Dinosaurs A to Z
Massospondylidae

Glacialisaurus hammeri

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Glacialisaurus 6.2 m (20.3 ft) long
as long as 4 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic sauropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Glacialisaurus
Length
6.2 m (20.3 ft)
Period
Late Triassic (186–182 Mya)
Place
Australia · Antarctica
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Massospondylidae Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Early sauropodomorphs — bipedal-ish, plant-eaters.

Glacialisaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic period of Antarctica. It is known from two specimens; the holotype (name-bearing specimen), a partial tarsus (ankle) and metatarsus, and a partial left femur (thigh bone). The fossils were collected by a team led by paleontologist William R. Hammer during a 1990–91 field expedition to the central region of the Transantarctic Mountains. They come from sedimentary rocks of the Hanson Formation and date to the Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic, around 186 to 182 million years ago. The fossils were described in 2007, and made the basis of the new genus and species Glacialisaurus hammeri. The genus name translates as “icy” or “frozen lizard”, and the specific name honors Hammer.

What we know

  • Named by Smith & Pol, 2007.
  • Body length estimated at about 6.2 m.
  • Fossils found in Australia and Antarctica.

What we guess

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