Herrerasaurus Temporal range: Upper Triassic
231.4 mya | |
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Mounted cast of skeleton, Senckenberg | |
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Family: | Herrerasauridae
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Genus: | Herrerasaurus
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Herrerasaurus was one of the earliest dinosaurs. All known fossils of this carnivore have been discovered in Upper Triassic strata dated to 231.4 million years ago (mya) in northwestern Argentina.[1]
It is a member of the Herrerasauridae, a family of similar genera that were among the earliest dinosaurs.[2][3]
Herrerasaurus was a lightly built bipedal carnivore with a long tail and a relatively small head. Its length is estimated at 3 to 6 meters (10 to 20 ft),[4] and its hip height at more than 1.1 meters (3.3 ft).[5] It may have weighed around 210–350 kilograms (463–772 lb).[5]
In a large specimen the skull measured 56 centimeters (1.8 ft) in length.[5] Smaller specimens had skulls about 30 centimeters (1 ft) long.[6]
The tail, partially stiffened by overlapping vertebral projections, balanced the body and was also an adaptation for speed.[6]
The paleoenvironment of the Ischigualasto Formation (where it was found) was a volcanically active floodplain covered by forests with seasonal rainfall. The climate was moist and warm,[7] with seasonal variations.[8] The vegetation was ferns, horsetails, and giant conifers. These plants formed lowland forests along the banks of rivers.[4] Herrerasaurus was the most common of the carnivores of the Ischigualasto Formation.
Herrerasaurus lived in these jungles alongside a smaller dinosaur, the one metre long Eoraptor. Saurosuchus,[9] a huge quadrupedal Archosaur was the biggest land predator at the time. There were also a number of therapsid and reptilian herbivores. The dinosaurs had not yet taken control of the land environments as they did later.
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