Plateosaurus trossingensis PLAT-ee-oh-SOR-us
"Broad lizard"
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Plateosaurus 8 m (26.2 ft) long
5 people holding hands
- Length
- 8 m (26.2 ft) — About 8 m long, ~4 tonnes — one of the first large dinosaurs.
- Period
- Late Triassic (214–204 Mya)
- Place
- Europe · Germany · Switzerland · France
- Food
- Herbivore — Soft plants — Plateosaurus probably reared up to reach high foliage.
Plateosaurus is one of the oldest large dinosaurs known, living more than 200 million years ago when most reptiles were still small. It walked on two legs but could rear up on the back legs to reach high branches, with leaf-shaped teeth for cropping plants. Whole bonebeds in Germany preserve dozens of individuals, possibly killed when they got bogged down in mud.
What we know
- Lived more than 200 million years ago, in the Late Triassic.
- Walked on two legs and reared up to reach high foliage.
- Hundreds of skeletons known from German bonebeds — likely a mud trap.
- Direct ancestor of the giant sauropods that came later.
What we guess
- Whether it migrated seasonally or stayed in one area.
- Exact diet — soft plants and possibly some small animals or insects.
- Whether the bonebed represents one event or accumulated over years.