Outline: a typical early sauropodomorph
Mussaurus
muss-SORE-us
"mouse lizard"
Type species Mussaurus patagonicus
- Lived
- 200 to 193 million years ago, Early Jurassic
- Length
- about 3 m (10 ft)
- Group
- Early sauropodomorphs
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Bonaparte and Vince 1979
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical early sauropodomorph shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
195 million years ago
Field notes
About Mussaurus
What it was like
Mussaurus was a plant eater from the line that led to the giant sauropods. Its name comes from its first fossils: tiny hatchlings small enough to fit in a hand. Later finds showed that adults were much larger, and about 3 meters (10 feet) long is a common estimate.
Young Mussaurus seem to have walked on all fours, then shifted onto their hind legs as they grew.
Its world
It lived in the Early Jurassic, in what is now Argentina. Its fossils come from the Laguna Colorada Formation. Some finds include groups of eggs and young animals of similar age, which suggests Mussaurus nested in colonies and may have lived in herds.
How it was found
Bonaparte and Vince named Mussaurus in 1979. The type species is Mussaurus patagonicus. It is now known from many specimens, from eggs to adults, which makes it one of the best studied early sauropodomorphs.
Close relatives
Other members of Sauropodiformes
Sources: WikidataNamed in: J. F. Bonaparte and M. Vince. 1979. El hallazgo del primer nido de dinosaurios triasicos, (Saurischia, Prosauropoda), Triasico Superior de Patagonia, Argentina [The discovery of the first nest of Triassic dinosaurs (Saurischia, Prosauropoda,) from the Upper Triassic of Patagonia, Argentina]. Ameghiniana 16(1-2):173-182