Prehistoric life
The tail of the small, plant-eating Leaellynasaura dinosaur was three times as long as its body. Described in 1989 after skull fragments and bones were found in Australia's Dinosaur Cove - one of the few dinosaurs ever found in Australia - they were named after the discoverer's daughter (Leallyn). Large eye sockets and optic nerve casings may have given leaellynasaura enhanced vision to cope with the long, dark winter months. Odd to think of Australia having such winters, but during the early Cretaceous some 110 million years ago, this part of the world fell within the Antarctic circle.
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One in the eye
A Leaellynasaura mother has an unusual defence against mammalian egg thieves.
A Leaellynasaura mother has an unusual defence against mammalian egg thieves.
Polar prehistory
Small dinosaurs and giant amphibians inhabited the Cretaceous Antarctic forest.
Small dinosaurs and giant amphibians inhabited the Cretaceous Antarctic forest.
Speedy escape
Little Leaellynasauras have to stay hyper alert to the larger forest predators.
Little Leaellynasauras have to stay hyper alert to the larger forest predators.
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Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.
Cretaceous periodLeaellynasaura (meaning "Leaellyn's lizard") is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, first discovered in Dinosaur Cove, Australia. The type species is Leaellynasaura amicagraphica. It was described in 1989, and named after Leaellyn Rich, the daughter of the palaeontologist couple Tom Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich who discovered it. The specific name L. amicagraphica translates to "friend writing" and honours both the Friends of the Museum of Victoria and the National Geographic Society for their support of Australian paleontology.
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