gave it its own genus in 2009 after concluding it was distinct from the European Valdosaurus. Not every author has accepted this split. The exact age range within the Early Cretaceous is given with limited certainty.