Dravidosaurus (meaning "Dravidanadu lizard", Dravidanadu being a region in the southern part of India where the remains were discovered) is a genus of prehistoric reptile which was once thought to be the last surviving stegosaur, the group of "plated" dinosaurs. With an estimated length of 3 metres (10 ft), it would have also been the smallest member of the group. More recent studies, however, have shown that the bones actually belonged to a plesiosaurian marine reptile.

Dravidosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous period (Coniacian stage) of what is now India. It is only known from a poorly preserved skeleton containing a partial skull, a tooth and some elements initially interpreted as plates. The badly weathered remains were discovered in marine deposits of the province of Tamil Nadu in South India. During the 1990s, further study indicated it was a plesiosaur and not a dinosaur.

References

External links

• Stegosauria at Thescelosaurus!