''Fabrosaurus'' ( ) is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

ornithischia Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

that lived during the

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...

during the

Hettangian The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of the Jurassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma and 199.3 ± 0.3 Ma (million years ago). The Hettangian follows the Rhaetian (part of the Triassi ...

to Sinemurian stages 199 - 189 mya.Ginsburg, L., (1964), "Decouverte d’un Scelidosaurien (Dinosaure ornithischien) dans le Trias superieur du Basutoland", ''Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris'', 258; 2366–2368. It was originally placed within the now obsolete family Fabrosauridae (now considered basal Ornithischia). ''Fabrosaurus'' was named and described by

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Leonard Ginsburg in 1964 based on the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

specimen, a partial jawbone with three teeth. The name ''Fabrosaurus'' means "Fabre's lizard", honoring Jean Fabre, a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and a colleague of Ginsburg on the expedition that collected the fossil in

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), t ...

(now

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

). The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specim ...

, ''F. australis'', was named for the location of the fossil in the Elliot Formation,

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

(''australis'' being Latin for "southern"). ''Fabrosaurus'' was initially placed within

Scelidosauridae ''Scelidosaurus'' (; with the intended meaning of "limb lizard", from Greek / meaning 'rib of beef' and ''sauros''/ meaning 'lizard')Liddell & Scott (1980). Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. is a gen ...

by Ginsburg (1964), but later studies have placed it as a basal ornithischian. Subsequent discoveries included two crushed skulls and disarticulated post-cranial bones (including vertebrae, ribs, and limb bones), allowing for a more complete reconstruction.Thulborn, R. A. (1970)
The skull of ''Fabrosaurus australis'', a Triassic ornithischian dinosaur
''Palaeontology'', 13(3), 414-432.Thulborn, R. A. (1972)
The post-cranial skeleton of the Triassic ornithischian dinosaur ''Fabrosaurus australis''
''Palaeontology'', 15(1), 29-60. However, as additional ornithischian fossils were discovered, the features of ''F. australis'' were thought to be shared by other species, and by the 1990s and 2000s most authors working with the group found ''Fabrosaurus'' to be a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

'' (doubtful name), finding the

material described by Ginsburg to be insufficient to distinguish a new taxon. Some claim the fossils represent simple variation of '' Lesothosaurus'', which is regarded as a valid taxon.

References

Ornithischian genera Early Jurassic dinosaurs of Africa Nomina dubia Fossil taxa described in 1964 Paleontology in Lesotho {{ornithischian-stub