CALLOVOSAURUS
a dryosaurid iguanodontian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England.
Pronunciation: cah-LO-vo-SOR-us
Meaning: Callovian lizard
Author/s: Galton (
1980)
Synonyms: Camptosaurus leedsi
First Discovery: Cambridgeshire, England
Discovery Chart Position: #276
Callovosaurus leedsi
(Leeds' Callovian Lizard)Etymology
Callovosaurus is derived from "Callovian" (for the age of the rocks in which it was found) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The
species epithet,
leedsi, honours collector Alfred Nicholson Leeds.
Synonyms
Camptosaurus leedsi (Lydekker, 1889).
Discovery
The remains of
Callovosaurus were discovered in the Peterborough Member (former Lower Oxford Clay) of the Oxford Clay Formation at Fletton brick pit, near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, by Alfred Nicholson Leeds, and purchased by the British Museum of Natural History on May 30th, 1892.
The
holotype (BMNH R1993 a nearly complete left thigh bone. A partial shin bone (SMC J.46889) found nearby may also belong to
Callovosaurus.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Middle Jurassic
Stage: Callovian
Age range: 164-161 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: 2.5 meters
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: ?
Diet: Herbivore
References
• Lydekker R (1889) "On the remains and affinities of five genera of Mesozoic reptiles".
Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 45(1–4): 41–59. DOI: 10.1144/GSL.JGS.1889.045.01-04.04.
• Galton PM (1975) "
English hypsilophodontid dinosaurs (Reptilia:Ornithischia)".
Palaeontology, 18(4): 741–752.
• Galton PM (1980) "European Jurassic ornithopod dinosaurs of the families Hypsilophodontidae and Camptosauridae".
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 160(1): 73–95.
• Norman DB (2004) "Basal Iguanodontia". Page 413–437 in Weishampel, Dodson and Osmólska (eds.) "
The Dinosauria: Second Edition".
• Ruiz-Omenaca JI, Pereda-Suberbiola X and Galton PM (2007) "
Callovosaurus leedsi, the earliest dryosaurid dinosaur (Ornithischia: Euornithopoda) from the Middle Jurassic of England". Page 3-16 in Carpenter (ed.) "
Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs".
• Noè LF, Liston JJ and Chapman SD (2010) "‘Old bones, dry subject’: the dinosaurs and pterosaur collected by Alfred Nicholson Leeds of Peterborough, England".
Geological Society, London, Special 343: 49-77. DOI: 10.1144/SP343.4.
Time stands still for no man, and research is ongoing. If you spot an error, or want to expand, edit or add a dinosaur, please use
this form. Go
here to contribute to our FAQ.
All dinos are GM free, and no herbivores were eaten during site construction!
To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
CALLOVOSAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
‹
http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/CALLOVOSAURUS›. Web access: 07th Mar 2026.
