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early dinosaur
Herrerasaurus
Say it like this: “he-RER-a-SAWR-us”
Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis
Herrerasaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Triassic (Carnian) · roughly 237 to 227.3 million years ago
- Named in
- 1963 · Reig, O. A.
- Hip height
- 1.4 m · 5 ft
- Length
- 4.5–6 m · 15–20 ft
- Weight
- 200–350 kg · 441–772 lb
- Found in
- Argentina · Ischigualasto
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- early dinosaur · Early dinosaur
- Family branch
- Herrerasauridae
The story in short
In 1963, O. A. Reig published the name Herrerasaurus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Herrerasaurus date to the Late Triassic (Carnian), roughly 237 to 227.3 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Ischigualasto Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Herrerasaurus at a length near 4.5–6 m, hips about 1.4 m high, and a body mass around 200–350 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Herrerasauridae, among the earliest dinosaurs.