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early long-neck
Thecodontosaurus
Say it like this: “THEE-koh-DON-toh-SAWR-us”
Thecodontosaurus antiquus
Thecodontosaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Late Triassic (Rhaetian) · roughly 205.7 to 201.4 million years ago
- Named in
- 1836 · Riley, H.; Stutchbury, S.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 2–3 m · 7–10 ft
- Weight
- 11–30 kg · 24–66 lb
- Found in
- the United Kingdom
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Sauropodomorpha
The story in short
The genus Thecodontosaurus dates to 1836, the year H. Riley and S. Stutchbury described it. The name means “socket-tooth lizard.”
Fossils referred to Thecodontosaurus date to the Late Triassic (Rhaetian), roughly 205.7 to 201.4 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Thecodontosaurus at a length near 2–3 m and a body mass around 11–30 kg.
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