Herrerasaurus: Difference between revisions
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{{italictitle}}
{{taxobox
| name = ''Herrerasaurus''
| fossil_range = [[Upper Triassic]] <br/> 231.4 mya▼
▲| fossil_range = [[Upper Triassic]]
| image_caption = Mounted cast of skeleton, Senckenberg
▲| image_width = 200px
| regnum = [[Animalia]]
| classis = [[Sauropsida]]
| superordo = [[Dinosauria]]
| ordo = [[Saurischia]]
| subordo = [[Theropoda]]?
| familia =
| genus = '''''Herrerasaurus'''''}}
[[File:Herrerasaurusskeleton.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Skeleton of ''Herrerasaurus'' and ''[[Eoraptor]]'']]
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
▲| binomial = Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis
| align = right
|
| image1 = Herrerasaurus skull def.jpg
| alt1 =
| image2 = Herrerasaurus skull.jpg
| caption2 =
| alt2 = Skull of dinosaur with long jaw, teeth, and hollow head
| footer = The most complete skull, specimen PVSJ 407, and left maxilla PVSJ 053
| caption1 =
}}
'''''Herrerasaurus''''' was one of the earliest [[dinosaur]]s. All known fossils of this carnivore have been discovered in [[Upper Triassic]] [[strata]] dated to 231.4 million years ago (mya) in northwestern Argentina.<ref name=OARM2010>{{cite journal |last=Alcober |first=Oscar A. |author2=Martinez, Ricardo N. |year=2010 |title=A new herrerasaurid (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of northwestern Argentina |url=https://archive.org/details/pubmed-PMC3088398 |journal=ZooKeys |pages=55–81 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.63.550 |pmid=21594020 |issue=63 |pmc=3088398|doi-access=free }}</ref>
It is a member of the '''Herrerasauridae''', a family of similar genera that were among the earliest dinosaurs.<ref name="Nesbittetal2009">{{Cite journal |last=Nesbitt S.J. ''et al'' 2009. |title=A complete skeleton of a late Triassic saurischian and the early evolution of dinosaurs |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |year=2009 |volume=326 |issue=5959 |pages=1530–1533 |doi=10.1126/science.1180350 |pmid=20007898 |bibcode = 2009Sci...326.1530N |s2cid=8349110 }}</ref><ref name="jacksonschool2009">{{Cite web |url=http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/rels/121009.html |title=New meat-eating dinosaur alters evolutionary tree |last=Airhart, Marc 2009 |work=Jackson School of Geosciences |access-date=2014-01-01 |archive-date=2011-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002095801/http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/rels/121009.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Description ==
''Herrerasaurus'' was a lightly built [[bipedal]] carnivore with a long tail and a relatively small head. Its length is estimated at 3 to 6 meters (10 to 20 ft),<ref name =Sereno1992>Sereno P.C. and Novas F.E. 1992. The complete skull and skeleton of an early dinosaur. ''Science'' '''258''' (5085): 1137–1140.</ref> and its hip height at more than 1.1 meters (3.3 ft).<ref name=GSP88>{{cite book|last=Paul G.S. 1988 ''Predatory dinosaurs of the world'' |title=Predatory Dinosaurs of the World: A Complete Illustrated Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/predatorydinosau0000paul |year=1989 |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |pages=[https://archive.org/details/predatorydinosau0000paul/page/248 248]–250 |isbn=0-671-68733-6}}</ref> It may have weighed around 210–350 kilograms (463–772 lb).<ref name=GSP88/>
In a large specimen the skull measured 56 centimeters (1.8 ft) in length.<ref name=GSP88/> Smaller specimens had skulls about 30 centimeters (1 ft) long.<ref name="Langer04">Langer, Max C. 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds) ''The Dinosauria''. 2nd ed, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 25–46. {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}</ref>
The tail, partially stiffened by overlapping vertebral projections, balanced the body and was also an adaptation for speed.<ref name="Langer04"/>
== Palaeoenvironment ==
[[category:Theropods]]▼
The [[natural environment|paleoenvironment]] of the Ischigualasto Formation (where it was found) was a [[volcanic]]ally active [[floodplain]] covered by [[forests]] with seasonal rainfall. The climate was moist and warm,<ref name="TuckerBenton1982">{{Cite journal|last1=Tucker|first1=Maurice E. |last2=Benton|first2=Michael J.|date=1982|title=Triassic environments, climates and reptile evolution| url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0031018282900347|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|language=en|volume=40|issue=4|pages=361–379|doi=10.1016/0031-0182(82)90034-7}}</ref> with seasonal variations.<ref name="Columbi2008">{{cite conference| last = Columbi, Carina E. 2008.| title = Stable isotope analysis of fossil plants from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation in the northwest of Argentina| publisher = The Geological Society of America| location = Houston, Texas| url = http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_151184.htm| conference = | access-date = 2014-01-01| archive-date = 2012-01-11| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120111145256/http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_151184.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref> The vegetation was [[fern]]s, [[horsetail]]s, and giant [[conifer]]s. These plants formed lowland forests along the banks of rivers.<ref name="Sereno1992"/> ''Herrerasaurus'' was the most common of the carnivores of the Ischigualasto Formation.
[[Category:Triassic dinosaurs]]▼
[[Category:Dinosaurs of South America]]▼
''Herrerasaurus'' lived in these jungles alongside a smaller dinosaur, the one metre long ''[[Eoraptor]]''. ''[[Saurosuchus]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sill|first1=W D|last2=Sill|first2=W. D.|date=1974|title=The anatomy of Saurosuchus galilei and the relationships of the rauisuchid thecodonts|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/22965|journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College.|volume=146|pages=317–362|issn=0027-4100}}</ref> a huge quadrupedal [[Archosaur]] was the biggest land predator at the time. There were also a number of [[therapsid]] and reptilian herbivores. The dinosaurs had not yet taken control of the land environments as they did later.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
▲[[Category:Triassic dinosaurs]]
▲[[Category:Dinosaurs of South America]]
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