**Telmatosaurus: The Marsh Lizard**
Telmatosaurus is a type of dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, around 70 to 66 million years ago. It was discovered in Romania and its name means “marsh lizard” because it likely lived in swampy areas.
**Size and Appearance**
Telmatosaurus was a relatively small dinosaur compared to its relatives. It was about 5 meters long, which is roughly the length of a small car, and weighed around 600 kilograms, similar to a small rhinoceros. Scientists believe it may have been small due to a phenomenon called insular dwarfism, which means it adapted to living on an island where resources were limited.
**Discovery History**
The discovery of Telmatosaurus started in 1895 when some peasants found a dinosaur skull in Romania and gave it to Ilona Nopcsa, the daughter of a local lord. This find inspired her brother, Franz Nopcsa, to study paleontology. In 1899, Franz named the skull Limnosaurus transsylvanicus, with “Limnosaurus” derived from the Greek word for swamp.
Later, he found out that “Limnosaurus” was already used for another animal. So, in 1903, he renamed it Telmatosaurus. Another paleontologist, Barnum Brown, named it Hecatasaurus in 1910, but that name is not used today.
**What They Ate**
Telmatosaurus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. Its diet included things like shrubs, leaves, and seeds. It enjoyed a variety of C3 plants, which thrive in marshy environments.
**Health Facts**
One notable discovery regarding Telmatosaurus is a young dinosaur that had a benign tumor on its jaw called an ameloblastoma. This is a type of tumor that usually affects modern mammals, so finding it in a dinosaur is significant. Although it likely didn’t cause much pain early on, this young dinosaur died before reaching adulthood. Researchers aren’t sure if the tumor contributed to its death, but it may have made the dinosaur an easier target for predators.
**Conclusion**
Telmatosaurus is an interesting dinosaur that helps us understand how species adapted to their environments millions of years ago. Its unique characteristics and the discoveries about its health give us valuable insights into the lives of dinosaurs.