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early long-neck
Leyesaurus
Say it like this: “lih-shih-SOR-us”
Leyesaurus marayensis
Leyesaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Early Jurassic
- Named in
- 2011 · Apaldetti, C.; Martínez, R. N.; Alcober, O. A.; Pol, D.
- Hip height
- 0.7 m · 2 ft
- Length
- 2.5 m · 8 ft
- Weight
- 65 kg · 143 lb
- Found in
- Argentina · Balde de Leyes
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Massospondylidae
The story in short
Leyesaurus was formally named in 2011 by C. Apaldetti and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Leyesaurus date to the Early Jurassic, within an age that is only broadly constrained. Finds come from Argentina, including the Balde de Leyes Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Leyesaurus at a length near 2.5 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 65 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Massospondylidae, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Adeopapposaurus
Adeopapposaurus mognai
Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Toarcian) · roughly 201.4 to 174.7 million years ago
Coloradisaurus
Coloradisaurus brevis
Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
Fulengia
Fulengia youngi
Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) · roughly 199.5 to 192.9 million years ago