Dinosaur
Heterodontosaurus
A keratin-covered beak formed the front of its jaws.
Heterodontosaurus had several different kinds of teeth, plus a beak at the front of its mouth.
Three stages. One companion.
Game artwork
AI-generated, stylized game illustrations. These designs and growth stages are imaginative, not scientific reconstructions.
Heterodontosaurus at a glance
- Diet
- Mainly herbivorous
- Its varied teeth and large canines have prompted suggestions of omnivory. Long canines alone do not prove a carnivorous diet.
- When it lived
- Jurassic
- Group
- Heterodontosauridae
- Heterodontosaurids
- Fossil locations
- South Africa
- Places where fossils have been found
Beyond the game
The real Heterodontosaurus
Its dentition brought together teeth of different shapes, the feature that gives it its name. Although it was small, an almost complete skull and skeleton are known that allow a good part of its anatomy to be reconstructed.
A beak covered in keratin formed the front of its jaws. Its name highlights the variety of its teeth. Nearly complete remains allow scientists to study those teeth alongside the rest of the body, instead of reconstructing the animal from a tooth alone.
This grouping describes evolutionary relationships. Its members share ancestors; they do not form a chain in which one must turn into another.
Fossil discoveries
Selected fossil records · present-day map
Map references
Map: Natural Earth, public domain. Fossil records: linked collections and publications.A note on the science
A beak covered in keratin formed the front of its jaws. Its name highlights the variety of its teeth. Nearly complete remains allow scientists to study those teeth alongside the rest of the body, instead of reconstructing the animal from a tooth alone.
Sources & text credits
Explore the references behind this profile.
- Heterodontosaurus tucki
Wikipedia contributors · Spanish source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Heterodontosaurus
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Heterodontosauridae
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Living birds
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
Educational text adapted in English from the existing Wikipedia-backed Dinosgacha catalogue and linked articles by Wikipedia contributors.
Existing English translations have been selected and arranged for this encyclopedia. Repeated period and diet text is omitted where those fields already carry it. Unknown facts remain unfilled; unreviewed geological age phrases are omitted and period labels replace numerical ages.
The adapted educational text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. This text license does not apply to the game illustrations.