Herrerasaurus
Fast facts
- Genus
- Herrerasaurus
Herrerasaurus was one of the earliest dinosaurs. All known fossils of this carnivore have been discovered in Upper Triassic strata dated to 231.4 million years ago (mya) in northwestern Argentina.
It is a member of the Herrerasauridae, a family of similar genera that were among the earliest dinosaurs.
Description
Herrerasaurus was a lightly built bipedal carnivore with a long tail and a relatively small head. Its length is estimated at 3 to 6 meters (10 to 20 ft), and its hip height at more than 1.1 meters (3.3 ft). It may have weighed around 210–350 kilograms (463–772 lb).
In a large specimen the skull measured 56 centimeters (1.8 ft) in length. Smaller specimens had skulls about 30 centimeters (1 ft) long.
The tail, partially stiffened by overlapping vertebral projections (spines), balanced the body and was also an adaptation for speed.
Palaeoenvironment
The paleoenvironment of the Ischigualasto Formation (where it was found) was a volcanically active floodplain covered by forests with seasonal rainfall. The climate was moist and warm, with seasonal variations. The vegetation was ferns, horsetails, and giant conifers. These plants formed lowland forests along the banks of rivers. Herrerasaurus was the most common of the carnivores of the Ischigualasto Formation.
Herrerasaurus lived in these jungles alongside a smaller dinosaur, the one metre long Eoraptor. Saurosuchus, a huge quadrupedal Archosaur was the biggest land predator at the time. There were also a number of therapsid and reptilian herbivores. The dinosaurs had not yet taken control of the land environments as they did later.
Written for younger readers
Herrerasaurus, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Dinosaurs
Herrerasaurus (pronounced huh-Rare-uh-Sore-us) was one the earliest dinosaurs to have walked on the face of the Earth. It lived in what is now Argentina and was a meat-eater, also known as a carnivore.
Herrerasaurus was likely up to 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) in length, walked on its hind legs with short thighs and rather long feet. It was very quick on its feet and had strong claws for grabbing prey. Herrerasaurus weighed at least 400 pounds and at most 750 pounds.
Herrerasaurus was a meat-eater. It probably fed on small and medium-sized animals. However, it most likely did not hunt for itself, instead it probably ate meat off dead animals. It has been suggested it fed on rhynchosaurs, small prehistoric lizards, and aetosaurs, a kind of mix between an armadillo and a pig.
Herrerasaurus lived in the Late Triassic period, about 230 million years ago. Their favourite habitat was in woodlands, amongst the ferns, conifers and mosses.
Herrerasaurus once lived in Argentina on the South American continent. Found in the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, along with the bones of several other early dinosaurs.
The first Herrerasaurus fossil was discovered in 1958 by a local man named Don Victorino Herrera. But, it wasn’t until 1988 that the first skull was discovered.
- The colour of skin
- Was Herrerasaurus just a hunter, scavenger, or a mix of both?
it:Wikijunior Dinosauri/Herrerasaurus
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Herrerasaurus” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
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