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early long-neck
Orosaurus
Say it like this: “OR-o-SAWR-us”
Orosaurus capensis
Orosaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in South Africa.
- When
- Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago
- Named in
- 1867 · Huxley, T. H.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- South Africa · Elliot
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Sauropodomorpha
The story in short
The genus Orosaurus dates to 1867, the year T. H. Huxley described it. The name means “mountain lizard.”
It lived in the Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian), roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago. Finds come from South Africa, including the Elliot Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
The fossils of Orosaurus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
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