OBELIGNATHUS
a plant-eating rhabdodontomorph dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of France.
Pronunciation: ob-uh-lig-nath-us
Meaning: Obelix jaw
Author/s: Czepinski and Madzia (
2025)
Synonyms: Rhabdodon septimanicus (Buffetaut and Le Loeuff, 1991)
First Discovery: Hérault, southern France
Discovery Chart Position: #1167
Obelignathus septimanicus
(Obelix Jaw)Etymology
Obelignathus is derived from "Obélix" (an exceptionally strong character in the French comic book series "Asterix" by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, as a reference to the unusually robust build of the holotype jaw) and the Greek "gnáthos" (jaw). The
species epithet,
septimanicus, refers to Septimania, a historic region of France corresponding to the former province of Languedoc, in which the holotype quarry at Montouliers is located.
Discovery
The remains of
Obelignathus were discovered in the Grès à Reptiles Formation at Montouliers, Saint-Chinian commune, Hérault, southern France.
The
holotype (MDE D30) is a partial right lower jaw.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Late Cretaceous
Stage: Campanian-Maastrichtian
Age range: 74-70 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: ?
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: ?
Diet: Herbivore
Obelignathus
septimanicus
References
• Buffetaut E and Le Loeuff J (1991) "Une Nouvelle espèce de
Rhabdodon (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) du Crétacé supérieur de L’Hérault (Sud de La France)".
CR Acad. Sci. II. 312: 943–948. [coins Rhabdodon septimanicus.]
• Czepinski L and Madzia D (2025) "Exploring the diversity and disparity of rhabdodontomorph ornithopods from the Late Cretaceous European archipelago".
Scientific Reports, 15: 15209. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-98083-z.
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To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
OBELIGNATHUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
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http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/OBELIGNATHUS›. Web access: 06th Mar 2026.
