Herrerasaurus is one the earliest known dinosaurs. It was a
carnivore (meat-eater) that lived in the
Triassic period
about 228 million years ago.
Its fossils have been found
in Argentina.
Herrerasaurus was about 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) in length, stood about 3½ feet (1 meter)
tall at the hips, and weighed something in the region of 460 to 770 pounds (210 to 350 kilograms).
For many years, it was not entirely clear how to
classify
Herrerasaurus. There were several different theories about
the animal, including that it may have been an early
Theropod dinosaur,
or that it may have been an early
Sauropodomorph (the suborder containing Prosauropods and Sauropods),
or perhaps that it
was not even a dinosaur at all.
However, a near-complete skeleton and skull was found in
1988,
and as a result of this discovery, it is now widely thought to have been an early
Theropod dinosaur.
"Herrerasaurus" means "Herrera's lizard" (name after Victorino Herrera who discovered the first fossils of this animal).
Herrerasaurus was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Herrerasaurus was not closely related to lizards, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
Herrerasaurus was a Theropod - a member of a group of related bipedal dinosaurs that included the ancestors of birds (although Herrerasaurus was not itself an ancestor of birds). Historically, there have been several hypotheses about how to classify Herrerasaurus - these included that it may have been an early Theropod dinosaur, an early Sauropodomorph (the suborder containing Prosauropods and Sauropods) dinosaur, or perhaps not even a dinosaur at all. However, today, based on fossils found in 1988, it is now widely considered to be an early Theropod.
Herrerasaurus lived about 228 million years ago, during the Triassic period.
Herrerasaurus probably preyed on small- and medium-sized animals including small dinosaurs, rhynchosaurs (a group of herbivorous reptiles), and herbivorous synapsids (mammal-like reptiles).
Herrerasaurus was about 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) long, and about 3½ feet (1 meter) tall at the hips.
Herrerasaurus weighed about 460 to 770 pounds (210 to 350 kilograms).
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