page_title: Lesothosaurus
section_title: Classification
hierarchical_section_title: Lesothosaurus / Classification
caption_attribution_description: English: Lesothosaurus diagnosticus reconstruction, showing it with filamentous integument similar to that found on Kulindadromeus, a close relative
context_page_description: Lesothosaurus was a genus of omnivorous genasaurian dinosaur from South Africa and Lesotho. It was named by paleontologist Peter Galton in 1978, the name meaning "lizard from Lesotho". The genus has only one valid species, Lesothosaurus diagnosticus.
context_section_description: Lesothosaurus was originally considered an ornithopod. However, more recent work by Paul Sereno has suggested that it may actually represent one of the most primitive of all known ornithischian dinosaurs. The taxonomic history of Lesothosaurus is complex and it has long been confused with Fabrosaurus, another small ornithischian from the same locality. In 2005, Richard J. Butler published a new phylogenetic study of ornithischians, in which he proposed that Lesothosaurus was a basal member of the clade Neornithischia, which includes pachycephalosaurs, ceratopsians and ornithopods. Alternatively, this dinosaur may be a very early thyreophoran, a member of the group including the armored stegosaurians and ankylosaurians.
  The species Stormbergia dangershoeki (named by Richard Butler in 2005), named for fossils found in the Upper Elliot Formation, almost certainly represents the adult form of Lesothosaurus.  Stormbergia was named for the Stormberg Series of rocks in southern Africa, which includes the Elliot Formation, and the location (Dangerhoek Farm) in South Africa at which the type specimen was found. The holotype and referred specimens of Stormbergia had been mentioned in the scientific literature as a 'large fabrosaurid' for at least 20 years prior to description. A study published in 2017 by Baron, Norman & Barrett demonstrated that the differences between Stormbergia and Lesothosaurus are most likely related to the animal's growth. The authors argued that Stormbergia is a junior subjective synonym of Lesothosaurus and should be regarded as invalid.
caption: Lesothosaurus diagnosticus reconstruction
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