Look up · dinosaur 843 of 1,425
early long-neck
Mussaurus
Say it like this: “moo-SAWR-us”
Mussaurus patagonicus
Mussaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1979 · Bonaparte, J. F.; Vince, M.
- Hip height
- 2.3 m · 8 ft
- Length
- 8 m · 26 ft
- Weight
- 1.2–1.6 tonnes
- Found in
- Argentina · Laguna Colorada
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two or four legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Sauropodiformes
The story in short
In 1979, J. F. Bonaparte and M. Vince published the name Mussaurus. The name means “mouse lizard.”
Fossils referred to Mussaurus date to the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian), roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Laguna Colorada Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.
Published estimates put Mussaurus at a length near 8 m, hips about 2.3 m high, and a body mass around 1.2–1.6 tonnes.
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
Anchisaurus
Anchisaurus polyzelus
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