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early long-neck
Lessemsaurus
Say it like this: “LES-uhm-SAWR-us”
Lessemsaurus sauropoides
Lessemsaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
- Named in
- 1999 · Bonaparte, J. F.
- Hip height
- 2.5 m · 8 ft
- Length
- 9–10.3 m · 30–34 ft
- Weight
- 2–2.9 tonnes
- Found in
- Argentina · Los Colorados
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Lessemsauridae
The story in short
The genus Lessemsaurus dates to 1999, the year J. F. Bonaparte described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Lessemsaurus date to the Late Triassic (Norian), roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Los Colorados Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Lessemsaurus at a length near 9–10.3 m, hips about 2.5 m high, and a body mass around 2–2.9 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Lessemsauridae, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Antetonitrus
Antetonitrus ingenipes
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Ingentia
Ingentia prima
Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago
Ledumahadi
Ledumahadi mafube
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago