Herrerasaurus

Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis

Herrerasaurus was one of the earliest known dinosaurs, from the Late Triassic. It was a bipedal predator with a flexible lower jaw joint. Its placement in dinosaur classification has been debated, but most analyses place it as an early saurischian.

Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Human Scale
Comprimento	6.0 m	roughly the length of a large SUV
Height	1.5 m	—
Peso	350 kg	about 5 adult humans

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Herrerasaurus was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Triassic Late Mesozoic Era

Herrerasaurus 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

Nomeado por	Osvaldo Reig
Ano de descoberta	1963
Local de descoberta	Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina

Classificação

Dinosauria → Saurischia → Herrerasaurus

Lizard-hipped dinosaurs

One of two major dinosaur orders, characterized by a lizard-like hip structure. Includes theropods (all carnivorous dinosaurs and birds) and sauropodomorphs (the long-necked giants).