Fun Thespesius Facts For Kids

A Thespesius is an extinct Vertebrata species that belong to the genus name Hadrosaurid and was a herbivore species. This species belonged to the early Cretaceous period and the Lance Formation of South Dakota. Initially, they were thought to be from the Miocene. Thespesius was named by Joseph Leidy, a paleontologist who was also responsible for naming other duck-billed dinosaurs. It is believed that the Thespesius is a new species that is a historically important genus but has been left out by modern dinosaur paleontologists.

The fossils of this species were not found by Leidy. In fact, the syntype fossils were found by a member of the geological society, geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden and were later sent to Leidy to be examined. The fossil was collected by Hayden from present-day South Dakota. A new species of the Hadrosaurus that was found by Nicolas Campione and David Evans was named 'Edmontosaurus annectens' by Charles Gilmore based on the Edmonton formation. Similarly, over the years many Hadrosaurus fossils were discovered. However, the two species are not related.

How do you pronounce 'Thespesius'?

Thespesius is pronounced as 'Thes-puh-see-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Thespesius?

Thespesius belongs to the genus name Hadrosaurid that is based on the caudal vertebrae and a phalanx.

In which geological period did the Thespesius roam the earth?

The Hadrosaurian dinosaur is from the late Maastrichtian age, the later Cretaceous, and the Lance Formation in South Dakota.

When did the Thespesius become extinct?

Although there is no exact date as to when these species became extinct, it is said that the Hadrosaurian dinosaurs became extinct almost 66 million years ago.

Where did a Thespesius live?

Thespesius was usually found living in wet lowlands or in grasslands surrounded by streams which usually offered a very diverse habitat and enough food for them to survive. They were mostly found in North America and income places in China and Mongolia.

What was a Thespesius‘s habitat?

The Thespesius was usually found in terrestrial lands. Since they were herbivore dinosaurs, they needed to be around areas surrounded by plants and greenery.

Who did a Thespesius live with?

There is no information that suggests if Thespesius lived in a pack or individually. However, certain recent reports suggested that some duck-billed dinosaurs like the hadrosaurs lived in herds. It can be said that the Thespesius also stayed together.

How long did a Thespesius live?

There is no record of the length of life of a Thespesius. However, a large dinosaur usually lived for about 300 years and the smaller species usually lived for about 70-80 years.

How did they reproduce?

Thespesius reproduced by laying eggs, just like the other Hadrosaurs. They usually laid their eggs in wet lowlands.

What did a Thespesius look like?

According to the fossils found, there is not much evidence that suggests how the Thespesius actually looked other than the fact that it was duck-billed and belonged to a genus named Hadrosaurid. The syntype fossils found by the paleontologist suggest that it is a caudal vertebra. The Thespesius was green-brown in color. Some dinosaurs had shorter front limbs, however, a rough image of the Thespesius suggests that it had longer front limbs and could walk and run on all fours.

How many bones did a Thespesius have?

There are not many records of the exact number of bones a Thespesius had, however, a study concluded that they have over 200 bones.

How did they communicate?

Some duck-billed dinosaurs produced low-frequency sounds from the elaborate crests and extensions on their breathing tracts.

How big was a Thespesius?

The Thespesius belonged to the genus Hadrosaurid dinosaurs and was around 23-26 ft (7-8 m) in length and about 9 ft (2.7m) in height. This was the average height of a Thespesius, however, a Hadrosaur's height could range from 10-65 ft (3-19.8 m). The Thespesius was one of the smallest in the Hadrosaurid species.

How fast could a Thespesius move?

A Thespesius usually had longer limbs on the front and back and if they ran on all fours, they could go up to 33 mph (53.1 kph).

How much did a Thespesius weigh?

The exact weight of a Thespesius is unknown, however, a Hadrosaur could weigh around 4409.3-8818.5 lb (2,000-4,000 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is not enough evidence that proves the difference between a male and female dinosaur, therefore the name of the male and female Thespesius is unknown.

What would you call a baby Thespesius?

There is no evidence that suggests there was a separate name for a baby Thespesius.

What did they eat?

The Thespesius usually ate plants and trees in the areas that they lived in. However, there are some reports that suggest that the Hadrosaurs also preyed on certain crustaceans (shrimp, crabs, and lobsters).

How aggressive were they?

There is no evidence that supports the aggressive behavior of a Thespesius.

Did You Know...

The fossils of the Thespesius were actually found by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden in Philadephia from a surface of rock formation in Nebraska and the name was given by Joseph Leidy.

Since they were duck-billed, they did not have large and pointy teeth like other animals. They had hundreds of tiny packed teeth.

*We've been unable to source an image of Thespesius and have used an image of T-Rex instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Thespesius, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]

*We've been unable to source an image of Thespesius and have used an image of Avaceratops instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Thespesius, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]