| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 0.6m |
| Length | 1.2-1.7m |
| Weight | 40 kg |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Jurassic |
| Period | Middle Jurassic |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | China |
Agilisaurus was a small ornithopod dinosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic period, approximately 171 million years ago. This agile herbivore roamed the ancient landscapes of what is now eastern Asia, with fossils discovered in the Lower Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province, China. True to its name meaning 'agile lizard', Agilisaurus was built for speed and manoeuvrability.
Standing just 60 centimetres tall at the hip and measuring between 1.2 to 1.7 metres in length, Agilisaurus was roughly the size of a large dog. Despite its small stature, it weighed around 40 kilograms, with a sturdy build that supported its active lifestyle. This ornithopod possessed powerful hind legs that allowed it to move swiftly across the Jurassic terrain, likely using its speed to escape from predators.
What makes Agilisaurus particularly fascinating is its sophisticated dentition. The dinosaur had leaf-shaped teeth that were perfectly adapted for processing tough plant material. Most remarkably, its teeth featured wavy enamel - a characteristic that scientists previously thought was exclusive to much later duck-billed dinosaurs (hadrosaurs). This wavy enamel pattern made the teeth more resistant to wear, allowing Agilisaurus to efficiently grind down abrasive vegetation throughout its lifetime.
As a herbivore, Agilisaurus would have fed on ferns, cycads, and other prehistoric plants that dominated the Middle Jurassic landscape. Its dental innovations suggest it was well-adapted to a challenging plant-based diet, demonstrating that even early ornithopods had evolved sophisticated feeding mechanisms millions of years before their more famous relatives.
Agilisaurus had distinctive leaf-shaped teeth with wavy enamel patterns that were previously thought unique to much later hadrosaurs. It possessed a compact, lightweight build with particularly strong hind legs suited for rapid movement.
Agilisaurus was likely a swift-moving herbivore that relied on speed and agility to escape predators. Its sophisticated teeth suggest it spent considerable time processing tough plant material, grinding vegetation with its wear-resistant dental adaptations.
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Ornithischia |
| Genus | Agilisaurus |
Agilisaurus was first described by Charles Lewis Camp in 1915. The original fossils were discovered at Lower Shaximiao Formation, Sichuan Province, China.
