Lexovisaurus | Facts & Information

Lexovisaurus belongs to the category of spiny dinosaurs and represents a primitive form of prehistoric animal that lived in the Mesozoic era, in the Middle Triassic, about 164 million years ago.

However, considering the way the two rows of bony plates were arranged from the front of the head to the middle of the back, as well as the appearance of the two pairs of spines that were strung towards the top of the tail some researchers have likened this creature to the Upper Jurassic Stegosaurus.

In 1957 paleontologist R. Hoffstetter described this species in detail and named it Lexovisaurus durobrivensis. The length of an adult Lexovisaurus has been estimated at 5 m and the weight at about a ton.

The plates that covered the back were larger than those in the neck area, it is suspected that they were not caught by the skeleton of the animal, but were implanted in the thick and scaly skin, forming a shield that protected much of the body area. The plates were covered with thick skin richly vascularized – through which the dinosaur managed to control its heat exchanges with the environment.

The spines on the tail were very long and sharp, like huge horns very dangerous, they could cause serious wounds on the body of predatory dinosaurs at any time. In the shoulder area, on the sides, the animal had a pair of long barbs that protected the vulnerable flanks of the body.

The hind limbs were very long and strong, had broad thighs with large muscle inserts, and the slightly smaller forelimbs were well developed enough to help support the animal's massive body. The gait was quadrupedal, the dinosaur's usual position was with the head kept bent due to the shorter front limbs. The paws were strong, ending with thick fingers and hoofed claws.

The head was small, the elongated snout had jaws provided with small and sharp teeth, which often did not cope with the process of shredding plants. That's why the dinosaur had a habit of swallowing sharp – edged stomach stones – called gastroliths-to help grind plant pieces into the stomach and thus ease its digestion.

When the stones were crumbling they were thrown out and replaced with new ones, picked from the banks of rivers.

During the breeding season females would dig holes in the ground and lay a certain number of eggs, removed through the cloaca – an organ in the posterior part of the body. The eggs were covered with plants to keep them at the constant temperature necessary for hatching.

Lexovisaurus Feed

These herbivorous animals lived in large flocks of hundreds or even thousands of specimens in forested areas near water courses and fed on all kinds of plants at ground level.