Thecodontosaurus

Type Species: Thecodontosaurus antiquus
Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Sauropodomorpha - Prosauropoda
Time Period: Late Triassic
Location: England
Diet: Herbivore

Another notable herbivorous dinosaur was the prosauropod Thecodontosaurus, which appeared in the Norian and became widespread in the following Rhaetian. It was bipedal and averaged about four feet in length (though one particular individual reached up to eight feet long), one foot in height, and weighed about twenty-four pounds. Most of its skeleton can be reconstructed, except for the front part of its skull. From the fossils available, we know that Thecodontosaurus had a rather short neck and a large skull with large eyes. Its jaws contained many small- to medium-sized serrated, leaf-shaped teeth. Its hands and feet each had five digits, and the hands were long and narrow with an extended claw on each. Its front limbs were much smaller than its hind limbs, and the tail comprised more than half the length of its body. Continuing research on Thecodontosaurus has shown that there were two main morphologies, one much more robust than the other. Some paleontologists believe these two morphologies represent separate species; others argue that it’s a matter of sexual dimorphism, which would imply that Thecodontosaurus engaged in gregarious (or social) behaviors like the much-larger prosauropod Plateosaurus.