Galleonosaurus

galleon lizard

• galleon · English (from Spanish/Old French) · a type of large sailing ship
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines "galleon", a large sailing ship, with the Greek "sauros" for lizard. It refers to the shape of the upper jaw bone (maxilla) of the fossil, which is said to resemble the hull of a galleon. It is a small, bipedal plant-eating ornithopod from southeastern Australia.

Named by

Herne et al.

Year named

2019

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stages

Barremian – Aptian

Found in

Wonthaggi Formation (Strzelecki Group), Victoria, Australia

Type species is Galleonosaurus dorisae. A small ornithopod (an elasmarian-related/basal neornithischian group); the exact stage range and the details of the jaw-shape etymology are given from memory and should be verified.