Name:
Fulgurotherium (Greek for "lightning beast"); pronounced FULL-guh-roe-THEE-ree-um
Habitat:
Woodlands of Australia
Historical Period:
Early Cretaceous (110-100 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 4 feet long and 10-15 pounds
Diet:
Probably herbivorous
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; bipedal posture
About Fulgurotherium:
It's a shame that a cool Greek name like Fulgorotherium (which translates as "lightning beast") has been wasted on a creature that's so poorly understood. The remains of this dinosaur--consisting mostly of a partial femur, or leg bone--were unearthed in Australia in the early 1930's; at first paleontologists classified Fulgurotherium as an early theropod, then reconsidered and placed it among the plant-eating ornithopods instead, a diagnosis that may have been based on the wrong set of bones. Today, nobody refers to Fulgurotherium very much, and this dinosaur resides in the twilight zone of the nomen dubium ("dubious name").
