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early long-neck
Anchisaurus
Say it like this: “ANG-ki-SAWR-us”
Anchisaurus polyzelus
Anchisaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
- Named in
- 1885 · Marsh, O. C.
- Hip height
- 0.6 m · 2 ft
- Length
- 2–4.9 m · 7–16 ft
- Weight
- 20–32 kg · 44–71 lb
- Found in
- the United States · Portland
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Sauropodiformes
The story in short
The genus Anchisaurus dates to 1885, the year O. C. Marsh described it.
Fossils referred to Anchisaurus date to the Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian), roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Portland Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Anchisaurus at a length near 2–4.9 m, hips about 0.6 m high, and a body mass around 20–32 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Sauropodiformes, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Aardonyx
Aardonyx celestae
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Blikanasaurus
Blikanasaurus cromptoni
Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago
Camelotia
Camelotia borealis
Late Triassic (Rhaetian) · roughly 205.7 to 201.4 million years ago