A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Appendix

Kagasaurus

Taxon: Unknown

name means: “Japanese lizard”

Pronounced:KAHguh-SAW-rus

size: Large

time: Early Cretaceous

place: Japan

This rare fossil find from Japan is too weathered to provide much information about the dinosaur from which it came and is not generally accepted as a valid genus. This large meat-eater did have one definite characteristic, though --- large, incredibly sharp teeth.

Kaijiangosaurus

Taxon: Theropoda

Name means: “Kai River lizard”

Pronounced: kye-JANG-uh-SAW-rus

size: 20 ft (6 m) or more

Time: Middle Jurassic, 175 – 163 mya

Place: China

Named for the region in China’s Sichuan Province that yielded the fossils, Kaijangosaurus was a meat-eating theropod with large shearing teeth and narow shoulder bones. Gasosaurus was found in the same fossil bed, and some experts believe that they may be the same species.

Kakuru

Taxon: probably Thereopoda

name means: “ancestral serpent”

pronounced: kah-KOO-roo

size: 8 ft (2.5 m)

time: Late Cretaceous

place: Australia

Kakuru, named for the legenday “rainbow serpent” of the Guyani tribe of South Australia, is known only from a single leg bone called a tibia. Through a rare and unusual process, the bone was converted to semiprecious opal during fossilization. The opalized tibia was purchased by a gem shop in 1973 along with a foot claw that might have come from the same animal. This small carnivore had long, slender legs and may have had a physical build much like that of Avimimus. Its ankle was higher and narrower than those of most other swift theropods. Kakuru was formally named in 1980.

Kangnasaurus

Taxon: Dryosauridae

Name means: “Kangna lizard”

pronounced: KANG-nuh-SAW-rus

size: Small

time: Early Cretaceous

place: South Africa

Named for the region where the fossil was found, Kangnasaurus was a small, primitive plant-eater. Although the dinosaur was at first mistaken for an iguanodontid, the hind leg, ankle bone and three-toed clawed feet clearly belong to a dryosaurid. The long, tapering teeth were much like the ridged teeth of Hypsilophodon. Kangnasaurus was discovered on a farm in Little Bushmanland, South Africa, and described by Haughton in 1915.

Katsuyamasaurus Invalid name. A large predator, its identity as a genus in doubt.

Kelmayisaurus

Taxon: Theropoda

name means: “Karamay lizard”

pronounced: kuhl-MAY-ee-SAW-rus

size: Large

time: Early Cretaceous

place: China

This large bipedal carnosaur had a high skull much like that of its smaller North American counterpart, Ceratosaurus. Its lower jaw had features in common with Europe’s Megolosaurus, and, to a lesser degree, with Allosaurus of North America. Kelmayisaurus was named by Dong after the city of Karamay in China.

Kentrosaurus

Taxon: Stegosauridae

Name means: “sharp point lizard”

Pronounced: KEN-truh-SAW-rus

Size: about 17 ft (5 m)

Time: Late Jurassic, 156 – 150 mya

Place: Tanzania

The large spikes along the back and tail of Kentrosaurus inspired this dinosaur’s spiky name. A plant-eating stegosaur, Kentrosaurus had hooflike toe claws and may have weighed more than two tons. Named by Hennig in 1915, Kentrosaurus appears to have been closely related to British stegosaur, Lexovisaurus.

Kentrurosaurus

Name means: “sharp point tail lizard”

Pronounced: ken-TROO-ruh-SAW-rus

This is the same animal as KENTROSAURUS

Kitadanisaurus Invalid name. A small carnivore, possibly a deinonychosaur, of

doubtful validity.

Klamelisaurus

Taxon: Sauropoda

Name means: “Klameli lizard”

Pronounced: klah-MAY-lee-SAW-rus

Size: about 56 feet (17 m)

Time: Middle Jurassic, 159 – 154 mya

Place: China

Named by Zhao for the Klameli Mountains area, this little known sauropod was found just north of Jiangiunmiao in the Jiangjun desert. Klamelisaurus may be the adult form of Bellusaurus.

Koparion

Taxon: Coelurosauria, possibly Troodontidae

Name means: “scalpel”

Pronounced: ko-PAR-ee-on

Size: about 1.6 ft (50 cm)

Time: Late Jurassic, 154 – 151 mya

Place: Utah

As described by Dinosaur National Monument paleontologist Dan Chure, the name “Koparion” refers to this tiny theropod’s small, serrated tooth. Little else is known about this meat-eater, which may have been an early troodontid.

Koreanosaurus Invalid name. A poorly-known carnivore, possibly a deinonychosaur.

Kotasaurus

Taxon: Sauropoda

Name means: “Kota lizard”

Pronounced: KOH-tuh-SAW-rus

Size: 29.5 ft (9 m)

Time: Early Jurassic, 208 – 188 mya

Place: India

The skeleton of the very primitive sauropod Kotasaurus displays characteristics of both the giant sauropods and their smaller and less evolutionarily-specialized relatives, the prosauropods. This dinosaur had weak, spoon-shaped teeth like those of Camarasaurus. Kotasaurus was named for the Kota formation in Pranhitagodaviri Valley, India, where the fossils were discovered.

Kritosaurus

Taxon: Hadrosauridae

name means: “separated lizard”

pronounced: KRYE-tuh-SAW-rus

size: Moderate

time: Late Cretaceous

place: New Mexico

This poorly-known plant-eating duckbill had a wide, flat head with a bump over the snout. Kritosaurus was allegedly named for that bump in 1910 by Barnum Brown, a famous bone collector on assignment for the American Museum of Natural History, but Brown actually reconstructed his fossil find after the skull of Trachodon, unaware of the snout’s true shape. The name, in fact, originated from Brown’s theory that the cheek bones of Kritosaurus were not fused, but rather were completely separated.

Kulceratops

Taxon: Protoceratopidae

Name means: “lake horned face”

pronounced: kool-SER-a-tops

size: Small

time: Early Cretaceous

place: Uzbekistan

This primitive and poorly-known protoceratopsian was named in 1995 by Nessov after Lake Khodzharkul' in Uzbekistan, near which it was discovered.

Kunmingosaurus

Taxon: Sauropoda

name means: “Kunming lizard”

pronounced: kun-MING-uh-SAW-rus

Size: Large

time: Early Jurassic

place: China

Kunmingosaurus was a large, primitive member of the long-necked sauropod dinosaurs. It remains poorly-known and has not yet been formally described despite being given its name in 1985, so very little can be said for certain about the animal.