Herrerasaurus
One of the earliest dinosaurs, Herrerasaurus was a swift bipedal carnivore from the Late Triassic of Argentina.
Last updated
The Late Triassic saurischian dinosaur genus Herrerasaurus reached lengths of 6 m and masses near 350 kg.[1] Every known fossil from this meat-eating dinosaur originates from the Carnian-age Ischigualasto Formation located in northwestern Argentina.[1]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassReptilia
- CladeDinosauria
- CladeSaurischia
- Family†Herrerasauridae
- Genus†Herrerasaurus
- SpeciesHerrerasaurus ischigualastensis
Named by Reig, 1963
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Herrerasaurus (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 6 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Herrerasaurus
Where the herrerasaurus has been recorded
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Length
- 6 m (20 ft)
- Weight
- 350 kg (770 lb)
- Period
- Late Triassic (Carnian, ~231.4 million years ago)
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Discovery location
- Ischigualasto Formation, northwestern Argentina
- Type species
- Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis
- Named by
- Osvaldo Reig (1963)
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Herrerasaurus was a lightly built bipedal carnivore with a long tail and a relatively small head.[2] The teeth of Herrerasaurus indicate that it was a carnivore; its size indicates it would have preyed upon small and medium-sized plant eaters.[3] Osvaldo Reig in 1963 provided the description for the type species Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis.[1] Victorino Herrera, an Andean goatherd, first spotted the fossils in outcrops close to San Juan, Argentina, during 1959, leading to the dinosaur being named after him.[4]
Reig's initial interpretation placed Herrerasaurus as an early carnosaur, yet this classification sparked debate spanning the subsequent three decades.[5] Because only very fragmentary remains were initially available, the taxonomic placement of Herrerasaurus stayed uncertain for a long period.[6] After a nearly complete skeleton and skull were uncovered in 1988, most phylogenetic studies have categorized Herrerasaurus as an early saurischian.[6] Fully grown individuals possessed skulls reaching 56 cm in length, total body lengths up to 6 m, and weights of 350 kg.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Herrerasaurus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Alcober, "A new herrerasaurid (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of northwestern Argentina", ZooKeys, 2010, p. 55–81; Reig, "La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los "Estratos de Ischigualasto" (Mesotriásico Superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (República Argentina)", Ameghiniana, 1963, p. 3–20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Herrerasaurus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sereno, "The complete skull and skeleton of an early dinosaur", Science, 1992, p. 1137–1140; Paul, "Predatory Dinosaurs of the World", Simon and Schuster, 1988, p. 248–250; Paul, "The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs", Princeton University Press, 2016, p. 71 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Herrerasaurus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sues, H.D., "The Dinosauria", University of California Press, 1990, p. 143–47; Winkler, "First application of dental microwear texture analysis to infer theropod feeding ecology", Palaeontology, 9 December 2022; Sereno, "The skull and neck of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1993, p. 451–476 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Herrerasaurus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Reig, "La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los "Estratos de Ischigualasto" (Mesotriásico Superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (República Argentina)", Ameghiniana, 1963, p. 3–20; Sereno, "Primitive dinosaur skeleton from Argentina and the early evolution of Dinosaurs", Nature, 1993, p. 64–66; Rogers, "The Ischigualasto tetrapod assemblage (Late Triassic, Argentina) and 40Ar/39Ar dating of dinosaur origins", Science, 1993, p. 794–797; Reig, "La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los "Estratos de Ischigualasto" (Mes en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Herrerasaurus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Reig, "La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los "Estratos de Ischigualasto" (Mesotriásico Superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (República Argentina)", Ameghiniana, 1963, p. 3–20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Herrerasaurus" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sereno, "New evidence on dinosaur and mammal origins from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic, Argentina)", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1988, p. 26A; Sereno, "The complete skull and skeleton of an early dinosaur", Science, 1992, p. 1137–1140; Novas, "Review of the fossil record of early dinosaurs from South America, and its phylogenetic implications", Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2021-10-01; Cabreira, "A Unique Late Triassic Dinosauromorph Assemblage Reveals Dinosaur Ancestral Anatomy and Diet", Current Biolog en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Herrerasaurus (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in Extinct Archosaurs
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Herrerasaurus (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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