Eoraptor

Say it like this: “EE-oh-RAP-tor”

Eoraptor lunensis

Eoraptor ate plants and meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.

Quiz me on Eoraptor

When: Late Triassic (Carnian) · roughly 237 to 227.3 million years ago
Named in: 1993 · Sereno, P. C.; Forster, C. A.; Rogers, R. R.; Monetta, A. M.
Hip height: 0.5 m · 2 ft
Length: 1.2–1.3 m · 4–4 ft
Weight: 10 kg · 22 lb
Found in: Argentina · Ischigualasto
Food and walking: Omnivore · Two legs
Kind: early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
Family branch: Sauropodomorpha

The story in short

In 1993, P. C. Sereno and colleagues published the name Eoraptor. The name means “dawn thief.”

Fossils referred to Eoraptor date to the Late Triassic (Carnian), roughly 237 to 227.3 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Ischigualasto Formation. It was an omnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Eoraptor at a length near 1.2–1.3 m, hips about 0.5 m high, and a body mass around 10 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Sauropodomorpha, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Agrosaurus

Agrosaurus macgillivrayi

Late Triassic (Rhaetian) · roughly 205.7 to 201.4 million years ago

Ahvaytum

Ahvaytum bahndooiveche

Late Triassic (Carnian) · roughly 237 to 227.3 million years ago

Arcusaurus

Arcusaurus pereirabdalorum

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago