Mussaurus patagonicus Mussaurus

Mussaurus (meaning “mouse lizard”) is a genus of herbivorous sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in southern Argentina during the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic. It receives its name from the small size of the skeletons of juvenile and infant individuals, which were once the only known specimens of the genus. However, since Mussaurus is now known from adult specimens, the name is something of a misnomer.

In its early stages of life, Mussaurus was a small quadrupedal herbivore, walking on all four legs. As it grew up, the changes in body proportions may have led its centre of mass to move backwards towards its pelvis. Adults would have been medium-sized bipedal herbivores, measuring up to 8 m long and weighing up to 1.2 – 1.6 MT.