Herrerasaurus
Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis
Pronounced: huh - Rare - uh -
Sore - us
Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)
Name Means: "Herrera's Lizard"
Length: 10 feet (3 m)
Height: 4 feet (2.3 m)
Weight: 80 pounds (38 kilos)
Time: Late Triassic - 225 MYA
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in
Northern Argentina
Discovered in 1963, Herrerasaurus is one of the oldest dinosaurs
ever found. It is close to 230 million years old! It is one of three
dinosaurs found in South America that represent the earliest form of
meat-eating dinosaurs. In fact, Herrerasaurus may be the oldest of
the three. It was a fast, ferocious hunter and it set the stage for
large predatory dinosaurs to become the most dominant animals on
earth for more than 150 million years.
Unlike later dinosaurs, Herrerasaurus had a wide variety of
non-dinosaur creatures from which to chose for its menu. In the
Triassic there were many types of creatures still roaming the land
that would later disappear in an extinction event at the end of the
Triassic, which the dinosaurs survived. One of the main types of
creatures upon which Herrerasaurus would have fed were the
mammal-like reptiles. For many millions of years the mammal-like
reptiles were the dominant land creatures until dinosaurs appeared
on the scene. They were slower and less adaptable than the dinosaurs
and could not survive the competition. Herrerasaurus would have also
eaten lizards, amphibians and possibly some of the large insects
that lived in the Triassic.
Herrerasaurus, being an early dinosaur, seems to have had some
characteristics that confuse scientists trying to find its place in
dinosaur evolution. It shows traits that show up in much later
Jurassic dinosaurs and traits that are found in different
classifications of dinosaurs, making it difficult to fit it into a
specific family tree. Its teeth are more conical in shape than later
or contemporary dinosaurs, and they have serrations like most of the
later carnivorous dinosaurs. It also appears that the Herrerasaurus
jaw was somewhat flexible in order to fit more firmly around its
prey and prevent it from escaping. Its arms show proportions more
similar to later predatory dinosaurs in that they were much shorter
than its hind limbs and clearly designed for prey capture.
It is estimated that Herrerasaurus could have reached lengths of
up to 15 feet (4.5 m), making it as large as dinosaurs that did not
come along until well into the Jurassic. |
