Eodromaeus

"dawn runner"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Eodromaeus 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
1.2 m (3.9 ft)
Period
Late Triassic (231.4–229 Mya)
Place
Argentina
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.

Eodromaeus (meaning “dawn runner”) is an extinct genus of probable basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Argentina. Like many other of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it hails from the Carnian-age (~230 Ma) Ischigualasto Formation, within the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of northwestern Argentina. Upon its discovery, it was argued to be one of the oldest true theropods, supplanting its contemporary Eoraptor, which was reinterpreted as a basal sauropodomorph.

What we know

  • Named by Martinez et al., 2011.
  • Body length estimated at about 1.2 m.
  • Fossils found in Argentina.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Eodromaeus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.