Plateosauridae

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

Plateosaurids
Temporal range: Late Triassic to Early Jurassic 225–190 mya
Plateosaurus panorama.jpg
Mounted skeletons of Plateosaurus engelhardti from the Trossingen Formation of southern Germany, mounted in the Institute for Geosciences Tübingen
Scientific classification e
Unrecognized taxon (fix): Plateosauridae
Type species
Plateosaurus engelhardti
von Meyer, 1837
Genera
Synonyms
  • Sellosauridae Huene, 1908
  • Prosauropoda Huene, 1920

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