Plateosaurus

Plateosaurus trossingensis

Plateosaurus was one of the first large herbivorous dinosaurs. Mass death assemblages in Germany and Switzerland suggest they may have died in mudtraps. It was a bipedal or facultatively quadrupedal prosauropod.

Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Human Scale
Length	8.0 m	roughly the length of a large SUV
Height	2.5 m	—
Weight	700 kg	about 10 adult humans

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Plateosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Triassic Late Mesozoic Era

Plateosaurus lived during the Triassic Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 237.0 to 201.4 million years ago.

The first true dinosaurs appeared during the late Triassic, including early theropods like Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus. Dinosaurs were still small and not yet dominant. The period ended with the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event.

Discovery & Naming

Named By	Hermann von Meyer
Discovery Year	1837
Discovery Location	Trossingen, Germany

Classification

Dinosauria → Saurischia → Sauropodomorpha → Plateosaurus

Lizard-footed forms

Herbivorous dinosaurs that include the largest land animals of all time. Characterized by long necks, small heads, and massive bodies. Includes sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus.