Plateosauridae

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(Redirected from Prosauropod)

Plateosaurids
Temporal range: Late Triassic to Early Jurassic 225–190 mya
Mounted skeletons of Plateosaurus engelhardti from the Trossingen Formation of southern Germany, mounted in the Institute for Geosciences Tübingen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Plateosauria
Family: Plateosauridae
Type species
Plateosaurus engelhardti
von Meyer, 1837
Genera
Synonyms
  • Sellosauridae Huene, 1908
  • Prosauropoda Huene, 1920

The Plateosaurids or Prosauropods were a group of early herbivorous dinosaurs that lived during the later Triassic and early Jurassic periods.

They were the largest herbivores in their environment, and quickly reached (6 to 10 meters long). All prosauropods had a long neck and small head, forelimbs shorter than the hindlimbs, and a very large thumb claw for defense. They were originally thought to be the ancestors of the sauropods, but are now considered by some as a parallel lineage.

Taxonomy[change | change source]