Fabrosaurus

Fabrosaurus (/ˌfæbrəˈsɔːrəs/[1] FAB-ro-SAWR-əs) is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic (Hettangian to Sinemurian stages 199 - 189 mya).[2] It was originally placed within the now obsolete family Fabrosauridae (now considered basal Ornithischia).[2]

Fabrosaurus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 199–189 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Mandible
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	†Ornithischia
Genus:	†Fabrosaurus Ginsburg, 1964
Type species
†Fabrosaurus australis Ginsburg, 1964

Fabrosaurus was named and described by paleontologist Leonard Ginsburg in 1964 based on the holotype specimen; a partial jawbone with three teeth.[2] The name Fabrosaurus means "Fabre's lizard", honoring Jean Fabre, a French geologist and a colleague of Ginsburg on the expedition that collected the fossil in Basutoland (now Lesotho). The type species, F. australis, was named for the location of the fossil in the Elliot Formation, Lesotho, Southern Africa (australis being Latin for "southern").

Subsequent discoveries included two crushed skulls and disarticulated post-cranial bones (including vertebrae, ribs, and limb bones), allowing for a more complete reconstruction.[3][4] 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 (doubtful name), finding the holotype 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.[5]