Heterodontosauridae
| Heterodontosaurids Temporal range: Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous, 200–133 Ma |
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| Cast of the holotype specimen SAM-PK-K1332 of Heterodontosaurus tucki, Cape Town | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: |
†Heterodontosauridae Romer, 1966 |
| Subgroups | |
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Echinodon |
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Echinodon
Fruitadens
Geranosaurus
Tianyulong
Heterodontosaurinae
Heterodontosauridae is a family of early ornithischian dinosaurs that were likely among the most basal (primitive) members of the group. Although their fossils are relatively rare and their group small in numbers, they lived across all continents except Australia and Antarctica for approximately 100 million years, from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous.
Heterodontosaurids were fox-sized dinosaurs less than 2 metres (6.6 feet) in length, including a long tail. They are known mainly for their characteristic teeth, including enlarged canine-like tusks and cheek teeth adapted for chewing, analogous to those of Cretaceous hadrosaurids. Their diet was herbivorous or possibly omnivorous.
Among heterodontosaurids, only Heterodontosaurus itself is known from a complete skeleton. Fragmentary skeletal remains of Abrictosaurus are known but have not been fully described, while most other heterodontosaurids are known only from jaw fragments and teeth. Consequently, most heterodontosaurid synapomorphies (defining features) have been described from the teeth and jaw bones.Heterodontosaurus measured just over 1 meter (3.3 ft) in length, while the fragmentary remains of Lycorhinus may indicate a larger individual.
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