Plateosaurus

Plateosaurus

▪ dinosaur genus
 dinosaurs known from extensive fossil material found in Europe dating to the Late Triassic Period (228 million to 200 million years ago) that were representative of the prosauropods, an early group that might have been ancestral to the giant sauropod dinosaurs of later time periods.

      Plateosaurus was among the earliest dinosaurs to attain a relatively large size, growing to about 8 metres (26 feet) long. It was more massive than earlier dinosaurs and had bones that were stocky and thick. Although Plateosaurus could rise up on its two very strong hind legs, its forelimbs also were relatively well developed and strong, and it may have walked on two or four legs for various purposes. The small skull was perched atop a long, flexible neck and contained flat teeth serrated on the front and back edges.

      Plateosaurs were the first known large herbivores among the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs related to Plateosaurus have been found in South Africa, North America, and China. The prosauropod group of dinosaurs is not found after the Early Jurassic Period (200 million to 176 million years ago), which is when the first of the large “true” sauropod dinosaurs appeared. This fact, along with the increasing trend to large size among prosauropods, supports the idea that sauropods evolved directly from prosauropods, although some authorities regard the two as separate groups.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Plateosaurus — Skelettrekonstruktion von Plateosaurus engelhardti aus Trossingen (Exemplarnummer AMNH 6810) im American Museum of Natural History in New York Zeitraum …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Plateosaurus —   [zu griechisch plátē »Platte«, »breite Oberfläche eines Körpers«] der, /...ri |er, zu den Prosauropoda gehörende Gattung der Dinosaurier aus dem oberen Keuper, v. a. in Mitteleuropa (»Schwäbischer Lindwurm«). Die bis 10 m langen und über 5 m… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Plateosaurus — Unikonta Plateosaurus Temporal range: Triassic, 216–199 Ma …   Wikipedia

  • Plateosaurus —   Plateosaurus Rango temporal: Triásico superior …   Wikipedia Español

  • Plateosaurus — Platéosaure Platéosaure …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Platéosaurus — Platéosaure Platéosaure …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Plateosaurus — …   Википедия

  • plateosaurus — noun Any herbivorous dinosaur of the family Plateosauridae …   Wiktionary

  • plateosaurus — plat·e·o·sau·rus …   English syllables

  • plateosaurus — ˌplad.ēəˈsȯrəs noun Usage: capitalized Etymology: New Latin, from Greek platē oar + New Latin saurus; akin to Greek platys flat, broad more at place : a genus of moderate sized chiefly bipedal Triassic saurischian dinosaurs on the ancestral line …   Useful english dictionary

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